I first met Tim Keller nearly 20 years ago at the inaugural conference of The Gospel Coalition while covering the event for Christianity Today. I had recently written the 2006…
Akaska Izumi’s office is only slightly larger than a bachelor’s closet. The principal of Japan Bible Seminary has just enough room for a desk, some bookshelves jammed with theology volumes, and a coffee table. We…
In late spring across the Eastern United States, the shrub Lonicera maackii enters into its glory. It enrobes itself in cream-and-white blossoms that smell of citrusy syrup and drift to…
I stood at the perimeter of a room carpeted with tatami mats, watching a troop of young boys recite scriptures and creeds and reflect on their emotions. They were preparing…
One of the most quoted Bible verses of all time is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes…
Outreach-minded evangelicals have often argued that church buildings need to be less “churchy” to draw in would-be seekers. But that might not actually be true, according to recent research from…
As a teenager, I co-led my first small group with a friend, guided by an older woman from our church. During a discussion on faith, I decided to be vulnerable…
Church kitchens are disappearing. They are disappearing from rural, suburban, and urban churches. From liberal and conservative churches, contemporary and liturgical, megachurches and the medium-sized. One by one, across America,…
The burial plot of Jesus is a mess. More accurately, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem—marking what is thought to be the tomb Jesus occupied for three days—is…
Churches are governed by a paradoxical brand of Newtonian physics: One law of ecclesial motion commits them to stay at rest. Another commands perpetual movement. Ministry leaders often speak of…
As a Baptist preacher’s kid, I never gave any serious thought to the question of whether Roman Catholics could be saved until I was 19 years old. I was sitting…
There are two conversations I recall with clarity. The first happens on a hot August day, with my oldest son and me sitting together in the car, in the driveway.…
As much as we exert control over our words, our words can exert a kind of control over us. This is especially true of common metaphors. We use particular figures…
Walk around central London, and you’ll quickly spot the capital’s famous red buses, their sides adorned with advertisements for upcoming films, fashion lines, or beauty products. But in January 2009,…
On a recent episode of The Russell Moore Show, pastor and author Rich Villodas discussed anger, forgiveness, and faithful family members who make it possible to rise to the challenge…
My earliest memory is of crying inside a locked supply room. My mother had sold me as a temporary child laborer, as she often did. When she returned to pick…
When a first-time guest comes to my church after belonging to a different congregation in the area, I brace myself. We used to call them “church shoppers,” those looking for…
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did” (John 4:29). These were the Samaritan woman’s words that she couldn’t help but share with her town when Jesus…
There was a time when I struggled to articulate why I was a Christian.In my college years, far from the faithful influences of home, I reviewed inherited convictions and determined…
Got a question for CT’s advice columnists? Email advice@christianitytoday.com. Queries may be edited for brevity and clarity. Q: A family from our small group seems to be drifting away from…
Most Canadian evangelicals have not heard their pastor speak about medical assistance in dying (MAID), even as the legal bar for euthanasia has been lowered and the number of deaths…
Sara Kyoungah White’s meditation on a polluted creek in our November/December issue struck our readers as “mournful” but also “deeply moving” and “hopeful.” “I live near Plaster Creek and used…
