Theologian Tony Jones and philosopher Drew Sumrall discuss whether God answers prayer.

President Barack Obama spoke Friday morning at the Planned Parenthood conference in Washington, D.C., and apologized to the audience for missing their wild party at Thursday night's gala and fundraiser. Obama is the first sitting president to speak to the organization. In his speech, the president chastised members of Congress who want to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood and expressed his disapproval of state legislatures that have voted to place restrictions on abortion.

World Vision announced its plans to raise a half-billion dollars to launch a new international effort to reach 10 million people in poverty. The organization will begin a $500-million fundraising campaign called "For Every Child," which will help children and families in poverty-stricken areas gain access to clean water, fight infectious diseases, guard against trafficking, and fund economic development through loans.

Joel Osteen, senior pastor of the 40,000-member Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, spoke with The Christian Post on Friday at Marlins Park baseball stadium in Miami, Fla. – one day before his scheduled America's Night of Hope event – to talk about his life in ministry, how to respond when bad things happen to good people, and why he doesn't like being grouped in with televangelists who preach the prosperity gospel.

Christian ministries received $9.8 billion in cash donations in 2011. But which ones received most?

While marriage is on the front burner, particularly the undermining of God’s plan for it, let me ask a question. Are Gay and Lesbians the only ones who undermine God’s plan for marriage?

Professing Christians progressing toward spiritual maturity will have a firmer grasp on important doctrinal positions, according to findings from LifeWay Research. However, plenty of churchgoers still struggle with basic truths about God, the Bible and salvation.

Oh, I know, I’m an ageist. But I don’t mean it that way. In fact, I firmly believe people in their twenties, officially one generation behind me, are better than my generation. What I mean by this is they are more altruistic, more international, more objective and less fearful than any generation in recent history. And yet, they are also delusional. And here’s why:

On the eve of World Water Day last week, the U.N. offered a sobering statistic: according to its recent study, more people on earth have access to cell phones than toilets. Out of the world’s estimated 7 billion people, 6 billion have access to mobile phones. Far fewer — only 4.5 billion people — have access to working toilets. Of the 2.5 billion who don’t have proper sanitation, 1.1 billion defecate in the open, according to the study.

Jeff Chu describes himself as gay, partnered, relatively politically conservative, and a member of a relatively liberal New York City congregation in a relatively conservative denomination (Reformed Church in America). He is far from his Southern Baptist upbringing but, once in a while, finds himself wondering "whether my homosexuality is my ticket to hell, whether Jesus would love me but for that, and how good a Christian could I be if I struggle to believe that God loves me at all."