Gary Smalley, leading Christian author and speaker on family relationships, died Sunday, March 6, at age 75, due to complications from heart and kidney disease.
Christian News Journal reports: Smalley authored 60-plus books with 6 million in sales. He taped numerous videos, led conferences in churches across the country and joined with other authors and speakers in various projects, such as resources to help people find freedom from pornography and other sexual sin by the ministry Freedom Begins Here.
Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, said Smalley also was “a trusted counselor in whom people confided their deepest longings, hurts, hopes and dreams. The practical advice and coaching he gave helped countless husbands and wives stave off divorce. How many children grew up with both their mom and their dad because God used Gary to repair and restore their marriages? More than you would imagine.â€
Smalley was a guest on Focus on the Family’s broadcast more than 50 times, Daly said in a March 7 posting at focusonthefamily.com, noting, “I especially loved Gary’s sense of humor. He took the subject of marriage and family seriously, but he didn’t take himself too seriously.â€
Smalley’s son Greg, Focus on the Family’s vice president of marriage ministries, said in comments he relayed to Daly, “I loved my dad’s authenticity and transparency. He made a living telling people how he messed up as a husband and father. He was humble enough to admit he made mistakes and driven to learn how to grow as a follower of Christ, husband and father. … [W]ho my dad was up on stage was exactly who he was at home.†More
