Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk

At the age of 15, Lila Rose founded Live Action, a pro-life ministry powerhouse known for its undercover exposés of Planned Parenthood abortion clinics. With nearly 3 million followers of Live Action on Facebook, the author of Fighting for Life: Becoming a Force for Change in a Wounded World reveals that she was inspired by her hero, author Corrie ten Boom, whose Dutch family risked their own lives to hide Jews from the Nazis during the Second World War.

Twelve years ago, when doctors told Pastor Jack Graham that they might not have removed all of his prostate cancer, he sank into a dark night of depression. Graham, the author of Reignite: Fresh Focus for an Enduring Faith, shares that he felt then as if he’d been hit by a Mack truck and left in a ditch. Citing Moses and Elijah, as well as Lincoln and Churchill, all of whom battled depression, Graham explains that the key to finding your way through darkness is to saturate your mind with the...

While Dietrich Bonhoeffer is known as the courageous German pastor who spoke out against the evil of Adolf Hitler, he also became a spy who sought to assassinate the dictator. He wrote, "We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself." In this Part 2 edition, Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, describes Bonhoeffer as an obedient disciple of Jesus Christ who understood that the...

During the regime of Adolf Hitler, a brave German pastor named Dietrich Bonhoeffer declared, "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, highlights the moral courage of this man who knowingly risked his life to condemn Germany’s maniacal dictator. God is still calling Christians to speak out against evil going on today.

Are you currently in a season of stagnation? Mark Jobe, author of What Now? How to Move into Your Next Season, is the lead pastor at New Life Community Church in Chicago. He says that when we’re feeling stuck and overwhelmed, seeking a fresh encounter with God will allow us to receive a new perspective. Just as the Lord took Joseph through crisis and pain, molding his character and preparing him for his calling, God is continually shaping and building us too.

Psalm 127:3 says, "Children are a heritage from the Lord." But Dr. Michael Youssef, founder of Leading the Way Ministries, insists that verse 1 provides essential context: "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain." When God is at the center of the family, He will grow, bless, guide, and protect it. Seek always His direction and your children are likely to emulate you into their adult years.

On today’s edition of Family Talk, Dr. Tim Clinton and Greg Laurie continue their conversation about Greg’s new book, Billy Graham: The Man I Knew. As Rev. Graham’s ministry continued to grow, he saw a pressing need for his "crusades," and invited a young pastor, Greg Laurie, to write relevant sermon illustrations that Billy could use to reach a younger generation. Spending significant time together, Laurie saw that Graham was the same man in private as he was in public: down-to-earth,...

There are 350,000 churches in America. But are there even 40,000 pastors who fear God and are willing to speak the truth? Dr. Jim Garlow, author of This Precarious Moment, does not believe there are. That’s why he asserts that God has raised up laymen such as psychologist, Dr. James Dobson, football coach and founder of Promise Keepers, Bill McCartney, and public servants such as Dr. Ben Carson, to say what pastors should have been saying all along.

Too often, pastors hesitate to preach against abortion and the radical homosexual agenda. The Bible speaks clearly on both issues, so why the hesitation? Dr. Jim Garlow, former pastor of Skyline Church in San Diego, asserts that pastors run into the pitfall of wanting to be loved by everyone in their pews. But as he points out, "If you're going to preach the truth, you cannot be liked by everybody in your congregation."

Many teenage girls and women wish they had a better relationship with their dads. But fathers are often hesitant to talk with their daughters about things that really matter, as if they’d rather do nothing at all than do it wrong. Dr. Michelle Watson Canfield, author of Let’s Talk: Conversation Starters for Dads and Daughters, shares with co-host Dr. Tim Clinton about how dads can begin to have meaningful conversations with their daughters. Girls tend to figure things out and feel valued as...

In this Part 2 edition, Cindi McMenamin, author of When a Woman Inspires Her Husband, along with her husband, Hugh, share how a Christian wife can be the ultimate encourager to her husband in and outside the home. She should help him look good, refrain from criticizing him in public, encourage him privately and elevate him in front of others. When a wife shows her husband that kind of unconditional Christ-like love, their marriage will be transformed!

Christian wives are often misled by contemporary culture’s false expectations of their husbands. Cindi McMenamin, author of When a Woman Inspires Her Husband, shares two pieces of advice with Dr. James Dobson. First, she says a wife needs to look to God to be the primary One to meet her emotional needs. And second, she should become her husband’s biggest cheerleader, giving him the respect he desires. When she follows that biblical model, as Cindi’s husband, Hugh, confirms in this thoughtful...

Like David, whom God plucked from obscurity as a lowly shepherd, Billy Graham was a country boy who grew up milking cows when the Lord chose him to preach the gospel and further His kingdom. Pastor Greg Laurie, author of Billy Graham: The Man I Knew, shares the story of how Billy Graham came to Christ and eventually became America’s best-known evangelist and Christian ambassador to the world. Reverend Graham once told Laurie, "I don't think I'm a very good preacher. But I think God has given...

From flying 45 missions into Iraq as an Air Force pilot and helping the Dallas Cowboys win the Superbowl three times as defensive tackle, Chad Hennings learned one thing: every man needs a wingman. God did not create us to stand alone but to be in transparent fellowship with our Creator and with other men in the body of Christ. That’s why Hennings urges every Christian man to push the reset button by attending the Promise Keepers conference later this month in Arlington, TX.

When her 6-year-old son, Brandon, had to be life-flighted to the hospital after a severe seizure, Rhonda Stoppe (pronounced STOP-ee), author of Moms Raising Sons to Be Men, was ready to walk away from the faith when God didn’t heal him. But the Lord reminded her of Scripture that says, "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you." Just as the Lord sent the bear and the lion to prepare David to defeat Goliath, she believes that God used Brandon’s...

On today’s edition of Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk, Rhonda Stoppe (pronounced STOP-ee), author of Moms Raising Sons to Be Men, warns "it is possible for a mother to deny a boy his manhood as he grows up." And if she does, Stoppe says he’ll become a mama's boy, and will still be sitting on the couch when he’s 40 years old. Especially as a boy enters puberty, he needs to answer to his father, or, if a dad is not in the picture, then a godly man who will affirm him in his masculinity.

Contrary to the false claims of today’s secularists, America is a Christian nation, as the Supreme Court declared in 1892. Indeed, 52 out of the 55 signers of the Constitution were evangelical believers. For example, Benjamin Rush not only said, "I rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ for a pardon of all my sins," but also stated that the Constitution "is as much the work of a Divine Providence as any of the miracles recorded in the Old and New Testament." Today's guest, Dr. Robert Jeffress,...

On today’s edition of Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk, and as we celebrate Independence Day weekend, Dr. James Dobson sits down with Dr. William Bennett to discuss our country’s extraordinary history and read excerpts from his 3-volume series, America: The Last Best Hope. They touch on stirring examples of American exceptionalism and warn that this great experiment in liberty and democracy is not a foregone conclusion. It is well worth defending!

Just as 1 Corinthians 13 is known as the "love chapter," and Hebrews 11 is the "faith chapter," James 3 is called the "tongue chapter." This passage describes how a horse is controlled by the bit in its mouth; a ship by its rudder, and man is controlled by his tongue. Dr. James Dobson and guest R.T. Kendall, author of Controlling the Tongue, remind us that we will have to give an account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word we have spoken.

Today, like never before, Christian parents are battling the culture over competing worldviews. And the ultimate prize in this battle is our children! That’s why Rebecca Hagelin wrote 30 Ways in 30 Days to Strengthen Your Family. Sadly, 90% of kids who go online will at some point view pornography, and a recent report has revealed that 20% of teens are sending nude photos by text. Rebecca says it’s time to practice "deliberate parenting." God wants you to protect your kids’ innocence and...