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This edition is sponsored by ChurchSalary |
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As a child, Ann Harikeerthan spent 16 years at the rural hospital in India where her mother worked as a doctor. “I didn’t always notice the men and women who also lived on the campus grounds,” she writes. “Sometimes, these uncles and aunties would stop to chat with us, and I would gaze curiously at their flat noses, their missing fingers, and the crutches and wheelchairs they used to get around.” |
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Outside the hospital, people with leprosy were dressed in tatters, holding out aluminum bowls and begging for coins. No one would give them work. But inside its sphere of care, they wore real clothes and were able to make a living. |
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“Healing is an inherently communal act,” says Harikeerthan. As the actions of Jesus himself reflect, “touching a person whom society has deemed untouchable is one of the clearest ways of saying, ‘I accept you for who you are.’” |
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Subscribe to CT and get access to a live, member-exclusive conversation and Q&A with Russell Moore and Lecrae on September 24 at 3:30 p.m. ET. Join in as they explore how evangelicalism has shifted over the past five years and what a faithful path forward could look like. Become a member by 9/22 with code LECRAE to receive 25 percent off and event access. Subscribe now. |
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Jonathan Haidt is an atheist. He’s also one of CT podcast listeners’ favorite frequent guests and the world’s foremost thinker on issues Christians face every day: attention, anxiety, and animosity. |
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This week, Haidt joins Russell Moore to talk through his latest observations about tech’s impacts on children and adults alike. |
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“I’m guessing that if a bold, creative pastor were to explain the reasons for a [phone-free service] and to say ‘Here’s what we’ve been losing, and here’s what we’re gonna try, and here’s why we’re gonna do it” … don’t accept that people are going to hate it.” | Listen here. |
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Staffing is the biggest investment your church makes—and biggest challenge. Balancing financial wisdom today with long-term church health takes more than guesswork. That’s where ChurchSalary’s Staff and Giving Analyzer comes in. |
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This free tool helps you discover if your church's staffing and spending is truly healthy, providing data-driven insights about your church metrics—and how they stack up against similar churches. The analyzer is powered by four cornerstone metrics: |
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• Full Time Employee Staff Size |
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While most tools give static numbers or general benchmarks, the Analyzer lets you interactively adjust inputs—and instantly see how those changes might impact your church’s health. Ready to find out if your church’s staffing and spending is on a healthy trajectory? Get free access to ChurchSalary’s Staff and Giving Analyzer today. |
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Daniel Silliman, senior news editor: I’m a little obsessed with this story about a painting. |
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Isabel Ong, Asia editor, ideas: I’ve been listening to CT’s Workday Songs Spotify playlist, with tracks in French, Korean, Indonesian, Mandarin, and Ukrainian from our translators. |
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Bonnie Kristian, editorial director, books and ideas: Now that it’s fall, I recommend decaf earl grey tea with maple syrup, half and half, and maybe a little bourbon. |
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Sara Kyoungah White, editor, print: I always make my husband, the baker/confectioner in our family, make these apple cider caramels for me in the fall. |
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The 31-year-old conservative activist and commentator was targeted while speaking to students in Utah.
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Legal scholars and pastors consider the president’s call for the formation of prayer groups for the nation.
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Criticizing federal overreach while remaining silent about local failures does not serve the cause of justice.
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Max Bard of Pray.com details an audience-driven approach to AI-generated videos of the Bible, styled like a video game and heavy on thrills.
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The Christian story shows us that grace often comes from where we least expect. In this issue, we look at the corners of God’s kingdom and chronicle in often-overlooked people, places, and things the possibility of God’s redemptive work. We introduce the Compassion Awards, which report on seven nonprofits doing good work in their communities. We look at the spirituality underneath gambling, the ways contemporary Christian music was instrumental in one historian’s conversion, and the steady witness of what may be Wendell Berry’s last novel. All these pieces remind us that there is no person or place too small for God’s gracious and cataclysmic reversal. |
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THE WEEKEND FROM CHRISTIANITY TODAY |
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