The Back Page | Philip Yancey: Getting a Life
The most fully alive persons are those who give their lives away.
Philip Yancey

Shopping for the Real Me, Part 1 of 3
Why nothing ever quite fits right.
by Lee Knapp

Shopping for the Real Me, Part 2 of 3
Why nothing ever quite fits right.
by Lee Knapp

No Easy Saint
Bonhoeffer and just war.
Ragan Sutterfield

Double-entry Accountability
Two financial watchdogs are better than one.
A Christianity Today editorial

Toxic Maxims
Misleading advice about business ethics from America's leadership expert.
by David W. Gill

What Hal Lindsey Taught Me About the Second Coming
At UCLA, amid war protests and police helicopters, teachings on an imminent end made a lot of sense.
Chris Hall

THE LANDMARK SERMON
A clear word at the right time can keep the church from getting separated.
Jack Hayford

Pastors Killed, Churches Burned
New wave of violence begins.
by Richard Nyberg

Pilgrims to Nowhere
Freedom isn't much good if you don't have a sense of direction.
By Andy Crouch

The Dick Staub Interview: Eddie Gibbs Reconsiders Gen X Churches
The author of Church Next and Fuller's professor of church growth says his views on church leadership have grown

"Big Numbers, Big Problems"
Christianity is in the midst of a massive global shift. But how much of a difference is it making in its new homelands?
John Wilson

Ex-Gay Leader Disciplined for Gay Bar Visit
Exodus removes John Paulk as board chairman, places him on probationary status as member.
By Evangelical Press with additional reporting by Jody Veenker

Weblog: Are Conservative Christians Abusive Parents?
Plus: An ex-gay leader goes into a bar, and blaming spanking for youth violence.
Compiled by Ted Olsen

How to Overcome Overload

Pottering and Prayer
As John Stott turns 80, he still finds weeds to pull, birds to watch, and petitions to make
John W. Yates III

Conversations

Bearing the Cross: Religious Cleansing
What you can do to help persecuted Christians in Indonesia
Jeff M. Sellers

Bearing the Cross: Nigeria: Sub-Saharan Powder Keg
What you can do to help persecuted Christians in Nigeria
Jeff M. Sellers

Bearing the Cross: Heightened Hostilities in Egypt
What you can do to help persecuted Christians in Egypt
Jeff M. Sellers

Oil and Water
"In third-century Rome, baptism was high drama"
Elesha Coffman

Willow Creek's Place in History
It turns out that the church that made seeker-sensitive a part of our vocabulary is not as revolutionary as its critics have said.
By Michael S. Hamilton

Russia: Ready to Stand on Their Own?
In the former Soviet Union, evangelical churches are growing but not yet mature.
By Beverly Nickles in Moscow

A New Road to Biblical Literacy
Following this path, I preached through the entire Bible in one year.
by Bob Bolender

Gospel Gem
How a dying jewelry tycoon shares the pearl of great price with Panama's elite
By James A. Beverley

Christian History Corner: The Habits of Highly Effective Bible Readers
What we can learn from the church fathers that will enrich our own Bible study
Christopher A. Hall

On Foot
The virtues of walking
Paul Willis

Youth: DC/LA Events Let Teens Put Faith on Display
by Mark Moring in Washington, D.C.

TOUGH FAITH
One church leader's experience of living by faith when deprived of virtually everything but life itself.
Benjamin M. Weir with Dennis Benson

Weblog: Two Iraqi Churches Bombed
Plus: Mr. Bean opposes British religious hate-crime bill, religious summit opens in Indonesia, Vatican condemns 'Christianophobia', Christmas dilemma, praying for the home team, and other articles from online sources around the world.
Compiled by Rob Moll

Terrorizing Ally
Saudi Arabia tortures Christians even as it makes human-rights gestures.
by Jeff M. Sellers

Back to the Basics
Christian-Muslim violence requires a 'new' missions strategy: Forgiveness and love.
By Obed Minchakpu in Jos

Means and Ends
The spiritual theology of Eugene Peterson.
Lauren F. Winner

The Dick Staub Interview: The Ascetic American Dream
David Matzko McCarthy, author of The Good Life: Genuine Christianity for the Middle Class, talks about the wealth and the poverty of the American middle class.

Editor's Bookshelf: Ground Rules
The Creed defines the game of faith without exhausting its excitement
David Neff

Breaking 80
Golfers don't want to be better people. They want to be better golfers.
Mark Galli

God the Economist
John Polkinghorne's Trinitarian reality.
Catherine and Andy Crouch

A Theology of Sound
Attentive listening.
Craig Mattson

Cooling off Gay Agenda
PCUSA conservatives turn back liberal challenges
Douglas LeBlanc

Power in Punjab
Christians see churches—and opposition—grow among Sikhs
Manpreet Singh

Everyday Truths
"Simple activities bind families together and deepen their relationship with God, says the author of Sacred Stories of Ordinary Families"
Cindy Crosby

Florida Bishop Defies Episcopal Church Head
The consecration of a new bishop becomes the latest battleground between Frank Griswold and the American Anglican Council
Douglas LeBlanc

Watch Your Mouth
"Church controversies in Britain and Australia focus on a dirty word, the Word of God, and whether premarital sex is really a sin."
Ted Olsen

Weblog: Chicago Church Raises Money to Hire Prostitutes
Plus: Dignified anger and judgment at Anglican meeting, Messianic Muslims, and The Cider House Doesn't Rule.
Compiled by Ted Olsen

Doing Time
Do correctional facilities correct anything?
by Nathan Bierma

The Gift of Rebuke

Three Ways to Bring About Repentance

Forgetting God
Why decadence drives out discipline.
By Philip Yancey

Anglican Priest Hopes to Boldly Go Where No Clergyman Has Gone Before
Ken Clapham wants to be the international space station's chaplain.
Cedric Pulford

The CT Review: Andy Griffith Is My Copilot
Joey Fann's popular TV-based Bible study spins off an episode guide/devotional
Edward Gilbreath

CT Classic: 'I'm Only Doing What God Told Me to Do'
"The founder of Campus Crusade for Christ talks about America's moral disintegration, Christians in politics, and his hopes for the greatest spiritual awakening in the history of the world."
1976 interview with Bill Bright

Dreamin' and Teamin'

From the Editor

Leading Worship Leaders
4 ways I'm learning to guide artists.
By Nancy Beach

No-Fault Division?
It may be time for mainline churches to consider an amicable divorce.
A Christianity Today editorial

Reflections: Discipleship
Quotations to stir heart and mind
Compiled by Richard A. Kauffman

The Lord Our God Is One
Three Christians trace their roots back to the Hebrew Bible-and encounter God's present-day chosen people.
By Steven Gertz

Forgetting God
Why decadence drives out discipline.
By Philip Yancey

Pondering a Divorce
Some United Methodists think their differences are irreconcilable.
By Kathleen K. Rutledge

From the Archives: Instructions to Young Converts

Finding a Spiritual Director
Eugene H. Peterson

First Things First
Teaching about worship by asking the right questions
Ron Rienstra

Johnny Cash's Song of Redemption
How the coolest man in the music industry became that way while singing about Jesus and the Cross
Ted Olsen

The Smiling Grandfather Clock
"On Father's Day, the Holy Ghost helped me finally connect the dots and glimpse God's character"
Evelyn Bence

Yancey: Getting to Know Me
In most ways important to God, I had failed miserably.

Trying Patience on for Size
If Christians are to be clothed with patience, why do so many of us feel naked?
Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.

Rediscovering the Holy Spirit, Part 1
Bible scholar Gordon Fee thinks we have domesticated the Holy Spirit and missed the point of his mission
By Wendy Murray Zoba

Despite Protestant Growth, Hispanic Catholicism Holds Steady in U.S.
Younger generations leaving for Protestant churches, but immigrants make up difference
Jeff M. Sellers

Incarnating Mystery
Michael Card argues that a proper view of Christ is a key to creativity.
By Wendy Murray Zoba | posted 7/28/00

This World Is Not My Home
What some mainline Protestants are rediscovering about living as exiles in a foreign culture.
By Richard J. Mouw

Growing Edge Book Review: The Secret to Getting Things Done
Three overlooked processes between vision and completion.
Ed Rowell

Despite Protestant Growth, Hispanic Catholicism Holds Steady in U.S.
Younger generations leaving for Protestant churches, but immigrants make up difference
Jeff M. Sellers

Conversations

Despite Protestant Growth, Hispanic Catholicism Holds Steady in U.S.
Younger generations leaving for Protestant churches, but immigrants make up difference
Jeff M. Sellers

Currents That Shape Your Soul

The Learning Curve

The Leprosy Doctor
Paul Brand showed how to serve others sacrificially and emerge with joy
Philip Yancey

Despite Protestant Growth, Hispanic Catholicism Holds Steady in U.S.
Younger generations leaving for Protestant churches, but immigrants make up difference
Jeff M. Sellers

The Dick Staub Interview: R.C. Sproul's Testimony
The theologian and author of Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow talks about how he met Jesus and why playing the violin is like reading the Bible

Every Fraud Needs a Cure
How perpetrators are more gullible than their victims. An excerpt from Cleaning Up.
By Barry Minkow

Pop Love for a War-Torn World
Atomic Bomb is classic U2, with a prescription for healing the world.
By Scott Calhoun

Praying for Terrorists
Christians seek healing in Beslan.
By Dawn Herzog Jewell

Baptism + Fire
Suffering may build character, but ultimately it's not about us.
By Mark Galli

Wind of Terror, Wind of Glory
We cannot know God's majesty without his terrible holiness.
by Daniel Tomberlin

Christian History Corner: Holy America, Phoebe!
It swept across church lines, transforming America's urban landscape with its rescue missions and storefront churches. Yet today, the holiness movement and its charismatic woman leader are all but forgotten.
By Chris Armstrong

True (and False) Transformation

Christian History Corner: Sacrifice at Sea
The story that wasn't in James Cameron's Titanic.
By Elesha Coffman | posted 8/11/00

Reflections: Classic & Contemporary Excerpts
Classic and contemporary excerpts on beauty, prayer, and loving God

The Two Eliots
To all appearance, a biographer writes, "Eliot was conventional, mild, decorous, yet the hidden character was daring and savage."
Jewel Spears Brooker

Working with Your Emotional Type
Gordon MacDonald

The Lord Our God Is One
Three Christians trace their roots back to the Hebrew Bible-and encounter God's present-day chosen people.
By Steven Gertz

Living by Law, Looking for Intimacy
What Christians can learn from the debates that divide American Jews. This is the first installment in a five-part series.
Lauren F. Winner

CT Classic: A Passionate Passion
Oberammergau's drama not only survives, it thrives.
By Carol R. Thiessen | posted 8/24/00

This Poor Gray Ember of Creation
Marilynne Robinson's Gilead is a novel to savor
Thomas Gardner

Baptism + Fire
Suffering may build character, but ultimately it's not about us.
By Mark Galli

From Ewww ... to Wow!
What a big difference a small spider made.
By Bethany Torode

Growing Edge In Brief
Drew Zhan and Doug Shepherd

Lasting Influence
A Leadership Forum

Small Worldview

Sex Ed. For Adults
God-given longings in a broken world.
By Jenell Williams Paris

Going New School
Emerging business trend can energize ministry.
By Angie Ward

The Leprosy Doctor
Paul Brand showed how to serve others sacrificially and emerge with joy
Philip Yancey

Southern Baptist Leaders Lament Funding Cuts
Texas board's action to reduce funding called 'bad for common missions causes'
By David Porter & Art Toalston

Good Question: A Little Wine for the Soul?
The Bible says drunkenness is a sin (Galatians 5:21). But is occasional social drinking OK for Christians?
By J. Lawrence Burkholde

Amassed Media: The Drink Debate
What Christian leaders past and present have said about social drinking—and where to find them online.
By Ted Olsen

Nightmares and Miracles
A good beginning to the long battle for human rights in North Korea.
A Christianity Today editorial

A Heartless Homeland
Why more North Koreans than ever are fleeing their country.
By Gregg Chenoweth & Tricia Miller

Codependent No More
When Pleasing Others Is Hurting You addresses the need to be needed.
Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

Good Question: The Marriage Mystery
Steve Tracy

The Quakers

Protest and renewal: Reformers before the Reformation

Reflections: Discipleship
Quotations to stir heart and mind
Compiled by Richard A. Kauffman

Weblog: Pope Warns Archbishop of Canterbury of Unity 'Difficulties'
"Meanwhile, Rowan Williams speaks of a clear sense of limits in the Anglican Communion"
Ted Olsen

Coming Attractions
Gay activism is not just found in liberal churches
Christianity Today editorial

CALLING PLAYS THE PLAYERS CAN PLAY
An interview with Kennon Callahan
Marshall Shelley and Mark Galli

Time Bandits
Steven McKinley

Overseeing Staff
Don Cousins

The Tradition Temptation
Why we should still give Scripture pride of place
Roger E. Olson

The Leprosy Doctor
Paul Brand showed how to serve others sacrificially and emerge with joy
Philip Yancey

Holy Johnson and the Ethiopian Church
Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God, said the Psalm. Yet racism in the mission churches clouded that vision. James Johnson (1836-1917) offered a solution.
Ted Olsen

Catholic + American = ?
How a communal body made its peace with liberal democracy.
by Allen Guelzo

Far from Busyness
"Teaching the Dead Bird to Sing wrestles with overwork, discouragement, and doubt"
Cindy Crosby

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times
The moral complexity of the American Revolution.
Mark Noll

Weblog: White House Speechwriter Talks About the Bush Code
Plus: U.S. News phones it in on prayer, Indonesian churches attacked, Mormon author disfellowshipped, and other stories from online sources around the world.
Compiled by Ted Olsen

Temptations in Disaster
A ministry leader in Sri Lanka advises his colleagues on spiritual disciplines during a crisis.
By Ajith Fernando in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Good Grief
The School of Dying Graces says costly lessons lead to priceless wisdom.
Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

Q & A: Bobby Welch
President of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), on his five-week national bus tour, which ended October 7, to jump-start evangelism in the 16.3-million-member denomination. The SBC has experienced a four-year decline in baptisms.
Interview by Stan Guthrie

Wooing the Faithful
President Bush needs evangelicals more than ever, but it's unclear how badly they want him for another four years.
By Tony Carnes

American Idols
Larry Crabb says there's something better than control and success.
The Leadership Interview

Readers' Forum: Get Thou Over It!
By Jody Vickery

Reflections

Salt-and-Pepper Politics
Choosing between candidates whose consciences are too clean.
By Andy Crouch

A Calm Answer
… to a critique of "The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration."
Thomas C. Oden

On Oden's Answer

The Dick Staub Interview: Serving God Without God
The author of Running on Empty discusses his life in ministry with and without a walk with God.

The Leprosy Doctor
Paul Brand showed how to serve others sacrificially and emerge with joy
Philip Yancey

The Back Page: Humility's Many Faces
Everyone I've looked up to has shared one trait.
By Philip Yancey

Good News from the Doctor
A longtime TV physician's tortuous search leads to an informal apologetic.
Reviewed by Jeff M. Sellers

A Home for Nomads
M. Craig Barnes explores spirituality for restless souls
Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

Lasting Influence
A Leadership Forum

Temptations in Disaster
A ministry leader in Sri Lanka advises his colleagues on spiritual disciplines during a crisis.
By Ajith Fernando in Colombo, Sri Lanka

The Good Fight
4 spiritual disciplines to keep fights from scarring your soul.
By Mark Buchanan

Changed by the Unchanging
A new take on the spiritual disciplines calls for a little more action and a lot more love.
Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

Currents that shape your soul

Taking Care of Busyness
How to minister at a healthy pace.
John C. Ortberg

Brown-Out

Discerning God's Will
"Quotations to stir the heart and mind from Van Gogh, Dante, Thomas Merton, and others"
Richard A. Kauffman

Film Forum: Chicago's Razzle-Dazzle Runs Rings Around Other Oscar Nominees
Woe to the Academy, a preview of Daredevil, Fuller Seminary promotes Gods and Generals, and critics respond to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Shanghai Knights, Deliver Us from Eva, and Russian Ark.
Jeffrey Overstreet

Arts: God's Groovemongers, Bowls & Beasts in Sharps & Flats
Latin American musicians Justo Almario and Abraham Laboriel jazz up the gospel.
by Steve Rabey

Growing Edge: Book Reviews

Editorial: Billy Graham's Soulmate
T. W. Wilson exemplified the sacrificial spirit that makes team ministry work.
Christianity Today Editorial

Editorial: Billy Graham's Soulmate
T. W. Wilson exemplified the sacrificial spirit that makes team ministry work.
Christianity Today Editorial

Editorial: We've Got Porn
Online smut is taking its toll on Christians. What is the church doing about it?
A Christianity Today Editorial

5 Moral Fences

Predator, Wanderer, or Lover

The Passion of Mel Gibson
Why evangelicals are cheering a movie with profoundly Catholic sensibilities.
David Neff

Good Question: Is Satan Omnipresent?
If not, how does he tempt many people at one time?—Barry Wolfe, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
By J.I. Packer | posted 9/19/00

Editorial: We've Got Porn
Online smut is taking its toll on Christians. What is the church doing about it?
A Christianity Today Editorial

Christianity Today News Briefs
Booting the Salvation Army, falling giving, and suing for rights.
By CT staff

Weblog: Supreme Court Will Rule on Ten Commandments Displays
Plus: Catholic bishops challenge Kerry as evangelical theologians criticize Bush, 110 Iraqi Christians killed, and other stories from online sources around the world.
Compiled by Ted Olsen

Weblog: The Evangelical Voting Gap
Plus: Bishop responds to pagan priests story, Godless EU constitution signed, and other stories from online sources around the world.
Compiled by Ted Olsen

Cheated by the Affirming Church
Contrary to what some churches teach, it is homosexuality—and not its suppression—that enslaves people like me.
by Anonymous

Plus: Candidate Campolo
'The idea of winning was ridiculous.'
Ted Olsen

A Wretch Like Me

The Religious Reagan
Spiritual influences on the president's life were strong and varied.
By Elizabeth Eisenstadt-Evans

Is a Mustard Seed Enough?
Faith and unbelief
Richard P. Hansen

Sunday's Comin'

Weblog: Republicans Willing to Okay Overseas Abortions
Cedric Pulford
Jody Veenker

El Espiritu Santo
Exploring Latino Pentecostalism.
By Douglas Jacobsen

What Would Buffy Do?
Is it possible to call for help ironically—and really mean it?
by Todd Hertz

Kingdom Prodigy
How an 8-year-old girl from Georgia began a community program that has fed thousands.
By Joe Westbury

Christian History Corner: Zion Haste
Does the passion of a few nineteenth-century Chicagoans still influence American policy in the Middle East?
Elesha Coffman

To the Jews First
Jewish evangelization from the heyday of dispensationalism to the rise of Messianic Judaism.
Lauren F. Winner

Group Effort