National Funeral Directors Association President Jack Mitchell says cremation is on the rise as fewer Americans are likely to be churchgoers. "[M]ore and more people don't go to church, so a religious aspect to however [people] memorialize their loved one is not important to them," Mitchell told Business Insider. Read more.

A study from Lifeway Research shows that 69% of Protestant pastors see a "growing sense of fear" in their congregations when it comes to the future of the nation and the world. Some 63% also said there is growing fear about the future of Christianity in the U.S. and around the world. Read more.

You can call on your ancestors when you need spiritual help from God, says Morehouse College co-valedictorian George Pratt. The 2023 graduate's controversial comments came during a speech at Antioch AME Church in Stonecrest, Ga. "We know that God as Spirit also presents themselves in other manifestations. Specifically through Jesus Christ, our elder brother," Pratt stated, asserting, "God also blesses us with our ancestors as intermediaries who can work on our behalf." Read more.

What can you do when someone you know is hurting? In this op-ed, Melissa Richeson outlines seven practical ways you can be there for someone in need, including showing up, listening with empathy, and choosing prayer over platitudes. Read the full list now.

Dr. Michael Brown addresses Dennis Prager's recent comments about Judaism and whether someone deriving sexual pleasure from watching animated child porn is doing something evil. Brown draws from Scripture to counter Prager's statements and explains why we should agree that "certain thoughts are, in and of themselves, evil." Read more.

The economic truth no one wants to talk about: people are losing money in traditional retirement accounts. Inflation, recession, and financial turbulence have made it so the future is not just uncertain, but oftentimes downright troubling. It’s left many Americans approaching retirement wondering:

• How will I be able to afford retirement?
• Will I need to continue working longer?
• Can I save enough now to retire on time?
• Is my money safe where it is now?
• Will I be able to leave my children anything?

In part two of this interview with CP, Pastor Michael Youssef discusses his worldwide evangelistic events and his wake-up call to the Church, which he fears is becoming "inoculated" to the Gospel. The pastor calls out the lack of sound doctrine found in mainline and Evangelical churches, saying the "woke movement" started infiltrating denominations as early as the 1960s. "There's only one way to Jesus, and that is why it's vitally important for pastors to preach the text," he asserts. Read more.

Christian comedian and talk show host Ricky Smiley exulted with many black Americans online after a black cruise ship co-captain was defended by colleagues and bystanders after he was violently attacked by a group of white boaters at the Riverfront Park in Montgomery, Ala., on Saturday. In a reaction video, Smiley said he doesn't condone violence but added, "[T]oday is the first time in my life I've seen a fight break out and I got the Holy Ghost and then shouted, spoke in tongues curse, cussed, swung in the air like that dude on 'Boyz n the Hood.'" Read more.

A newly resurfaced ad from Harry's Razors that shows a trans-identified woman shaving her face and exposing her topless chest to show her double mastectomy scars after cutting her breasts off has renewed calls for people to boycott the brand. The social account End Wokeness noted that all profits from the razor set promoted in the ad were being donated to the Trevor Project, "which promotes gender surgeries for minors." Read more.