news Archives

Gallup Reports Shift Toward Life

According to the Gallup polling organization more Americans are identifying themselves as “pro-life” and fewer as “pro-choice,” this year over last year.

As reported:

The 41% of Americans who now identify themselves as “pro-choice” is down from 47% last July and is one percentage point below the previous record low in Gallup trends, recorded in May 2009. Fifty percent now call themselves “pro-life,” one point shy of the record high, also from May 2009.

To be fair, these statistics have been bouncing around over the last decade, but when you consider that 56% of Americans qualified themselves as “pro-choice” in 1996, the trajectory toward a majority support of life is encouraging.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: news June 14, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Immigration Reform is a Family Concern

Immigration reform remains a hotly contested issue that stirs up a great deal of passion from a wide range of perspectives. In fact, when it comes to the subject of how to manage the millions of individuals who have illegally entered the borders of the United States and assimilated into our culture, almost everyone has an opinion.

But mere opinions don’t solve problems, especially a conundrum as complex and layered as what to do with upwards of 12 million individuals living in the shadows of our society.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: news, policy June 12, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What I Saw at Chuck Colson’s Memorial Service

The National Cathedral sits atop Mount Saint Alban, the highest point in Washington D.C. It is a majestic and stately site, and it was there on a sunny and breezy May morning this past Wednesday that I had the privilege of joining with friends and family to publicly thank God for the life of my friend, Chuck Colson.

I want to tell you about it.

I want to share with you some of things I heard and some of what I saw throughout the 90-minute service.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news May 17, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The President Should Have Called The Pastors First

There’s a curious article in this morning’s New York Times detailing the evangelical fallout from President Obama’s decision last week affirming his support of same-sex marriage.

The headline reads:

After Obama’s Decision on Marriage, A Call to Pastors

The article described a presidential conference call two hours after Mr. Obama’s announcement with approximately eight African-American ministers, followed by additional phone conversations with several of his spiritual advisors. In each of the calls the president attempted to explain his rationale for the decision.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, homosexuality, news May 14, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Majority Support For Same-Sex Marriage is a Myth

Political consultant Frank Luntz calls it “poll-driven language” – the tendency to phrase a question in a way that will generate a desired answer. Operatives on both sides of the aisle have been doing this for years, but it’s especially blatant when it comes to the reporting of support/opposition to same-sex marriage.

Case in point, a recent New York Times story which was headlined, “Support for Gay Marriage Outweighs Opposition in Polls.” The report was based upon an average of various polling data which supposedly revealed that 50% of Americans support same-sex marriage while 45% oppose it.

Topics: Current Events Tags: homosexuality, marriage, news, policy May 10, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

President Obama’s Prayer Proclamation

From the President of the United States:
2012 NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER PROCLAMATION

Prayer has always been a part of the American story, and today countless Americans rely on prayer for comfort, direction, and strength, praying not only for themselves, but for their communities, their country, and the world.

On this National Day of Prayer, we give thanks for our democracy that respects the beliefs and protects the religious freedom of all people to pray, worship, or abstain according to the dictates of their conscience.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news, religious liberty May 3, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

It Takes Guts To Walk Away From a Fight

Have you been following the controversy surrounding homosexual-rights advocate and writer Dan Savage and remarks he made at the National High School Journalism Convention this past April?

The address was billed as an anti-bullying talk but quickly digressed into a series of highly critical comments decrying orthodox Christianity. After Mr. Savage used a vulgarity to describe the Bible, approximately one-hundred students made their exit in protest. However, this quiet response raised the ire of the columnist, who then used another vulgarity to criticize the protesters.

Topics: Current Events Tags: homosexuality, news, religious liberty May 1, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Tell Your Kids About This Man

Steffan Tubbs is a morning radio host on Denver’s leading talk station, KOA-AM. I enjoy listening to him along with his co-host, April Zesbaugh. They’re good at what they do.

Steffan has a tremendous appreciation for veterans, especially those who served in World War II. In fact, he’s the spokesman for The Greatest Generation Foundation, an organization dedicated to celebrating military personnel from that era. Steffan has accompanied many aging soldiers to former battlefields, including Pearl Harbor and Iwo Jima.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, friendship, news April 24, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Tributes to Chuck Colson

Today’s Focus on the Family radio program features our late friend and lion of the Christian faith, Chuck Colson. I’d invite you to listen to the broadcast by clicking here.

In the meantime, tributes from friends of Chuck’s are pouring in. He was such a beloved man and a gentleman of the highest order. While many news articles over the weekend seemed to concentrate on Chuck’s White House years, those of us who really knew him know that it was the second half of his life serving the Lord through Prison Fellowship that truly defined him.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news April 23, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Chuck Colson (1931-2012)

America has lost a gentleman and statesman of the highest integrity and character. I’ve lost a dear friend and mentor who, most importantly, modeled for me how to stand for God’s Truth with Christ’s heart. Chuck was an endlessly selfless man, whose love for and ministry to those in prison made him one of the great modern-day lions of the faith.

Chuck was a great example to me and millions of others for his willingness to share so openly about his own faults and the besetting sins of his life.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news April 21, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura