I was impressed to learn of Daly and a progressive publisher in Colorado Springs joining forces to put on a benefit concert for those whose homes were destroyed in the Waldo Canyon wildfire. He publicly credited President Obama for being a good father and husband, and he has stood with Christian leaders of varied stripes in calling for humane immigration reform. In addition to de-emphasizing Christian right politics, Daly is reaching out to people who thought they had permanent places on the organization's enemies list. Like many evangelicals, the group has woken up to the downside of the culture war politics and is getting back to basics - which means, in Focus' case, serving families in the name of Jesus. Those plus that ultimate pariah designator: "hate group."īut the more I have learned about " Focus 2.0," as some call it, and the more I've heard about the changed tone and different emphases coming out of Colorado Springs in the new Daly era, the more I've complicated my opinion of the group. "Anti-woman," " anti-choice" and "anti-gay" are the terms often marshaled in liberal discourse today when the organization is mentioned. Under the decades-long leadership of James Dobson, the group became a catalyst for the Christian right political movement and took center stage in the culture wars. It also explains why I brought not just questions but an olive branch as well when I journeyed to Focus on the Family as part of the research for my new book. That Daly would let his guard down like this tells you a lot about the change breaking out in evangelical America. The man making this astonishing admission? Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, the faith-and-family organization based in Colorado Springs that has been riling secular progressives, including yours truly, for many years. sometimes we hated the sinner, too, and that's not the Gospel." Engage in dialogue with Governments, UN agencies, civil society, the private sector and academics, facilitating the exchange of good practices in family policy making."We've said we hate the sin and love the sinner," the evangelical speaker said to an auditorium of university students and professors.Exchange good practices in family policy making disseminate information and support networking on family issues and.Provide technical assistance and capacity-building for family policy development and projects for family wellbeing.Encourage and support coordination on policies and programmes within national governments and within the UN system.Provide substantive servicing in the areas of family and family policy to United Nations intergovernmental bodies, particularly the General Assembly, the Commission for Social Development and the Economic and Social Council.Promote the integration of a family perspective into policy-making at the national, regional and international levels.Advocate to integrate a family perspective into national, regional and international development agendas.
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