NASHVILLE – California Pastor Raul Ries of Calvary Chapel Golden Springs shared Saturday evening his powerful testimony of inviting Jesus into his heart after watching Pastor Chuck Smith on TV at a time when he was contemplating violence against his family.

Ries said at the National Religious Broadcasters convention that as an unbeliever he hated everything: the world, his life and even his wife and children. But then he "found out that the cross of Jesus Christ is real," he said.

He challenged today's Church in his message to talk about the fundamentals of the scriptures and not shy away from the message of sin, although doing so without criticizing the person. "We don't talk about people, we talk about sin because we hate sin," Ries told the audience. more >>

NASHVILLE – There are three issues challenging the modern church, said Dallas Pastor Pete Briscoe to The Christian Post in an interview Saturday evening after he gave one of the keynote messages at the opening session of the National Religious Broadcasters Convention.

The first one, Briscoe, who is president of Telling the Truth ministries and pastor of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, mentioned is that the Church, meaning the body of Christ, seems to have forgotten Christ. "We talk about everything under the sun but we miss the key reason the church is formed and that is Jesus Christ," he said.

Another is the teaching of the "Word" and how many pastors seem to build their sermons around what he considers "topical preaching." "It seems they pick a topic and then find verses of scripture to go with the subject matter. I don't believe that is how God intended His word to be used," Briscoe said. more >>

NASHVILLE – Just a day before the premiere of the epic 10-hour "The Bible" TV series on the History Channel, the actor who plays the role of Jesus in the miniseries appeared before thousands of Christian leaders at the National Religious Broadcaster Convention on Saturday evening and shared his thoughts about playing Jesus.

Mark Burnett, who co-produced "The Bible" with his wife, Roma Downey, introduced actor Diogo Morgado, who plays the starring role in the miniseries.

Morgado, who grew up in Portugal, described his homeland as a religious country. He said he was not only challenged by the role, but was humbled at being selected for the part. "How can you play the Son of God? You can't," he told the crowd. "What I had the privilege of playing was simply the words of Christ and taking the journey of the scriptures." more >>

NASHVILLE – Innovation leader Bobby Gruenewald of LifeChurch.tv, who is co-creator of the highly successful Bible app YouVersion, told those attending the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) convention that incorporating more video, such as footage from "The Bible" TV series, is the next phase for the application.

Gruenewald spoke with The Christian Post during the first day of the 4-day convention in Nashville on Saturday and said that he is excited to see how the pairing of YouVersion with the content of the 10-week docudrama will help further the Gospel. The series is created by producers Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey,

Our interview with the pastor from LifeChurch.tv is below. more >>

Times, they are a-changing. The internet and a constant onslaught of new technologies has completely changed the way people communicate with each other and the way they broadcast their message(s) to a larger audience.

It stands to reason, then, that if Christian groups, organizations, businesses and ministries are committed to expanding their platform and reach to spread the Gospel to as many individuals as possible, a crash course in media training is probably necessary.

And that's where the National Religious Broadcasters Convention and Exposition, attended annually by thousands of Christian media and ministry professionals, comes in. more >>

Former Arkansas Governor turned top-rated Fox News host Mike Huckabee will be presented with the National Religious Broadcaster Board of Directors Award next week during this year's NRB Convention in Nashville.

"Gov. Huckabee has utilized the various platforms that God has given him to make a positive impact on society," said NRB President & CEO Dr. Frank Wright in a statement. "Furthermore, he has been intentional about shining the light of Christ in some of the darkest areas of society. I applaud him for his faithfulness and efforts."

Huckabee's rise to national prominence occurred when he campaigned to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2008. Initially dismissed as a long shot, Huckabee became the dark horse in the Republican race and finished second to Sen. John McCain (Arizona), beating out former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, whose campaign had significantly more money and staff than Huckabee. more >>