Christianity Today

Christianity Today magazine is an evangelical Christian periodical founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. The Washington Post calls Christianity Today, "evangelicalism's flagship magazine".[3] The New York Times describes it as a "mainstream evangelical magazine".[4]

Not to be confused with Christian Today.
Christianity Today
Cover of the April 2010 issue
EditorDaniel M. Harrell[1]
Former editorsCarl F. H. Henry, David Neff, Terry C. Muck, George K. Brushaber, Mark Galli
FrequencyMonthly
Circulation130,000[2]
FounderBilly Graham
First issueOctober 1956 (1956-October)
CompanyChristianity Today International
CountryUnited States
Based inCarol Stream, Illinois
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.christianitytoday.com
ISSN0009-5753

Christianity Today magazine has a print circulation of approximately 130,000, of which approximately 36,000 is free, and readership of 260,000,[2] as well as a website at ChristianityToday.com. The founder, Billy Graham, stated that he wanted to "plant the evangelical flag in the middle of the road, taking the conservative theological position but a definite liberal approach to social problems".[5]

Graham began the magazine as counterpoint to The Christian Century, the predominant independent periodical of mainline Protestantism, and as a way to bring the evangelical Christian community together.[5][6]

Theologically and politically, the magazine has been described by President Trump as "far-left" but most critics label it as a mainstream, intellectual, centrist evangelical publication for leaders.[7]

History

The first issue of Christianity Today was mailed October 15, 1956 and the opening editorial, Why 'Christianity Today'?,[8] stated "Christianity Today has its origin in a deep-felt desire to express historical Christianity to the present generation. Neglected, slighted, misrepresented—evangelical Christianity needs a clear voice, to speak with conviction and love, and to state its true position and its relevance to the world crisis. A generation has grown up unaware of the basic truths of the Christian faith taught in the Scriptures and expressed in the creeds of the historic evangelical churches."

Its first editor was Carl F. H. Henry. Notable contributors in its first two decades included F. F. Bruce, Edward John Carnell, Frank Gaebelein, Walter Martin, John Warwick Montgomery, and Harold Lindsell. Lindsell succeeded Henry as editor and during his editorial administration much attention centered on debates about biblical inerrancy. Later editorial leadership came from Kenneth Kantzer, Terry Muck, and David Neff. The most recent editor in chief was Mark Galli, who retired on January 3, 2020. His replacement as editor in chief is Daniel M. Harrell.[1] Andy Olsen is managing editor of the print edition and Andrea Palpant Dilley is managing editor of online journalism. The publication now includes print and online versions and various ancillary products. Print and online contents include feature stories, news ranging from cultural issues from a Christian viewpoint to the global church, opinion, reviews, and investigative reporting.

In Billy Graham's 1997 autobiography, Just As I Am, he writes of his vision, idea, and history with Christianity Today [9] and his early meeting with oil company executive, John Howard Pew, to establish the publication.[10]

Editorials on impeachments of U.S. presidents

During federal governmental impeachment inquiries since the founding of Christianity Today, each contemporaneous editor of the publication has expressed a viewpoint of the civic situation in an editorial.

On June 7, 1974, in an editorial entitled, "Should Nixon Resign?", published during the impeachment hearings of President Richard Nixon, Christianity Today did not call for his resignation, instead it stated "that the constitutional process should be followed, and followed with dispatch. Either Richard Nixon should be removed from office by the Senate or he should be acquitted. If he is acquitted, the nation will have to wait out the term of a President whose ability to function has been seriously eroded."[11]

On October 5, 1998, regarding the imminent Impeachment of President Bill Clinton, Christianity Today stated in an editorial that "Unsavory dealings and immoral acts by the President and those close to him have rendered this administration morally unable to lead."[12]

On December 19, 2019, a day after the U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress,[13][14] Christianity Today published an editorial by Editor in Chief Mark Galli, entitled "Trump Should Be Removed from Office."[14][15] It asserted among other criticisms that he "attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president's political opponents. That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral."[14]

Other magazines published by Christianity Today

Harold Myra, who became president and chief executive of the magazine in 1975, believed that a "family" of magazines would disperse overhead expenses and give more stability to the organization.[16] At the same time, he rejected expansion simply for expansion's sake, writing: "our main concern was to make Christianity Today, the flagship publication, fully effective in three basic areas: editorial, circulation, advertising. Anything which would drain off energies from the prime task was unthinkable."[17] Christianity Today founded or acquired periodicals during the 1980s and 1990s, beginning with Leadership, a quarterly journal for clergy, in 1980. In 2005, Christianity Today International published 12 magazines,[18] but following the financial downturn of 2008 it was forced to shutter several publications.[19] By 2017 that had further diminished to three.[20]

Leadership Journal (1980–2016)

The first "sister publication" added to the Christianity Today publishing group was Leadership: A Practical Journal for Church Leaders, launched in 1980. The subtitle clearly defined the journal's mission: it was a quarterly publication, aimed primarily at clergy and focusing on the practical concerns of ministry and church leadership. The first issue of Leadership sold out its initial press run of 50,000 copies and the publication was in the black after a single issue.[21] The journal continued in print for 36 years. After volume 37, issue 1 (winter 2016), Christianity Today discontinued the print publication, replacing it with expanded content in Christianity Today for pastors and church leaders and occasional print supplements, as well as a new website, CTPastors.com.[22]

Campus Life/Ignite Your Faith (1982–2009)
Main article: Ignite Your Faith

In 1982, Christianity Today purchased the magazine Campus Life, aimed at a high school audience, from its parent organization, Youth For Christ. The name of the magazine was changed to Ignite Your Faith in 2006. It ceased publication in 2009.

Partnership/Marriage Partnership (1984–2009)

Partnership was launched in 1984[23] as a magazine for wives of clergy.[16] In 1987[23] it was renamed Marriage Partnership and expanded its focus to marriage in general, not just clergy marriages. The magazine ceased publication in 2009.

Today's Christian Woman (1985–2009)

Today's Christian Woman was founded in 1978 and acquired by Christianity Today from the Fleming H. Revell Co. in 1985.[24] It discontinued print publication in 2009 and was replaced with a "digizine" entitled Kyria, which was online only, but still required a paid subscription to access, although at a lower price than the print magazine.[25] In 2012 the name of the digital publication was changed back to Today's Christian Woman, and in 2016 it stopped being issued as a regularly scheduled digital periodical.[26]

Christian History (1989–2008)
Main article: Christian History

Christian History was a journal of the history of Christianity, first issued in January 1982 by the Christian History Institute. Each issue had multiple articles covering a single theme. Initially published annually, it became a quarterly publication. Christianity Today took over ownership of the magazine beginning with issue 22 in 1989. It was discontinued after the publication of issue 99 in 2008. In 2011 the Christian History Institute resumed quarterly publication of the magazine. Christian History archives still may be found on ChristianityToday.com under its special section.[27]

Christian Reader/Today's Christian (1992–2008)

Christian Reader, a digest magazine in the vein of Reader's Digest, was founded in 1963 by the founder of Tyndale House Publishers, Ken Taylor.[28] Christianity Today purchased the magazine in 1992.[23] The name was changed to Today's Christian in 2004.[29] In 2008, Christianity Today sold the magazine to the ministry Significant Living.[30]

Books & Culture (1995–2016)
Main article: Books & Culture

Books & Culture was a bimonthly book review and intellectual journal modeled after the New York Review of Books and The New York Times Book Review and was published by Christianity Today International from 1995 to 2016.[31] At the end of its publication life in 2016, the magazine's circulation was 11,000 and its readership was 20,000.[32] It was edited by John Wilson, and notable contributors included Mark Noll, Lauren Winner, Alan Jacobs, Jean Bethke Elshtain, and Miroslav Volf.

Virtue (1998–2000)

Virtue, a magazine for Christian women, was founded in 1978.[33] Christianity Today purchased the publication from Cook Communications Ministries in 1998 after that publisher abruptly closed the magazine.[34] Christianity Today revived the magazine and continued publishing it for two more years before discontinuing publication following the December/January 2000 issue.[33]

Christian Parenting Today (1998–2005)

Christian Parenting Today (originally entitled Christian Parenting) was founded in 1989.[35] Christianity Today purchased the magazine from Cook Communications Ministries in 1998 in the same deal in which it acquired Virtue.[34] It ceased publication in 2005.[35] It was published until 2005.

Men of Integrity (1998–2017)

Men of Integrity was a bi-monthly magazine for Christian men published by Christianity Today. It was created in 1998, in partnership with the evangelical men's organization Promise Keepers.[34] It ceased publication with the November–December 2017 issue.

International editions (2007–present)

A Portuguese-language edition, Christianity Today Brazil, was launched in October/November 2007.[36] A Korean-language edition, Christianity Today Korea, was launched in June 2008.[37] Two international editions of Leadership Journal were launched in 2012: an African edition in September (English), and a Portuguese edition in October.

Online presence

The magazine's mission statement is to "provide evangelical thought leaders a sense of community, coherence, and direction through thoughtful, biblical commentary on issues and through careful, caring reporting of the news." Its presence on the Internet began in October 1994 when it became one of the top ten content providers on all of AOL. Then, in 1996, their website was launched. Originally, it was named ChristianityOnline.com before becoming ChristianityToday.com. Today ChristianityToday.com serves as the web home for Christianity Today magazine, which now has distinct sections for Local Church Pastors,[38] Reporting, [39] Women,[40] History,[27] and Spanish[41] readers.

At the ministry's web home, ChristianityToday.org, all other brands for Christian thought leaders and church leaders are featured, including publications such as the intellectual Christian review, Books & Culture, and the website for pastors and church leaders, CT Pastors. Additional web resources include Men of Integrity and Preaching Today. Many of the brands published online under the Christianity Today banner are the online legacies of former print publications.

Together, all Christianity Today brands reach more than 2.5 million people every month when print and digital views are combined, plus more than 5 million pageviews per month on the Internet.[42] The ministry offers access, both premium and free, to more than 100,000 articles and other content on their various websites. They operate several stand-alone websites from ChristianityToday including SmallGroups.com, Preaching Today, Church Law & Tax and many other sites[43]

References
  1. Olsen, Ted (October 7, 2019). "Mark Galli Announces Retirement as Editor in Chief of Christianity Today". Christianity Today. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  2. "Christianity Today Advertising – Connecting You with Christian Audiences". christianitytodayads.com. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  3. Lupfer, Jacob (June 10, 2015). "Why a 'yes' to gays is often a 'no' to evangelicalism". The Washington Post. RNS. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  4. Leland, John (December 26, 2005). "New Cultural Approach for Conservative Christians: Reviews, Not Protests". The New York Times. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  5. Smith, Christian; Emerson, Michael (1998). American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving. University of Chicago Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0226764191.
  6. "About Christianity Today". Christianity Today.
  7. Pesce, Nicole Lyn. "Trump lashes back at 'far left' Christianity Today — and says he'll stop reading 'ET'". MarketWatch. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  8. "Why 'Christianity Today'?". Christianity Today.
  9. "Envisioning 'Christianity Today'". Christianity Today.
  10. Graham, Billy (1997). Just as I am: the autobiography of Billy Graham. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan. p. 88. ISBN 978-0060633875.
  11. "Should Nixon Resign?". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  12. "The Prodigal Who Didn't Come Home". Christianity Today. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  13. Fandos, Nicholas; Shear, Michael D. (December 18, 2019). "Trump Impeached for Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress" – via NYTimes.com.
  14. Galli, Mark (December 19, 2019). "Trump Should Be Removed from Office". Christianity Today. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  15. Ho, Vivian (December 19, 2019). "Evangelical magazine Christianity Today calls for Trump's removal after impeachment". The Guardian. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  16. Board, Stephen (1990). "Moving the World with Magazines: A Survey of Evangelical Periodicals". In Quentin J. Schultze (ed.). American Evangelicals and the Mass Media: Perspectives on the Relationship Between American Evangelicals and the Mass Media. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Publishing Company. pp. 119–142. ISBN 978-0-310-27261-8.
  17. Myra, Harold L. (Winter 1980). "A Message from the Publisher". Leadership. 1:1: 138.
  18. "Campus Life magazine to change name in January". Spero News. November 14, 2005.
  19. "Christianity Today International closes four publications". Good News Florida. June 18, 2009. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  20. "CT Advertising: Print Media". CT Advertising. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  21. Myra, Harold L. (Spring 1980). "A Message from the Publisher". Leadership. 1:2: 138.
  22. Shelley, Marshall (Winter 2016). "The Next Life of Leadership". Leadership Journal. 37: 8.
  23. "Records of Christianity Today International – Collection 8 (Archival Finding Aid)". Billy Graham Center Archives. March 2, 2010.
  24. Paddon, Anna R. (1995). "Today's Christian Woman". In Kathleen L. Endres; Therese L. Lueck (eds.). Women's Periodicals in the United States: Consumer Magazines. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-28631-5.
  25. "Have the Days of Christian Media Come and Gone?". Newsweek. June 3, 2009.
  26. Trujillo, Kelli B. (May 25, 2016). "The Next Chapter for TCW". Today's Christian Woman.
  27. "Christian History – Learn the History of Christianity & the Church". christianitytoday.com. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  28. Gilreath, Edward (November–December 2003). "Turning 40". Christian Reader: 5.
  29. Gilbreath, Edward (January–February 2004). "What's in a Name?". Christian Reader: 6.
  30. "Significant Living Acquires 'Today's Christian' Magazine". Christian Newswire. October 16, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  31. "About B&C". Booksandculture.com. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  32. "BooksAndCulture.com – Christianity Today Advertising". christianitytodayads.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  33. "Virtue Folds". Christianity Today. October 25, 1999. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  34. "Two Cook Magazines Join CTi". Christianity Today. 42 (6): 15. May 18, 1998.
  35. "Christian Periodical Index (CPI) – All Titles". cpi.acl.org. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  36. "ChristianityToday.com". Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  37. "ChristianityToday.com". Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  38. "The Local Church". christianitytoday.com. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  39. "Gleanings". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  40. "CT Women". christianitytoday.com. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  41. "En Español". christianitytoday.com. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  42. "ChristianityToday.org". Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  43. "ChristianityToday.org". ChristianityToday.org. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  • Marsden, George M., Reforming Fundamentalism, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1987.
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