Television show producer and media consultant Phil Cooke recently shared that he once partnered with evangelist Joel Osteen as producers of Christian TV programming, including helping with Osteen's own broadcasts that now reach 10 million U.S. households each week.

Cooke and Osteen became close friends as well as colleagues when they worked on Pastor John Osteen's (Joel's father) prime-time TV specials. Osteen was recently interviewed by Cooke about the practical lessons he learned behind the camera that have contributed to his enormous influence in front of the camera. The interview can be read at MinistryToday. 

The Christian Post interviewed Cooke, who is the CEO of Cooke Pictures in Hollywood, via email about Osteen and today's TV production for evangelists. more >>

A cold-case homicide detective, once a devout atheist, is one of several Christian apologists scheduled to speak and participate in panel discussions at Stand To Reason's 20th Anniversary Conference at Biola University in La Mirada, Calif., this coming weekend.

J. Warner Wallace told The Christian Post that he plans to talk about how he has used his investigative experience to prove that parts of the New Testament that have been questioned by atheists with Bible knowledge can be authenticated as truth.

Wallace said that he once had the same objections that atheists such as Bart D. Ehrman have, "this idea that there are so many changes in the New Testament, so many variations that are covered in various documents." more >>

A nonpartisan organization that advocates for well-enforced decency standards for entertainment media is holding a week for awareness of possible changes in television and radio decency standards.

The Parents Television Council has announced that this week is "#NoIndecencyFCC Week," which is part of their effort to convince the Federal Communications Commission to keep their current decency standards.

Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council, told The Christian Post that "#NoIndecencyFCC Week" is based on the belief that the FCC's proposal on changing its decency standards is "extremely troublesome." more >>

Evangelist Greg Laurie, who is scheduled to lead the nation in prayer at events hosted by government officials in Washington D.C. during the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, chose not to respond to gay activists who demanded that he be disinvited because he holds a biblical view that homosexuality is a sin. Instead, Laurie asked for prayer Monday in a post to his blog.

"I would appreciate your prayers as I pray for our nation. We all need to take the very real challenges facing our nation seriously," Laurie wrote. "America need God's help. We cannot back away from what He says in Scripture. The enemy will always attack when we seek to do God's work, so let's keep praying!"

He then listed the NDOP website: http://nationaldayofprayer.org. more >>

Homosexual activists are labeling evangelist Greg Laurie as the "anti-gay California pastor" and are asking government officials to rescind Laurie's invitation to lead National Day of Prayer-related events in Washington, D.C. as the event's honorary chairman.

The Human Rights Campaign, the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) advocacy group in America, contends that Laurie has a history of speaking out against LGBT Americans. And OutServe-SLDN, an association of actively serving LGBT military personnel, is calling on the Pentagon to remove the pastor from the agenda, citing "his blatantly anti-LGBT message."

"Pastor Laurie's message is out of step with what the majority of people of faith across this country believe," said Dr. Sharon Groves, director of HRC's Religion & Faith Program. "In greater numbers than ever before, people of faith are feeling compelled to speak up and organize for equality – because of their faith." more >>

Pastor Rick Warren cancelled plans to be a part of a live webcast interview discussing the subject of grief after his son's suicide with LifeWay Research President Ed Stetzer during a major church planting conference in Orlando on Tuesday.

Warren made the cancellation announcement via Twitter: "#Exponential13 Sorry I'm unable to have my heart-to-heart with you pastors I love today but the media heard so I pulled out."

Warren, who has not made a public appearance since his son's death on April 5, was scheduled to be interviewed by Stetzer on his webshow, "The Exchange," hosted at the Exponential 2013 conference on Tuesday, The Christian Post learned from LifeWay Research Monday. more >>