Texas

As New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin continues making sports headlines across the country and around the world, his Christian faith is also drawing praise from one of America's biggest megachurch pastors.

Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, which draws 50,000 worshipers a week, remarked in an interview with Times Union that he is a big fan of both Lin and Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow – even though he admits the athletes express their faith in notably different ways.

"He's humble. He's passionate. He's an underdog," Osteen said of Lin, the first-ever Chinese-American to make such a stir in the NBA. "I like what he stands for." more >>

Sexperiment author and Fellowship Church pastor Ed Young, who is challenging married couples at his church to have sex for seven straight days, believes that sexual deprivation and not satisfying a spouse within the lovemaking department are sinful.

"I think one day we will be held accountable regarding how we satisfied our spouse's sexually," Young told The Christian Post in an interview Friday.

"I would, in fact, off of Romans 12:1 say that sex is even an act of worship because Romans 12 said we can present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is a reasonable act of worship." more >>

Joel Osteen, senior pastor of America's fastest growing megachurch, has helped dedicate a new cathedral affiliated with Elevate Life Church, telling those in attendance that the new worship center "is a place of destiny."

The Cathedral of Frisco, situated on 27 acres of land in eastern Denton County, extends nearly 100,000 square feet and stretches about 10 stories high. The Gothic-inspired church also sports state-of-the-art technology that allows stadium-style seating for up to 3,000 people. 

Osteen told the Elevate life congregation Sunday to expect great things and to be faithful churchgoers, WFAA-TV reported. more >>

Ed Young, founding and senior pastor of Fellowship Church, has drawn international attention for his new Sexperiment series after staging a 24-hour bed-in with his wife atop his church. Some Christians even called the attempt to get people talking about sex "gimmicky." But according to the evangelical megachurch pastor, his preaching style is not "gimmicky" but "God-driven."

In an interview with The Christian Post, Young said the bed-in event to promote Sexperiment: 7 Days to Lasting Intimacy with Your Spouse and his other out-of-the-box approaches to preaching, including driving a Ferrari on his church stage last year, were inspired by Jesus.

"We are simply doing what Jesus did. He was a multisensory communicator. He uses words and pictures to tell stories like none other. That's what we're doing. It's as simple as that. Our philosophy is actually a couple of thousand years old. We are just doing what he did," Young told CP. more >>

Megachurch pastor Ed Young will be hosting the fast-approaching C3 Conference on Feb. 15 at his Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas. The conference will feature prominent Christian leaders speaking on the importance of creative inspiration in church culture.

The term "C3" stands for Creative Church Culture, and seeks to inspire those in attendance on how they can better connect the Scriptures to the modern world.

The official website describes the conference as an "experience that combines inspirational messages, incredible worship and insightful teachings that will amp up your creativity and passion." more >>

Texas began enforcing a new law mandating abortion providers show or verbally detail to women seeking the procedure an ultrasound image of the unborn baby.

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks allowed the law to be enacted after failing to block parts of the statue. He was forced to follow the federal appellate court's ruling in January that overturned his decision.

Many pro-life organizations, including Texas Alliance for Life, have supported the ruling. more >>