Earlier this month, Christianity Today (CT), a global media ministry founded by the late Billy Graham in 1956, announced that veteran journalist and author Marvin Olasky would serve as the magazine’s new editor in chief.
The position was previously held by Dr. Russell Moore.
The announcement was made today by CT interim President Thomas Addington, who praised both Olasky and his predecessor, Russell Moore, as “evangelical statesmen” leading CT’s next chapter.
Olasky served as editor in chief of World magazine from 1994 to 2021. He joined CT 18 months ago as a consultant and then later as an executive editor before being named editor in chief.
In an interview with the New York Times, Olasky shared that he submitted his resignation at World because he was “not interested in the project of a conservative opinion magazine—there are lots out there already and that’s not my vision of World.”
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According to the CT news release, Moore requested to serve as editor at large and columnist in order that he could focus more on “The Russell Moore Show” and his other projects.
Moore described Olasky as someone who is “respected all over the world not only as one of the most accomplished Christian journalists in American history but also for the way he identifies and cultivates the gifts and callings of others.” Moore said, “Many of the most skilled and recognizable Christian journalists right now, on countless platforms all over the country, were trained by Marvin Olasky.”
“I have been praying for a year and a half for God to send us a ‘Marvin Olasky type’ to serve with us so that I could focus my attention fully on writing, audio and video content, and speaking,” Moore continued. “I remember the moment when I realized it might just be that the ‘Marvin Olasky type’ God was sending us was, well, Marvin Olasky. That seemed almost too perfect to be real.”
Olasky expressed gratitude for the opportunity to build on Christianity Today’s founding vision, launched by Billy Graham and Carl F. H. Henry in 1956.
Olasky said that he is thankful to be able to “work with Russell Moore and my other colleagues and to follow in the footsteps of Carl F. H. Henry, CT’s first editor in chief when he and Billy Graham started the magazine in 1956.”
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“We’re celebrating next year its 70th anniversary of attempting to apply biblical thinking to every area of life,” said Olasky. “We’re now a big tent with global outreach but still faithful to God and not to any political party or movement.”
