faith Archives

Halloween and Christianity

This coming Sunday is October 31st, a date of historical significance on several levels, depending upon your faith tradition and cultural upbringing.

To many Christians, October 31st is remembered and revered as “Reformation Day”, a key date in Church history. It was on the last day of October in 1517 when Martin Luther wrote a letter to the Catholic Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, protesting, among other things, the sale of indulgences. He had other complaints, too, and what would become known as the “95 Theses” were nailed to the door of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) in Wittenburg, Germany.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, events, faith, parenting October 29, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Know That You Don’t Always Have to Know

When Lee Strobel quit his job as a Chicago journalist back in the late ‘80s and joined Willow Creek’s pastoral staff, his colleagues wondered if he had gone off the deep end. From a professional standpoint, his decision struck them as strange: His job was a dream come true and, in fact, the culmination of a pursuit that began as a kid when he founded and published a neighborhood newspaper at age 12.

He was committing certain career suicide, they told him.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith October 28, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Secret Dance

I need to warn you.

Yesterday’s and today’s radio program is a beautiful, poignant and inspiring story, but you might find yourself holding back some tears as you listen.

So, there you have it. Consider yourself warned.

Our guests are Angie and Todd Smith. Angie is a devoted mom and a gifted writer. Todd is the lead singer of the Dove Award winning group Selah.

But they’re not here to talk about music.

They’re here to talk about life, and all its ups and downs and twists and turns.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family October 22, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Special to CNN.COM

Our friends at CNN.com invited me to contribute to its discussion on anti-gay bullying. Although we’re prohibited from republishing my piece in its entirety, we are permitted to share a small portion and link to the full piece.

I welcome your thoughts!

My Take: Christianity Not to Blame for Anti-Gay Bullying

Editor’s Note: Jim Daly is president of Focus on the Family and author of Stronger: Trading Brokenness for Unbreakable Strength (David C. Cook, 2010).

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, homosexuality, news October 21, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Remembering a Wonderful Life

Dr. Mildred Fay Jefferson died this past Friday. She was 84.

Born in Pittsburgh, Texas in 1926, Dr. Jefferson was the first African-American woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School (’51). She served as a surgeon at Boston University Medical Center and was a professor of surgery at the university’s medical school. She excelled in everything she pursued and ran in pretty high circles while doing it, but her greatest passion was for the very least among us: the unborn child.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, faith, pro-life October 20, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

So Wonderfully You Made Me

“Amy” looks like a typical 22 year-old college student. She is smart, focused, energetic and enthusiastic. She acts and talks with an eye towards a bright future, even thinking about law school after finishing her bachelor’s degree.

She is also not ashamed to be happy, though just over three years ago, she was told her life would be ruined unless she did the very thing she least wanted to do. Many of her friends may have disagreed with her choice, called her crazy and assured her that regret would follow all the days of her life.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, pro-life October 19, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Busy! Busy!

Are you feeling a bit frazzled? If so, I hope you’ll tune in today to the second part (Part one is available here) of a two-day broadcast. To listen, simply click here.

Our guest is my friend Dr. Richard Swenson. Dr. Swenson is a trained medical physician who served for 27 years in both private practice and as an instructor with the University of Wisconsin. He left the profession when he felt God was leading him to be what he calls a “watchman on the wall”–someone who interprets the signs of the times.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, technology October 13, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Tension is Good!

GUEST BLOG

Catalyst 2010: A Movement of Restorers

Esther Fleece

Where can you find 13,000 multi-generational leaders who wholeheartedly desire to serve God’s purpose within their generation?

The Catalyst conference in Atlanta is a great place to start.

Thousands of “grass top” leaders gathered there last week, displaying a beautiful spirit of unity among evangelical subgroups.

It’s not an overstatement to suggest those in attendance are changing the world.

How?

One person at a time.

Groups like TOMS Shoes celebrated an incredible milestone of giving the one millionth pair of new shoes to a child in need.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, events, faith, pop culture October 11, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Man Up?

If you’re a guy and attend either a male-led small group or Bible study, or even pay the slightest attention to discussions about gender, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the catchphrase, “Man Up!”

What does it even mean?

My friend and Focus on the Family board member and president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Al Mohler, has an opinion. Responding to a recent Newsweek cover story on the subject of modern masculinity, Dr. Mohler wrote the following:

A true masculinity is grounded in a man’s determination to fulfill his manhood in being a good husband, father, citizen, worker, leader, and friend — one who makes a difference, fulfills a role for others, and devotes his life to these tasks.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, husband October 1, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Faith and Fortune Cookies

He was born Allan Stewart Konigsberg, a Jewish son of Nettie and Martin, and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

As a child, he sparred with his tough-minded mother, who worked in a delicatessen at the same time his father toiled away as an accountant. There was always tension in the family, a functional dysfunction. His parents didn’t get along, and they stumbled through a rocky marriage.

As a young boy, Allan attended Hebrew school for eight years, spoke Yiddish and found his niche making people laugh, most likely out of self-preservation and as a way to make sense of the senseless.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith September 22, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura