What was the entrepreneurial process here? Far from a sim-
ple journey between two points, it involved curves, U-turns, and
potholes—and years of hard work.
With the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of CT’s found-
ing and well aware of its history and development, we thought it
fitting to present a brief case study of Billy’s role in launching and
sustaining Christianity Today.
How did he go about it?
First,he listened. Studies of the creative process emphasize that
new ideas and solutions do not spring out of a vacuum. First
comes the accumulation of facts, impressions, insights, and under-
standing of needs. Filling the mind with these multiple elements
catalyzes breakthrough insights and practical concepts.
During Billy’s travels in the early and mid-1950s, he listened
to hundreds of pastors and other Christian leaders. “Billy doesn’t
just meet with people to impress them or convince them,” said
one colleague. “He listens. Billy listens—because he’s always
learning.” Over and over he sensed a significant vacuum. As he
later said to supporters, he found many evangelical leaders “con-
fused, bewildered, divided, and almost defeated in the face of the
greatest opportunity,” and although he had seen a shift toward
orthodox belief, “extreme liberals” were directing some of the
major denominations and institutions.
Next, he applied his full mental powers. During those years of lis-
tening to young pastors and older mentors, professors and business
executives, he was letting the input and counsel marinate in his
mind. The subconscious is an amazing thing; it is probably no coin-
cidence that Billy awoke in the night with a rush of detailed ideas.
As he wrote in his autobiography: “About two o’clock one
night in 1953, an idea raced through my mind, freshly con-
necting all the things I had seen and pondered about reaching a
broader audience. Trying not to disturb Ruth, I slipped out of
bed and into my study upstairs to write. A couple of hours later,
the concept of a new magazine was complete. I thought its name
should be Christianity Today. I worked out descriptions of the var-
ious departments, editorial policies, even an estimated budget.
Birthing Dreams