Jim Daly

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.

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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.

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The Way to a Stronger Marriage

I’m headed to Atlanta this morning to participate in Focus on the Family’s Celebrate Family Tour. Tonight’s event is featuring the hilarious comedian, pastor and teacher, Mark Gungor. Mark is one of the most sought-after speakers on marriage and family in the country. If you’re in the area and would like to attend, please know we’d love to greet and host you this evening.

Before I go, though, I wanted to invite you to listen to today’s broadcast.

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Who is Raising Who?

To even suggest that children help raise their parents sounds like something out of the progressive parenting phase of the 1970s.

But, hold on.

However provocative the premise, yesterday’s and today’s guest on Focus on the Family, Dr. Dan Allender, is about as far from advocating for permissive parenting as you can get. With his Masters of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Michigan State University, Dr. Allender’s advice is biblical and practical, if not somewhat counterintuitive.

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Wins and Losses

I was reminded yesterday that even when your team loses, you can still enjoy a winning weekend.

My brother-in-law, Jon Kingdon, is a scout for the Oakland Raiders. Our family loves and admires him, but because of our affinity for the hometown Denver Broncos, there’s always been a fair amount of teasing between us. (For non-football fans, the Broncos/Raiders rivalry is legendary and dates back to the 1960s. In fact, the Broncos and Raiders have met on Monday Night Football more often than any other matchup in MNF history.)

As it was, the Raiders came to town this weekend to play the Broncos.

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Television Moms and Dads

Given the endless challenges facing the state of the faith, the family, the country and even the world, you might not think I should be spending my time writing about television parents, but please humor me, won’t you?

By now you’ve probably heard of the passing of the always elegant Barbara Billingsley, that supermom of the 1950s iconic television program, Leave it to Beaver. Mrs. Cleaver cooked and cleaned the house in a dress and pearls and was always there to welcome home the boys, Wally and Theodore, and her faithful husband, Ward.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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.

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