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 >>

"The Bible" is one of the most popular miniseries of all time, and it is now being made into a 3-hour movie by producer Mark Burnett. The show is being reconstructed into a new movie that will hopefully be released in the fall of 2013.

"We're cutting a movie version right now, a three-hour version of Jesus and [we have] many, many offers from theaters globally," Burnett told The Hollywood Reporter. The popular series could be released as early as the fall of 2013, which would play off of the high ratings and sales of the DVD.

Burnett also did not rule out the possibility of a second series that expands upon more stories found in the Bible. more >>

LAKE FOREST, Calif. – Evangelist Greg Laurie filled in for Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren during worship services over the weekend and is the first of a string of well-known Christian leaders scheduled to speak from the pulpit while Warren continues to grieve his son's passing. The list of pastors planned includes Francis Chan, Mark Driscoll, Pete Wilson, David Platt, Craig Groeschel, Wilfredo De Jesús, and Doug Fields.

During the sermon series featuring the pastors, they are scheduled to answer the question, "What Does it Mean to Follow Jesus?" Chan, an author and popular speaker at Christian conferences, is planned for next weekend at Saddleback.

Prior to his weekend sermons at the church, Laurie told The Christian Post he wanted to give a message of hope amid grief. The Harvest Crusades founder, who said the untimely loss of his son nearly five years ago gave him a "new ministry," spoke at Saddleback just a little more than two weeks since the suicide death of Warren's 27-year-old son, Matthew. Christopher Laurie died, at age 33, in an automobile accident in 2008. more >>

IRVINE, Calif. – More than 4,000 Christians interested in becoming better leaders packed out the Catalyst West conference held at Mariner's Church in Orange County beginning last Wednesday and ending Friday.

"We were praying that for every leader here this would be a bench mark for them or a marker on the road of leadership for them," Catalyst President Brad Lomenick told The Christian Post backstage at the event. He said that he hopes leaders would be able to look back at the conference and say that it was a significant turning point in their lives.

"We pray that with a fearless sense and an aggressive belief that it is going to happen for leaders individually," Lomenick said. "I feel like that it is happening [at Catalyst West]. The unity, the fun, and the energy are here. It's always here [at Catalyst conferences], but we feel like we dialed it up a bit." more >>

A family is searching for answers after a pilot, who has served as a missionary in Africa for the past 25 years, went missing 10 days ago when his plane was hit by a tropical storm on his way to Mali.

The family worries that the pilot may have been captured by guerilla forces or drug lords.

Jerry Krause, 54, went missing on April 7 while flying a twin-engine Beechcraft 1900C near the island of São Tomé, where he was due for a refill of fuel, en route to Mali from South Africa. more >>

Pastor Rick Warren and his wife, Kay, have started a petition on the Saddleback Church's website to raise awareness and lower the stigma of mental illness. Their 27-year-old son took his own life about two weeks ago after a lifelong struggle with depression and mental illness.

"Join Kay and I, and the Saddleback Family, in our effort to urge educators, lawmakers, healthcare professionals, and church congregations to raise the awareness and lower the stigma of mental illness… and support the families that deal with mental illness on a daily basis," says the petition, which carries a picture of Matthew Warren, who shot himself on April 5.

"Matthew was just one of about 11.4 million American adults that suffered from severe mental illness in the past year," the petition says. "In fact, one in five Americans experiences some sort of mental illness." more >>