February 14, 2025

This edition is sponsored by Gloo

weekend reads

“I love being at church on Monday morning, when homeless people come in for cups of coffee and a clean bathroom. And I love it on Tuesday morning, when a troupe of preschool children wearing backpacks two sizes too big comes traipsing up the sidewalk,” writes CT contributor Carrie McKean.

As a staff member, McKean sees what happens at church not just on Sundays but also during the week—delivery drivers grabbing sodas, “stichers” making prayer shawls, teenagers eating pizza, the phone ringing as congregants call to speak with pastors.

Churches, she argues, are rare “third places,” community gathering spots that don’t require a purchase for people to be there. The church “values people as more than consumers,” she writes. “It ought to have a place for everyone, no transaction required.”

Morgan Lee reiterates the Christian call to embodied community in her reflection on modern dating culture. Getting off the apps might not find you a partner, she acknowledges. But “if pining for a valentine catalyzes volunteering at a soup kitchen, joining a kickball team, and working in the church nursery, bring it on.”

Even the healthiest of churches will at times face divisions over theology, politics—or money. Myles Werntz reflects on how Christians should deal with wealth disparities in their communities. “In the congregations of the New Testament, we see a mixture of rich and poor, of those with great means and those with less. The wealthy have responsibilities the poor do not,” writes Myles Werntz. “Generosity redirects wealth to meet real needs, not least the need to avoid the grave spiritual risks of riches.”

P.S. “To state what should have been obvious,” Christianity Today “has never received funds from USAID.” Our president and CEO Timothy Dalrymple addresses false rumors and editorial integrity.

Church in the Antisocial Century

‘Going Outside’ Hasn’t Found Me My Person

The Tithe That Binds

Christianity Today Has Not Received USAID Funds

weekend listen

Russell Moore speaks with atheist thinker Jonathan Rauch about politics, gender and sexuality, and what he got wrong about Christianity’s decline.

“It turned out that what we were taking for granted was all of the work that those churches were doing to build community bonds, to give people a place every Sunday where they met and worshiped together, to teach higher values, to transmit those values to young people.” | Listen here.

An Atheist on What He Got Wrong About Christianity’s Decline

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editors’ picks

Daniel Silliman, news editor: When I’m weary of current events, I find some comfort and perspective in ancient ones. Did you know that after Alexander the Great died, his body was kidnapped and used for political purposes? I learned this on The Ancients podcast, which I’ve been enjoying a lot recently. Check out the episodes on Ptolemy I, Sulla, Pontius Pilate, or Babylon’s Epic of Creation.

Bonnie Kristian, editorial director, books and ideas: “Believe for Your Own Sake, Not for ‘the West,’” by Tara Isabella Burton.

More than one of our editors: Throw Throw Burrito, the “world’s first dodgeball card game.”

prayers of the people

For the war in Ukraine.
For a death row church in Tennessee.
For a global agricultural ministry drying seeds with computer fans and fashioning water filters from barrels.

PAID CONTENT FOR GLOO

Values-Aligned AI

Technology has revolutionized our world time and time again. Electricity transformed daily life, increased industrial productivity, and provided safer and more stable power for lighting, heating and cooking alike. Television…

How I Lost My Faith in Atheism

A career arguing about faith has made religious disagreement easier to understand—but outright atheism more unfathomable.

I Was Once an Immigrant. Then I Forgot.

When the world’s exiled inconvenience the world’s established.

Founding Congregation to Exit Christian Reformed Church

Few legal entanglements complicate the departure, but brings a lot of grief over denominational division.

Where Humility Leads to Lots of Home Runs

Dallas Baptist University is a small school with one of the top programs in college baseball. What’s the secret to its greatness?

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IN THE MAGAZINE

Cover of the January / February 2025 Issue

This first issue of 2025 exemplifies how reading creates community, grows empathy, gives words to the unnamable, and reminds us that our identities and relationships proceed from the Word of God and the Word made flesh. In this issue, you’ll read about the importance of a book club from Russell Moore and a meditation on the bookends of a life by Jen Wilkin. Mark Meynell writes about the present-day impact of a C. S. Lewis sermon in Ukraine, and Emily Belz reports on how churches care for endangered languages in New York City. Poet Malcolm Guite regales us with literary depth. And we hope you’ll pick up a copy of one of our CT Book Award winners or finalists. Happy reading!

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