CrossCurrent Podcasts

The world needs formed, not just informed, believers.

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Download the Colson Educators app today on the Apple App Store or Google Play.

People skills are essential for building meaningful relationships. Debra Fileta explores the different levels of communication that determine how we care for others, even through hard times. By looking at how we show up in conversation, Debra encourages us to walk in our relationships with greater humility and awareness, no matter the social temperature.
Receive a copy of People Skills and an audio download of "Transform Your Relationships Through Better Communication" for your donation of any amount! Plus, receive member-exclusive benefits when you make a recurring gift today. Your monthly support helps families thrive.
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Do you have a story or comment on how Focus on the Family impacted you or your family? Leave a message for Jim Daly! 
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What if your family had a mission as clear as any thriving organization? Without intentionality, families don’t drift toward health—they drift toward chaos. In a world pulling parents in a thousand directions, many Christian families find themselves simply reacting, drifting instead of living with God-given purpose. In this must-listen episode of Christian Parent/Crazy World, host Catherine sits down with Derek England, Executive Director of Family ID—a ministry with over 25 years of experience equipping parents to build intentional, value-driven homes.

Why This Episode Matters:
Every family drifts—unless you set your direction on purpose. Few of us stop to ask, “Why has God brought our unique family together?” or, “How do we intentionally pass on our core values?” Catherine and Derek England shine a spotlight on the practical and biblical tools that can transform your family from surviving to thriving.

Guest Highlight:
Derek England is not only leading Family ID but has personally experienced how clarifying family identity can radically alter the trajectory of a home. His heart is for every family—from toddlers to teens—to discover their God-given calling together.

What You’ll Discover in This Episode

Why Family Culture Matters

• Catherine reminds us that “families don’t drift toward health—they drift toward chaos.” The foundational strength of your family is the most important ministry, eclipsing even your career and outside achievements.

Intentionality Over Drift

• Derek England explains how, after years of approaching work with strategy and goals but “taking family one day at a time,” he and his wife attended a Family ID workshop and immediately knew they’d found what was missing. “Once you think it, you can't unthink it.”

Your Family’s God-Given Uniqueness

• Not every family is called to the same mission. Discover the importance of answering the question: “Who are we?” Hear how Family ID helps thousands of families articulate their unique identity, purpose, and direction—with tools that actually shape daily life.

The 16 Family Types

• Using research and decades of experience, Family ID has identified 16 different family cultures—from “harmonious” (like the elephant: connected and relational) to “focused” (passionate, intentional, persistent). Find out how an online, totally free assessment can help you discover yours.

Living Out Core Values

• Hear how Derek England’s family intentionally chooses and lives by five core values such as “radically protective of quality time” and “unwavering integrity.”

• Learn why having just a handful of clearly-stated values provides a shared language and an anchor for decision-making—even for young kids.

Practical Tools You Can Use Today

• Family ID offers bite-sized videos and workbooks to walk you through creating your own family identity, mission, and values—accessible online, easy to do in short sittings, and free from cost barriers.

• The Family ID process includes resources to ensure every voice—including your kids’—is heard as you clarify and celebrate your unique family strengths.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “When you know who you are, you’ll know what to do.” – Derek England

• “Our family didn’t start with us, and it won’t end with our kids.” – Derek England

• “Where there is a lack of vision, the people perish… Where there’s a lack of vision for your family, it won’t thrive.” – Catherine

Anecdotes That Hit Home

• Catherine shares how her daughter discovered a laser-foc

Scribal Practices and Approaches Reflected in the Texts Found in the Judean Desert, Revised Second Edition (Brill, 2025) revises the first edition of this book (2004) which is long overdue. Many segments needed revision due in large part to the veritable flood of studies published in the wake of the first edition. In other cases, the author changed his mind in his continued study of the scrolls improved by the new images of the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library. Hyperlinks to this library are now added to most references to the scrolls. This book covers many aspects of a handbook for those who study the scrolls, material culture, and edit scroll fragments.

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Most Christian parents want their children to grow up with a strong faith—but it can be hard to know how to nurture that faith in everyday life. Tim Shoemaker shares creative and practical ways parents can make family devotions engaging, memorable, and meaningful for kids of all ages. You’ll discover how simple, intentional moments at home can help pass faith to the next generation while also growing parents in their own walk with God.
Receive a copy of "The Very Best, Hands-On, Kinda Dangerous Family Devotions, Volume 2" and an audio download of "More Unforgettable Faith Lessons to Do with Your Kids" for your donation of any amount! Plus, receive member-exclusive benefits when you make a recurring gift today. Your monthly support helps families thrive.
Get more episode resources
Do you have a story or comment on how Focus on the Family impacted you or your family? Leave a message for Jim Daly! 
If you enjoyed listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, please give us your feedback.

If we want healthy young men who know that their strength is to serve others, we need to point them to heroes to admire and follow.

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Join Abdu Murray, Gretchen Huizinga, and John Lennox (virtually) as they help us explore how Christians can live out our God-given humanity in an increasingly AI-driven world. Register at greatlakessymposium.org.