Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston reportedly apologized to church members via email last week, saying he is "deeply sorry" for the pain he caused. The email, which was obtained by the Australian outlet Eternity News, comes in the wake of Houston's resignation last month after the megachurch network revealed two misconduct allegations. While Houston said that he accepts "full responsibility" for his actions, he also noted that "God is not finished with me yet," adding that he and wife Bobbie "have no intention of retiring." Continue reading.

A few years ago, a missionary decided to do a small and seemingly inconsequential experiment in El Zonte, a beach town in El Salvador. The plan was to get the community to adopt Bitcoin so that they wouldn’t have to rely so much on the cash economy. What he started would change the country in a remarkably short amount of time. Continue reading.

Ryan Bomberger, the chief creative officer and co-founder of The Radiance Foundation, writes about science, gender, feminism, and why it is essential that society does not erase women. "There are only two genders: male and female. I know this triggers those with progressive fragility. For anyone struggling with gender dysphoria, there is help and hope in counseling," Bomberger writes. "Women are now the marginalized community," as evidenced by moves such as the "highly political CDC" referring to women as "pregnant people" when pushing what Bomberger says is "their distorted COVID propaganda." Continue reading.

Why is an "attitude of gratitude" important? While it's not a cure-all for every ailment, struggle, and trial, it is "for mental health what vegetables are for physical health: vital, underrated, and sometimes difficult to swallow," write John Stonestreet and Kasey Leander. The authors discuss the large body of research that points to the benefits of exercising gratitude—from stronger interpersonal relationships to a reduction in physical pain—concluding, "Gratitude helps us see life clearly, and allows us to live it as God intended, to its fullest." Continue reading.

Leading up to Resurrection Sunday, Crossmap.com has unique content to bless you and those you love.

From sacred Easter music performed by a host of today’s leading Christian artists, to powerful sermons preached by Louie Giglio, Rick Warren, and many others, to impacting devotionals and blogs illustrating the power and glory of the Empty Tomb, this truly is the most holy and exciting time of the year!

Here is a look at some of the stories, videos, and podcasts from the Crossmap Easter Section that will help you prepare your heart for celebrating the Resurrection of our risen Savior:Learn More

Church technology company Faithlife has released its 2021 Year-End Song & Sermon Report, which details worship music and sermon topic trends based on data from nearly three-quarters of a million presentations using its Faithlife Proclaim Church Presentation Software and a review of 2.7 million songs churches sang and 91,000 sermons delivered in 2021. The report found that Pat Barrett's 2016 song "Build My Life" was the most popular worship song in 2021, while Sinach's "Way Maker" came in at the No. 2 spot. Eschatology/resurrection was the No. 1 topic of the year, followed by grace. Continue reading.

Leigh Allyn-Baker is becoming increasingly concerned about the content Hollywood is marketing to children, which she believes is undeniably "foul-intentioned." In this interview with The Christian Post, Baker discusses how the direction that Hollywood is headed in has prompted her to be vocal about her faith, saying, "The two main companies … that kind of trickle-down and own everything, including our media, see an opportunity to indoctrinate children at a very young age for political purposes. That's what I think is happening. It's to shape a world that moves away from the nuclear family in a Christian home." Baker, who relocated from Los Angeles to Nashville, is starring in the family-friendly comedy "Family Camp," a film the actress says reflects her values and beliefs. Watch the interview here.

In this episode of the "Challenging Conversations" podcast on edifi, apologist Jason Jimenez talks Russia's war in Ukraine and whether it's a sign that we're swiftly approaching the End Times. Jimenez discusses how Christians will see and hear more false doctrine and an escalation of warfare as the End Times approaches and encourages Christians to continue to pray to Jesus in the midst of these difficulties. "There are a lot of things that I scratch my head wondering: ‘What does this mean, Lord? Is this in Your Word? Do we have glimpses?’ I know we can be speculative about this or that passage and what it’s mentioning, but here and now, we’re praying for Ukraine, and many of us in the world are watching [and] are concerned about the development that’s taking place in Europe and beyond and into the Middle East." Listen now.