Christian rock group Skillet recently celebrated its third Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Platinum certification, thanks to strong digital sales for the single “Awake and Alive.” Singles "Monster" and "Hero" were certified Platinum in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Platinum certification recognizes singles that sell over 1 million digital copies.

This fall Skillet will begin recording its 2016 album. The band has sold over 11 million albums and singles in the U.S. alone.

Women Writing the West (WWW) selected Jane Kirkpatrick’s A Light in the Wilderness (Revell/Baker Publishing Group) as the winner of the 2015 WILLA Literary Award for Original Softcover Fiction. The winning authors and their books will be honored at WWW’s 21st annual conference, Oct. 9-11, in Redmond, Oregon.

Kirkpatrick is the New York Times and CBA best-selling author of more than 25 books. She has won the Carol Award for Historical Fiction, and her works have been finalists for the Christy Award, Spur Award, Oregon Book Award and Reader’s Choice awards.

Charisma House recently announced a strategic corporate restructure in the merge of its sales and marketing areas, effective immediately.

With over 15 years of experience in multiple sales leadership roles at Charisma House, Marcos Perez, formerly vice president of sales, now serves as senior vice president of sales and marketing. Woodley Auguste will continue in his role as vice president of marketing.

Best-selling comedian Chonda Pierce’s new film, Laughing in the Dark, will premiere Tuesday, Oct. 27 in nearly 480 theaters across the country. The one-night only cinema event is being presented by Fathom Events and Fuseic Entertainment.

Laughing in the Dark offers a personal glimpse into Pierce's life. The film chronicles a series of tragic circumstances she faced, including the loss of her husband, David Pierce, in July 2014.

TriStar Pictures’ War Room debuted at No. 2 at the domestic box office the weekend of Aug. 28-30. The faith-based film topped industry expectations, grossing $11 million, according to studio estimates.

War Room also boasted the highest per-screen average of the top 12 films at an estimated $9,691 per screen. The film's strong average allowed it to overcome its meager screen count—1,135 screens—and come within $2 million of winning the weekend. Rap movie Straight Outta Compton was the only film that surpassed War Room.

Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), will lead a workshop Sept. 20 at Christian Product Expo (CPE) in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The workshop will train, educate and equip independent Christian retailers with practical steps to respond to recent Supreme Court decisions.

During this workshop, Sekulow will address questions on the need for legal disclaimers, attorneys and statements of faith. He will also cover proper media relations, business owner rights, how to deal with picketers and whether a store can refuse service to an individual who is not aligned with the retailer's beliefs.

LifeWay Christian Resources is facing "hinge moments" and decisions that will propel the organization in one direction or another, President Thom Rainer told trustees during the board's Aug. 24-25 meeting.

"We are about to walk through some open doors as these hinge moments are now before us," Rainer said. "And I think we are about to see some incredible days at LifeWay."