Although it's technically still spring, the "summer" movie season has begun, during which millions of us will spend billions of dollars to catch the latest wave of blockbusters.

The various plots will send us home thinking about the world as it was, or is, or might be, but we will also be absorbing, perhaps without noticing, other messages related to the characters on the screen and the people who play them.

For example: Of all the characters that spoke at least one word in the 100 most popular movies of 2012, what percentage would you guess were female characters? more >>

Soon-to-be-college graduates worried about starting a career in a tough economic climate can find encouragement from how President Ronald Reagan overcame many obstacles when he graduated college in 1932 at the height of the Great Depression when the unemployment rate was 24 percent.

Lessons on leadership and Reagan's life told by best-selling author and speaker Margot Morrell in Reagan's Journey, highlights the fact that, "even storied careers have ups and downs. Ronald Reagan's was no exception. Throughout his career, Reagan used timeless strategies to coach himself through economic slumps, industry upheavals, and personal challenges. With determination and effort, he climbed to the top of five professions – sportscaster, Hollywood star, union leader, public speaker, and statesman."

How did he do it? Morrell wondered. Over time she found that Reagan's success started when he identified his own talents and strengths. "Through a conversation with his mentor, he focused in on who he wanted to be and who he was," she explains. His mentor, Sid Altschuler, a successful Jewish businessman from Kansas City, Mo., asked Reagan a life-transforming, and quite simple question – "What would you like to do?" His question and attention opened up a new way of thinking for Reagan, who spent a "couple of days and sleepless nights" figuring out his answer. He narrowed down his response to three areas. He discovered that he wanted to "entertain people," he was interested in sports, and he loved politics. He found that these were his God-given strengths and interests. more >>

Editor's Note: This is the second part of a four-part series based on the new book, "Aliens in the Promised Land: Why Minority Leadership Is Overlooked in White Christian Churches and Institutions." The Christian Post series looks at racism and multi-ethnicity in the church from the perspective of African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American Christian leaders. Part One, an interview with the editor of the book, Anthony Bradley, can be read by clicking here.

Amos Yong is an American Pentecostal theologian who was born in Malaysia. He is one of nine evangelical theologians, including Bradley, an associate professor of theology and ethics at The King's College, who write about their personal experiences as minorities interacting with white evangelical institutions in the book, Aliens in the Promised Land: Why Minority Leadership Is Overlooked in White Christian Churches and Institutions. Yong is Dean of the Divinity School and the Rodman Williams Professor of Theology at Regent University.

In the book's third chapter titled, "Race, Racialization, and Asian-American Leaders in Post-Racist Evangelicalism," Yong writes that "the North American evangelical world has taken many important steps toward overcoming the racist history of slavery in this country, and my own story, to be told in this chapter, reflects how I and other Asian-Americans have been beneficiaries of such repentant attitudes and even practices." more >>

A Wisconsin church has built a 60-foot high cross on its property in an effort to make its surrounding community more "Christ-conscious," and perhaps help win the culture war, says the church's pastor.

"If the enemies of the cross force a cross to be removed from the public park, then maybe a church should put up a 60' or 100' cross on their property," Michael Jackson, lead pastor of New Life Assembly of God in Janesville, told The Christian Post. He said a big part of his church's decision to build the cross was the "culture war" against religious symbols on public property in America.

"Maybe several churches should go together and erect a large cross on some agreed on-church site. This is not a war that we sought, but it is a war that the church can and will win," Jackson said. more >>

Following on the heels of Christian rapper Shai Linne taking prosperity preachers to task, Atlanta radio personality Darlene McCoy has released a parody of Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," highlighting the questionable behavior of pastors who fleece their flocks. But McCoy says her video is more for laughs and is in no way intended as a personal attack on anyone.

Linne, who raised quite a few brows and garnered praise from well-known Christian minister John Piper, took a serious look at the prosperity or health and wealth teaching of many pastors, and dropped names like Paula White, Benny Hinn and Joel Osteen in his "Fal$e Teacher$" song. White's son, however, didn't appreciate Linne's call-out of his mother and issued a statement – which Linne addressed, re-emphasizing the reasons why he believes that what White and other prosperity preachers teach is unbiblical.

"It is an underlying problem that does need to be addressed," McCoy told CP. "At the end of the day, when we do have pastors that are that way, their congregation members are mesmerized and brainwashed into thinking all is well." more >>

A day does not pass when I do not miss my beloved friend, Chuck Colson. I confess that I still have not come to terms with his death. I sometimes find myself reaching for the telephone to consult him on a question or to share a thought or idea that has occurred to me. Then I remember that he is gone from us – now more than a year ago.

It was my privilege to collaborate with Chuck on many projects.The two most important ones were the Manhattan Declaration and the "Doing The Right Thing" video series. Chuck, himself, regarded these initiatives as his "legacy projects." Both were his ideas. He leaves both as gifts to the Christian community, to which he dedicated his life in service, and to the Nation he loved. Both initiatives express and concretely embody a principle that was central to Chuck's understanding of the Christian faith and of his personal vocation as a Christian leader, namely, the harmony of faith and reason.

On Chuck's understanding, Christian conviction is anything but a matter of "blind faith." A sound and mature faith is supported by reason and reasoning, and is always ready "to give a reason for the hope that is within you" (1 Peter 3:15). Such a faith understands that truth has nothing to fear from rigorous thought and inquiry. Reason, far from being a threat to faith, fortifies conviction and upholds the integrity of the teachings of Christ and his Church on matters of faith and morals. more >>