Christian rapper Lecrae visited Yale University recently to talk about mental health and social justice.

The rapper opened the conversation by telling the audience about his experience being sexually assaulted by a close family member when he was seven-years-old. He told the crowd that this assault was never dealt with and to cope with the trauma he taught himself to put it in a box and push it down.  

He goes on to say that he spent his young adulthood trying to escape the reputation of his father who walked out of his life when he was four years old. The rapper said, “I remember as a kid people saying, ‘you remind me of your father,’ ‘you act like your father.” He continued, “I didn’t take this as a compliment. Even if it was just a mere observation, I took it as an insult, cause this was a man who wasn’t consistent, cause this was a man that had taken on drug abuse… I saw that as an example of who I should not be, and so what I did at that point in time was consume myself with not being my father.” 

Lacrae goes on to say he focused so heavily on trying not to be his father, he never really stopped to think about who he was supposed to be.

This compiled with the destructive environment he grew up in and the several trauma’s he experienced throughout his life caused him to go into a downward spiral.

He said while may have appeared to be…

After the emotional, nearly eight hour hearing between Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the president of the American Bar Association has called for the postponement of the vote on Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s nomination. 

Christine Ford accused Judge Kavanaugh several weeks ago of sexually assaulting her nearly four decades ago and she, along with the senate democrats, have called for an investigation to be conducted by the F.B.I. and now the American Bar Association president has joined in.

Though many are reporting that the request was made by the American Bar Association itself, as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Grassley noted during the voting processes on Friday, the A.B.A. letter was signed only by Robert M. Carlson the president of the association, not by Judicial Qualification committee, who unanimously gave Kavanaugh their highest praise of a “well-qualified” rating. 

The letter from the Carlson was sent to Chairman Grassley R-IA, and Ranking Member, Senator Dianne Feinstein D-CA.

The bar association president urged that senators postpone on voting on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination “only after an appropriate background check into the allegations made by Professor Blasey and others is completed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the letter said.

The letter continued, “The basic…

Millions of people around the world know Hillsong through its many campuses, television network, and three recording labels. Now, Hillsong Church will also form its own denomination, ending its connection to a denomination with which it has been affiliated since its founding. 

Originally founded as Hills Christian Life Centre in 1983 by Brian and Bobbie Houston, Hillsong now has over 120 campuses in over 20 nations. According to a letter released by Houston, this global reach necessitated that they leave the Australian Christian Churches, a branch of the Assemblies of God, to form their own denomination.

Houston said the split from the ACC had nothing to do with any “grief or dispute” between the two parties. He reiterated his love for the ACC and respect for its current leader, Pastor Wayne Alcorn. Instead, Houston cited the difficulty with the ACC credentialing and overseeing Hillsong pastors on other continents.

In explaining Hillsong’s growing reach, Houston said that they no longer see themselves as an “Australian church with a global footprint, but rather a Global church with an Australian base.” The church’s global office is in the United States and more than 2/3 of the churches attendees live outside of Australia.

Because of the church’s global reach, Houston said, “it has become clear to us that we need to be able to credential our own pastors and restructure our church…

Pastor Andrew Brunson may be released from Turkey next month at a hearing, according to reports.

Brunson is under arrest and spent two years in a Turkish prison. It wasn’t until more than a year into his imprisonment that authorities finally charged him with “Christianization.”

According to Breitbart.com, the formal charge is terrorism and espionage. He could face up to 35 years in custody in Turkey.

Brunson’s daughter, Jacqueline Furnari, spoke at this year’s Values Voter Summit in Washington, saying God is in control of the situation.

“There have been times I have not been happy with God’s plan in this situation,” she said. “I’ve really come to realize God is in complete control and He has a plan and this is all for his glory. He is worth everything that my family has gone through.”

She says her father was held with 22 people in a cell meant for eight people. She says he now has anxiety and depression.

She says her father has been able to write letters to her, saying he is trusting in God.

“I’ve seen that message come through in my dad’s letters as well as he started to transform and submit to God and say, ‘God, my life is yours. Whatever you do with me let it honor you, let it declare your name and your goodness to people.’”

During the summit, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the U.S. is working for Brunson’s…

Clare Niederpruem sat down with PureFlix.com’s Billy Hallowell as a part of their Pure Talk interview series to talk about her directing debut film, Little Women.

The director, who started out as a Hollywood actress, was inspired by the story of Little Women as a child and after re-reading the book as an adult knew she wanted to create her own modern adaption in film.

Niederpruem was inspired by the timelessness of the story and the uplifting messages that it contains.

“I want people to connect with each other. I want them to see the film and realize that the most important relationships that we have are faith as well as their relationships with their mother and with the other females in their life, and that family is the most important thing, and that we really need to support each other, no matter what,” Niederpruem said to Hallowell. 

The first-time director is hoping that the film can inspire the audience and have them walk away feeling as if they were able to relate to the character’s stories.  She also hopes the film will portray a message that encourages people to be good people in society and to care for their family.

“The story of Little Women, to me, it’s about nothing and it’s about everything,” she said. “It’s about this family and growing up and these four sisters and the difficulty of hope, and dreams, and family, and…