Eugene Cho, lead pastor of Quest Church in Seattle and co-founder of international anti-poverty movement One Day's Wages, takes his message of generosity and justice to Willow Creek Community Church's Celebration of Hope 2013 this weekend. Pastor Cho shared with The Christian Post his message for the Illinois megachurch, his hopes for ODW and why he believes Christians are compelled by their faith to practice both righteousness and justice.

Cho and his wife, Minhee, and their children founded One Day's Wages over three years ago after the Washington pastor came back convicted from witnessing the challenges faced by impoverished communities in Burma. They felt a need to act and sought God for guidance. The response Cho and his family received, however, was not at all what they were expecting. But they obeyed, took up the challenge and sacrificed a year of their family income to launch a movement that has since inspired people and organizations all over the world to join the fight to eradicate extreme global poverty. One Day's Wages and its partners have managed to award grants that are helping to provide necessities like electricity to the maternity ward at a South Sudan hospital, HIV treatment for children in Togo and nutritional support and education for malnourished children and expectant mothers living in rural Guatemala.

Pastor Cho told CP that he hopes his message inspires two things this weekend among those who gather to hear him and others speak at Willow Creek Community Church. more >>

Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church tells Esquire magazine in its newest issue how he overcame extreme nervousness and finally found the confidence to speak before thousands. The evangelical Christian leader of America's largest church also reveals the biggest mistake he has made as a preacher, which he says happened early in his career.

Talking with Rachel Richardson for the Esquire essay on public speaking, or "How to Own the Room," the megachurch pastor said that before taking over full-time for his father in the pulpit, he used to be a nervous wreck just making church announcements.

"I was so nervous and I so dreaded doing it, I had to hold on to the podium because I felt like my hands would shake," Osteen told Richardson. "My first thought was 'Why are all these people staring at me?'" more >>

Helping Christian converts develop into spiritually mature disciples of Jesus takes more than a church program, said Jo Saxton Wednesday at the 2013 Exponential conference in Orlando, Fla. Making disciples who make disciples requires life-changing sacrifices and for those involved to "have a life worth imitating," said the discipleship expert.

Saxton, speaking before thousands on how Christians can transition from teaching about being a disciple of Jesus to modeling how a follower of Christ actually lives, is a director of 3DM, an organization that trains churches and Christian leaders "to do discipleship and mission in an increasingly post-Christian world," according to the movement's website.

"Are we like the (guardian) or will we be like the parent?" the U.K. native asked her audience, referencing Paul's first letter to the Corinthian faith community in which the apostle distinguishes between being a "paidagogos," a guardian or nanny, and being a parent. more >>

Francis Chan bared some of his struggles with doubt and being a model disciple of Jesus Christ Tuesday during the opening session of the 2013 Exponential Conference attended by thousands in Orlando, Fla.

Chan spoke before 5,300 in-person attendees at First Baptist Church of Orlando, the chosen conference venue, and another 20,000 viewing the event live via the Internet. Chan was the second minister to take the stage to address the need for Christian discipleship, or "discipleshift," the theme chosen for this year's Exponential gathering.

However, instead of delving into his prepared remarks on discipleship, a subject he has been on a mission to revive in churches and faith communities since leaving his California church, the evangelical Christian minister confessed that he felt convicted by the message of the previous speaker, Pastor Jim Putman, on the issue of ministers letting the opinion of others sway their messages and define their work. more >>

Support for immigration reform increases dramatically among white evangelical Christians if the polling question mentions that specific requirements must be met for current unauthorized immigrants to qualify for citizenship. This was the finding of new research conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute and The Brookings Institution.

As The Christian Post previously reported using PRRI's poll, white evangelical Christians have the lowest level of support for immigration reform of any major religious and race or ethnic group. Last week, PRRI released the results of an experimental study that was included in the same survey.

For the experiment, PRRI divided part of their sample into three different groups. For each group, they asked respondents in three different ways if they supported a path to citizenship. more >>

While I'm often accused of finding Prolife messages behind every tree, it can't be denied that 42 brings an inherent message of courage, compassion and composure that prevailed in the lives of Jackie and Rae Robinson as well as Dodgers Manager Branch Rickey. These same principles are needed so much in the ongoing heated moral debates of our time.

While the skin color and racism devil is somewhat subdued today, it still rears its ugly head. Then we are also contending with moral questions surrounding the sanctity of natural life and marriage. This "three headed monster" of racism, anti-procreative liberty and sexual perversion has crept into our lives with the intent of leading us further astray.

This is why the movie 42 is so inspiring; and the themes of racial unity, nonviolence, marital fidelity and Christianity are so very refreshing. They apply to our present day struggles while they stir our hearts and rouse our conscience. more >>