Jim Daly

VIDEO: My Interview with Dr. Tim Keller

Newsweek magazine called Dr. Tim Keller a “C.S. Lewis for the twenty-first century.” I believe they’re correct. In addition to serving as the senior pastor of New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Dr. Keller is also a best-selling author of numerous books, including The Reason for God, The Prodigal God and Counterfeit Gods.

Tim has become a friend, and I recently had the privilege of visiting with him in New York City. Tomorrow and Friday’s Focus on the Family radio program will feature our discussion.

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Would You Donate Your Kidney?

According to recent statistics, approximately 6,000 people in the United States donated a kidney last year – 3,000 to a blood relative and the other half to a friend. Just over 100 donated anonymously to a stranger.

Assuming you were a viable match and physically capable, would you donate your kidney?

I’ve been pondering that question ever since I learned that my brother, Mike, is donating his to a friend. The surgery is scheduled for next Friday.

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A Little Child Shall Lead Them

As I noted in Friday’s post, for baseball fans, the long wait is over. But one of the more endearing aspects of sports in general is that in the grand scheme of life, it’s all just a game. Play provides an escape, a chance to renew ourselves and spend leisure time with people we enjoy.

Sports can also serve up powerfully teachable moments. The other night someone forwarded me “one of those emails” – you know, the kind that is sweet and tender, but that you wonder if it’s true.

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The Golden Rules of Living

We’ve all heard of the “Golden Rule” – that ethic of reciprocity which instructs us to treat others as we might want to be treated. Someone recently sent me a list inspired by Jesus’ words in the Book of Matthew. The logic is simple and refreshingly blunt. You might tack this up on your refrigerator. It applies to young or old. Isn’t it true that very often the best advice is the most basic, too?

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The Sexy Side of Virginity

I have some good news. Sort of.

According to a recently released report from the National Center for Health Statistics, virginity is on the rise. Eight years ago, 22 percent of men and women under age 24 said they were abstinent. Today that figure stands at 29 percent for women and 27 percent for men.

Debbie Roffman, a human sexuality educator in Baltimore, told a newspaper that multiple factors are likely at work, including “greater involvement by parents in communicating about sexual values and decision-making and providing greater supervision and monitoring of their children’s activities.”

The flip side of the findings is obvious.

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The Day of Dialogue

If you have children in high school, I hope you’ll do two things:

Circle April 18th on your calendar.
Consider registering your school for the upcoming “Day of Dialogue,” which is being sponsored by Focus on the Family.

Let me tell you about it.

The Day of Dialogue dates back to 2005. It was conceived with a straightforward goal, mainly to encourage honest and respectful conversation among students about God’s design for sexuality. This is especially important during events like GLSEN’s Day of Silence.

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A Visit with Presidents Carter, Bush (41 & 43) and Clinton – And Kid Rock

Sometimes I just have to wonder: How does someone who is really just an average guy end up at an event with four living presidents?

Only in America.

I’ll tell you how it came to be.

Some of you are familiar with the Points of Light Institute, a bipartisan organization dedicated to encouraging and promoting volunteerism in America. The inspiration for its founding comes from President George H.W. Bush who, in 1991, offered the following challenge during his first State of the Union Address:

We can find meaning and reward by serving some higher purpose than ourselves, a shining purpose, the illumination of a thousand points of light… We all have something to give… What government can do alone is limited, but the potential of the American people knows no limits.

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Duggar House Rules

In yesterday’s post, I shared some behind-the-scenes video from the Duggar family’s recent visit to our campus. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have 19 children and star in a hit reality television show, 19 Kids and Counting. In case you missed the video, please click here.

So how do the Duggars maintain their balance given such a busy lifestyle? They strive to manage their home and raise their children with biblical principles. There is so much more to say, but the following list, which is attached to their (very large) refrigerator door, will give you a hint of the climate they aim for in their home.

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VIDEO: Behind the Scenes with the Duggars

Tens of thousands of families visit our campus each year, but few, if any, have as many members with them as the Duggars.

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are the proud parents of 19 children, 10 boys and 9 girls. You might already be familiar with them from their hit reality television show, 19 Kids and Counting, which airs on TLC. They’re an inspiring bunch on so many levels, and we were honored to host them here at Focus last week.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment

Howard Stern’s Admission

I want to share a telling quote with you from the king of shock jocks, Howard Stern. In a wide-ranging interview with Rolling Stone’s Neil Strauss this week, the incredibly raunchy Stern admitted to being addicted to the approval of other people:

“The curse is I take it so seriously. I gotta know, do you think I did a good show and are you satisfied? That’s the neurosis and that’s the source of all problems for me.”

Stern’s bold admission reminds me of a powerful chapter from Dr.