Matthew Vines, a Harvard-educated gay Christian who sparked a great deal of controversy in the church community last year with his in-depth analysis on why the Bible does not condemn homosexuality, has launched a new leadership training conference aimed at teaching Christians how to lead LGBT-friendly churches and communities.

In a video announcing the project, Vines says The Reformation Project will "train, connect and empower gay Christians and their allies to reform church teaching on homosexuality from the ground up."

Vines gained a wide recognition and stirred controversy last year with his hour-long YouTube video, which has gained over half a million views, where he presented a detailed argument on why he believes the Bible does not condemn gay people. more >>

A debate continues to rage online over comments made two Thursdays ago by Seattle Seahawks star cornerback Richard Sherman, who unmercifully ripped into controversial ESPN First Take analyst Skip Bayless for trying to bait him into comparing himself to New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis.

In what some have vaunted as the best takedown ever of a TV host, 24-year-old Sherman declares, as seen in a YouTube clip that has already garnered about 2 million views, that he is better at life than Bayless and refuses to compare himself to Revis. Both Sherman and Revis were involved in a nasty Twitter war of words in February over who is the best cornerback in the NFL.

In the YouTube clip, Sherman is initially asked by First Take co-host Stephen A. Smith about how good a player he thinks he is and he quickly takes aim at Bayless in his response. more >>

Phillip Pullman, the famous atheist author behind the best-selling His Dark Materials trilogy, has recently said that Jesus Christ is a great speaker that children in school can learn from.

"Jesus was a great storyteller. To invent the story about the Good Samaritan, you hear it once, you never forget it, you tell it to somebody else and it still has the same effect. The man was a genius of storytelling, if nothing else," Pullman said at the Oxford Literary Festival on Sunday, according to The Australian News.

Pullman, who is an honorary associate of the National Secular Society and supporter of the British Humanist Association, insisted that it is "very important" that children be familiar with biblical stories, as well as classic folk tales. more >>

When 19-year-old worship music artist and leader Taylor Carpenter was born, her family had to carry her around on a big pillow. Without any advance knowledge, it was discovered that she had the congenital bone disorder Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or "Brittle Bones."

People with OI are born with defective connective tissue, or without the ability to make it, usually because of a deficiency of Type-I collagen.

Carpenter described her condition to The Christian Post recently. "Basically, my bones are super weak. Due to this defect, I am wheelchair bound. I am also very short in stature and am forced to rely on others more than I would like to," she said. "My condition causes my bones to form differently so I had to have multiple rodding surgeries on my legs, arms, and back." more >>

Even though conservatives suffered some major losses in the 2012 elections, in part due to losing the youth vote by a large margin, conservatives are winning the abortion issue among young voters, Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life, told The Christian Post Thursday.

Hawkins was at the Conservative Political Action Conference and spoke on a Friday panel about how conservatives can better communicate their message to young voters.

Today's young generation is the most pro-life generation since 1973, when abortion became legal, Hawkins explained, "because we've had a different experience with abortion. We've seen the ultrasounds of our brothers and sisters. We've googled abortion, we've seen the bloody images. We all know somebody who has had an abortion." more >>

Correction appended

"National Autism Awareness Month" is in April and Lakewood Church, led by Pastor Joel Osteen, plans to cut the ribbon for its newest special needs facility next month in Miami, Fla., one of several U.S. and global locations that will see the expansion of the ministry's Champions Clubs, a special needs program for children and teens.

The megachurch, which draws 40,000 weekly worshippers to its Houston, Texas arena, developed a ministry in 2008 for families with special needs children who find it challenging to attend church on a regular basis. The Houston location, which consists of an educational room, a physical therapy room and a sensory room, serves more than 300 special needs families every week. more >>