news Archives

God in the Middle of Pain and Suffering

Few events in modern America’s collective consciousness embody pain and suffering like the terror attacks we experienced on Sept. 11, 2001. It was this generation’s Pearl Harbor, a day so unthinkable and awful that we spent months reeling from the shock of it. We ached as a nation. We grieved with moms and dads, husbands and wives, children and friends who had lost loved ones.

Where was God in the middle of all that heartache?

It’s a question many people asked themselves in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, and understandably so.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast, faith, news September 11, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Remembering Chick-fil-A Founder S. Truett Cathy

By now you likely know that S. Truett Cathy, the beloved founder of the popular Chick-fil-A restaurants, died this morning. He was 93.

With more than 1,800 stores and $5 billion in annual sales, Truett will be remembered by many as an entrepreneurial genius, a fast-food pioneer and an astute man of business. His rags-to-riches story should inspire anyone. Opening a diner in Hapeville, Georgia, in 1946, Mr. Cathy launched the now iconic brand on a shoestring.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news, pop culture September 8, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

VIDEO: Despite Alzheimer’s, He Remembers He Loves Her

Doris Amrine called the police after her husband went missing.

Her worry was understandable. Three years after Melvyn’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, he needs help to accomplish tasks like walking around the block. With his memory slipping away, Melvyn has trouble remembering how he had proposed to his wife of 60 years.

But the story I want to share with you today isn’t about what Melvyn has forgotten – it’s about what he remembered on the day he left the house.

Topics: Current Events Tags: husband, marriage, news, wife September 5, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Praying for Our Christian Family in Iraq

If you’ve had an eye on the news lately, you’ve no doubt heard reports about the terrorist group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), more recently known as “The Islamic State.”

They’re a well-armed Muslim extremist group sweeping throughout Iraq, exercising both military and political control over the regions they conquer.

Just the other day we saw grisly images of the beheading of the American journalist, James Foley. ISIS claimed responsibility for his murder.

Beyond the political complications usually addressed on the nightly news are disturbing accounts that hit much closer to home for all of us who profess the name of Christ.

Topics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, church, faith, news, religious liberty August 22, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Of Girls and Boys and Baseball

Like many of you, I’ve been fascinated this past week by the rise of Little Leaguer Mo’ne Davis, the 13-year-old female pitcher for the Taney Dragons of Philadelphia. At 5-foot-4 inches, the eighth-grader became the first girl to ever throw a shutout in the Little League World Series.

For her accomplishment, she was also featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week, another first for any Little League player.

Pitching last night, though, Mo’ne proved mortal.

Topics: Current Events Tags: kids, news, pop culture August 21, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Guest Post: Have You Heard About the “Fire Challenge”?

As I was driving home from work the other day, I heard a disturbing news story on the radio that instantly grabbed my attention.

A new and life-threatening social-media trend has gone viral among teens.

It’s called the “fire challenge.”

In short, teens are daring one another to use flammable liquids to set themselves on fire, quickly douse the flames and then post a video of the entire incident on YouTube or Facebook.

As this story reports, the trend has become so popular that it has resulted in tens of thousands of horrifying “fire challenge” videos appearing online—in addition to emergency room visits across the country.

Topics: Current Events Tags: homosexuality, kids, news, pop culture, technology August 20, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Could Robin Williams’ Faith Have Prevented His Suicide?

The death of comedian Robin Williams has reignited something of a nationwide conversation about suicide and mental health. After all, most know someone whose life has been touched or severely impacted by depression. My own wife, Jean, lost a brother to suicide and Jean herself has shared that she struggled with bouts of depression earlier in our marriage.

Here at Focus on the Family our counselors talk with severely depressed people every day. In fact, suicide-related calls have skyrocketed in the past few years.

Topics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, faith, humor, news, pop culture August 13, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Guest Post: Is This Christian College Being Bullied?

Standing up for religious freedom and God’s design for human sexuality these days comes at a price, as one Christian college president recently learned.

Meet D. Michael Lindsay, President of Gordon College, a Christian liberal arts institution located in Wenham, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1889 as a missionary training school.

President Lindsay, a scholar in his own right as well as a Pulitzer-nominated author, stirred up an unexpected tempest for his school by signing on to a July 1 open letter to President Obama, along with other religious leaders from various churches, organizations and social relief agencies.

Topics: Current Events Tags: news, policy July 23, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Update on the Supreme Court Rulings

By now, you’ve probably heard about the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on June 30th, which upheld the protection of religious liberties. At issue was one facet of the Affordable Care Act which would have forced many business owners to violate their religious principles by requiring them to fund possible abortion-causing drugs in their company health plans.

As the dust settles from this case, moms and dads all over the country who are busy at work and at home are wondering, “What difference does all this make to me?

Topics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, news, policy, pro-life, religious liberty July 11, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Guest Post: Does New Research Prove Kids Do Better with Two Moms?

Today’s post comes courtesy of Glenn Stanton, Focus on the Family’s director of Family Formation Studies.

A new study from the University of Melbourne in Australia on how kids from same-sex homes fare is getting a good deal of press. Perhaps you’ve seen the news stories and wondered if this changes the nature of the debate over the importance of the family?

It does not.

This new study gives the same kind of findings we’ve seen before, coming from the same kinds of studies with the same kinds of serious short-comings and method problems.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, homosexuality, kids, news, parenting July 9, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura