Former megachurch pastor Ted Haggard will appear in a Christian sex comedy that is being developed in Colorado Springs.

Haggard, who resigned from New Life Church in Colorado Spring following a drug and sex scandal in 2006, makes a cameo as himself in a film called "The Waiting Game" that promotes abstinence before marriage.

The movie is about a guy who saves himself for marriage but later becomes determined to lose his virginity after his fiance dumps him at the altar on their wedding day. more >>

In a move that may be surprising to some, evangelicals have formed a coalition with progressive Christians as well as Catholics to oppose federal budget cuts that would hurt the poor.

While a “moral budget” is the expected agenda of the “religious left,” the National Association of Evangelicals is lending their voice to calls for budgetary protection of domestic and international assistance programs that help the needy.

Alongside the Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners, David Beckmann of Bread for the World and the Rev. Peg Chemberlin of the National Council of Churches USA, NAE President Leith Anderson is among the signatories to the “Circle of Protection.” more >>

Should atheists be able to serve as military chaplains?

The head of the largest representative body of chaplains in the U.S. Armed Forces and Veterans Administration doesn't think so.

A New York Times article this week highlighted the case made by humanist organizations and atheists that humanist chaplains are needed to serve nonbelievers in the military. One humanist group has asked for an audience with the chiefs of chaplains to discuss the proposal. more >>

A majority of evangelical leaders believe that the Bible does not require Christians to tithe, according to a survey released by the National Association of Evangelicals on Wednesday.

Fifty-eight percent of respondents (members of the NAE board of directors) said they do not think giving 10 percent of one's income to the church is mandated by the Bible, while 42 percent do.

Likely the wording of the survey explains why most of the respondents said offering tithe, a strong tradition among evangelical churches, is not a duty of believers. more >>

The mass online support through social media sites Reddit, YouTube, and Facebook for an Oregon man who says he plans to end his life on Tuesday because he has terminal cancer is “disturbing,” said a Christian bioethics professor.

Thousands of people have left comments of support to “Lucidending” on the social news website Reddit over the past three days. And nearly 75,000 people have watched a YouTube video titled, “Goodbye lucid ending,” in which a fellow redditor sends a balloon up to the sky and then cheerfully waves goodbye.

Reddit, which is owned by Conde Nast Digital, states that user Lucidending is among the site’s top ten of all time posters in terms of points and comments received. more >>

In his third featured interview this year, former megachurch pastor Ted Haggard asks why it is so hard for the Church to live out its teachings on forgiveness and restoration, noting that the secular world is doing a better job at this than Christians.

"The differentiation between the Church and everybody else is that we should respond with restoration, healing, hope to people's sin condition, our sin condition. We're losing that right now," he argues in a new video interview with Lifetree Café, a Christian-based network of local discussion groups.

He expresses frustration over his observation that many celebrities – including Martha Stewart, Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, David Letterman – were restored by their secular organizations compared to Christian leaders, including himself, who do not receive restoration by the church. more >>