''Cornerstone'' was a newspaper and later a magazine published by

Jesus People USA Jesus People USA (JPUSA) pronounced: ǰ-pu-sa is a Christian intentional community in Uptown, on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1972, coming out of Jesus People Milwaukee during the Jesus movement, it is one of the largest cont ...

, focusing on topics of

evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

faith and engagement with politics and culture. ''Cornerstone'' began as an 8-page black-and-white newspaper in 1971, printed at various locations by the itinerant Jesus People community. In 1973, its publication address settled permanently in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois. ''Cornerstone'' quickly grew throughout the United States (and other countries) in artistic style, content, page count and circulation. The newspaper carried nearly a thousand addresses of "bulk distributors", providing an early networking vehicle for members of the

Jesus movement The Jesus movement was an evangelical Christian movement which began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, and Central America, before it subsided in the l ...

and the Christian counterculture. The newspaper regularly focused on

Jesus music Jesus music, known as gospel beat music in the United Kingdom, is a style of Christian music that originated on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This musical genre developed in parallel to the Jesus movemen ...

and musicians. It covered Christian evidence, racism, the drug culture,

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

testimonies and stories from the Jesus People

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

which published it. Subtitled "The National Jesus Paper", ''Cornerstone'' peaked in circulation at 250,000 copies by 1979, the year it changed to magazine format. Though its press run dropped by half with the change in format, its influence and literary variety matured. Regular features were poetry, short fiction, Christian visual and performing arts, news on cults and persecuted Christians, investigative reporting, and full-color comics. The ''Cornerstone'' logo on the cover changed each issue of its existence. The magazine received both criticism and praise for its

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

of Lauren Stratford, John Todd and

Mike Warnke Michael Alfred Warnke (born November 19, 1946) is an American Christian evangelist and comedian who was exposed in 1992 for inventing stories of his past as a Satanist. Before being debunked by the Christian magazine ''Cornerstone'', he was ...

, who had made names for themselves with stories of first-hand involvement in

Satanism Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few hi ...

and

Satanic ritual abuse The Satanic panic is a moral panic consisting of over 12,000 unsubstantiated cases of Satanic ritual abuse (SRA, sometimes known as ritual abuse, ritualistic abuse, organized abuse, or sadistic ritual abuse) starting in the United States in th ...

(which turned out to be untrue). ''Cornerstone'' magazine also spawned the

Cornerstone Festival Cornerstone Festival was a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around July 4 near Bushnell, Illinois, drawing some 20,000 attendees each year. In a given year, many artists that played at Cornerstone also playe ...

. In 2003, ''Cornerstone'' ceased publication after publishing 124 issues over thirty-two years.

References

External links

Jesus People USA
{{Authority control Christian magazines Magazines established in 1971 Magazines disestablished in 2003 Monthly magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines published in Chicago

See also

References

External links