Entertainment

Feature Articles

Advice to Allison
I just had a most difficult experience last week. I put my younger daughter on an airplane to her new home in Dallas. This is no longer her home. Dallas is now her home. I am so proud of her and how she has grown into a godly young woman, but I still have so much I want to tell her about life.

Al's All-Time Favorite Christian Albums
This is a list of contemporary Christian albums that today's Christian should (must) have in their music collection. Some may be out of print, but each is worth the effort to search closeout bins, used record stores, auction Web sites, and garage sales if you can't find them at your local Christian music store.

God Doesn't Ask Us to be Successful
I recently received an email from a young woman who wanted to live for Jesus, but was afraid it might be too difficult. She wanted to know if she could live for Jesus and still listen to music she called “wrong.”

Winning the Spiritual War
The Bible teaches that we are in a spiritual war (Eph. 6:12). We know that’s true, but have you ever thought about where this war is taking place?

What is Quality Entertainment?
What is quality entertainment? What makes a TV program, video, or movie good? How would you answer these questions?

Ten Steps to Talk to Your Children About Values
A very shy, young man about sixteen years of age approached our display table where we had books and compilation Christian music CDs for sale. When my assistant asked what kind of music he enjoyed, he meekly responded, "Whatever my mother wants." He wasn’t kidding!

Spend More Time in Prayer
Do you pray for your children? I’m sure you do! Instead of forcing your child to listen to Christian music, I’d like to challenge you to pray that God would open your child’s eyes to the Gospel. When that happens, it’s likely his music and other forms of entertainment will began to change as well.

Setting Guidelines, Part 1
After church one Sunday, a young mother asked me how we kept our daughters from listening to secular rock music when they were growing up. My response shocked her. I told her that we had allowed our daughters to listen to any secular music they wanted to, watch any television program they wanted to, watch any movie or video they wanted to, and they were able to listen to any radio station they wanted to.

Setting Guidelines, Part 2
Last time we discussed the need for you to set entertainment guidelines for your family. I was encouraged by the positive response we received, but many stated that they didn’t know where to start. It is up to the parents to set the specific family guidelines, not some old guy like me who doesn’t know your family. What I can do, however, is offer some suggestions that proved to be successful for my family as my daughters were growing up.

The Teeter-Totter Principle
During a question-and-answer session after one of my seminars, a mother voiced a concern that seems to be on every parent's mind: "How can I talk to my son about his rock music without making him feel that I'm attacking him? He gets so defensive and he claims that his music doesn't affect him. How can I get him to see the impact this music is having on his life?"

Christian Music=Soul Food
God has vitamins for us to swallow, too. He asks us to take "spiritual vitamins" like discipline, honesty, responsibility, and obedience to help us grow strong and experience a happy, fulfilled life. Everyone needs to take their vitamins, but for many of us, they don't go down easily.

The Christian Music Diet
Christians need to see entertainment in the same way I now see fattening food. One compromise leads to another and another and another. It will eventually affect us. God's Word promises that if we continue to "feed" ourselves with the empty philosophies of this world that are against biblical values, we will struggle with our faith and joy.

Ten Steps to Control TV in Your Home
There is so much that I could share about the negative influence of television on our families. But it has all been said before by people more articulate than I. I'm going to assume you already know the power and influence of television on your family and you are ready to do something about it. Here are ten suggestions that have proven to be successful with our family.