Megachurch pastors and Christian leaders used Twitter on Monday to express gratitude for those who died in military service.

John Piper, a well-known theologian, author of Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, and former senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minnesota, tweeted the link to an article about Memorial Day falling on May 27th – the day John Calvin died.

The leading 16th Century Reformer died 449 years ago today. The article contained an excerpt from a book John Piper wrote with executive editor and elder at Bethlehem Baptist, David Mathis, on Calvin's life and ministry called With Calvin in the Theater of God: The Glory of Christ and Everyday Life. more >>

MaryAnn McCormick, an internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano, has been hailed in the press as "charismatic," "spell-binding," and "elegant." Performing roles such as Carmen to Suzuki in Madame Butterfly, McCormick has sung worldwide, won a Grammy, and just celebrated her 100th performance at the Metropolitan Opera – a feat not every accomplished opera singer can claim.

McCormick, a native of Pittsburgh, admits that her road to becoming as successful as she has, has been challenging and complicated, especially since she became a Christian seven years ago.

"Since becoming a Christian, it's not been as easy," she says. "Many performers wouldn't hesitate to do whatever they need to do to get ahead, but as a Christian I can't do that. This is a very ego driven and competitive career – it takes a level of expertise and training to sing in this environment under intense pressure, and to be emotionally savvy." more >>

More than 150 teams of filmmakers from the U.S. and as far away as Australia, Ethiopia and Zambia began shooting video to submit as their entry into the Christian-themed speed filmmaking contest, 168 Film Festival. The teams began filming last Thursday and have a total of seven days (168 hours) to complete a 10-minute film.

Earlier this month, an estimated 1,500 film professionals and amateurs alike – received a luck-of-the-draw Bible verse plucked from scriptures that relate to "Atonement," this year's theme. They were given ten days to prepare, including writing, casting, scheduling and rehearsals before the 168 hours of filming.

"This is the week our filmmakers put the rubber to the road," said 168 Film Project founder and director John David Ware. "They find out how effective their planning has been as they work to make memorable films that will earn them invitation to and nominations at the 168 Film Festival" (August 8-10 in Glendale, California). more >>

The world is in desperate need of a new leadership role model, says a popular author and business expert, who wants to fill that gap by offering an adaption of his Lead Like Jesus book and program called "Ignite" to high school students.

"With Ignite we are going to challenge them to love and serve others as Jesus did," Ken Blanchard, cofounder and Chief Spiritual Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies, told The Christian Post. "That means leading and bringing out the greatness of others like he did.

"We hope that in leading like Jesus they will begin to have an impact in their homes, their schools, their churches, their communities, in the world, because the world is in desperate need of a different leadership role model," Blanchard explained. "We've seen what self-serving leaders have done in every segment of our society, not only here but around the world. Jesus models servant leadership; he says, 'I have come to serve, not to be served.' When he washed the feet of the disciples, he symbolized that this is what we are supposed to do." more >>

A young Christian musician and student from Oklahoma City, Alton Eugene Buggs II, 24, has been getting a lot of buzz for an inspirational musical tribute called the "Hope Song" that he created for survivors of the deadly twister that ravaged the city on Monday.

The video, which "screams the heartbeat of hope," was published on YouTube on Monday, and also came with an encouraging description of its purpose.

"An Inspirational Tribute to Oklahomans in light of the Tornado that hit S.W. Oklahoma City/Moore on May 20, 2013," the message began. more >>

An interdenominational missions organization is looking for nominations of unsung heroes, those who are tackling the issues of poverty, sex trafficking, HIV/AIDS, the need for clean water, homelessness and other needs in today's society, for its second bi-annual Epoch Awards to be held later this year.

"We want to uncover every rock of people doing incredible work around the world, but with little to no recognition," said Jeff Shinabarger, founder of Plywood People and event organizer. "Everybody knows somebody giving their lives for others that could really use funding to continue their effort. We want to honor those people that no one knows about and give them a platform to keep doing good."

Epoch (pronounced "Epic") Awards was birthed out of the heart of Tim Abare, COO of Adventures in Missions, located north of Atlanta in Gainesville, in January of 2011. Organizers say anyone can nominate an unsung hero who is actively serving others and whose bravery is rather unknown by going online to http://epochawards.com/nominations/nominate/. The nominations close next Thursday (May 30). more >>