Love him or hate him, Focus on the Family founder James C. Dobson has for more than a generation been a powerful force in our nation’s culture and politics. It’s hard to imagine him not being the face and voice of the conservative Christian ministry come the end of February.
As he steps down from Focus on the Family, we wonder whether the ministry can keep its own focus. No doubt, for many of the baby boomers who turned to Dobson and his many best-selling books for guidance in raising their children, Dobson was Focus on the Family.
Now that their children are grown and Dobson’s larger-than-life personality fades from the scene, the ministry could face big challenges in keeping up its already waning financial support.
For 32 yearsm Dobson has led the Colorado Springs-based nonprofit and helped it grow into an international powerhouse. Every day, the ministry says, some 220 million people across the world hear Dobson’s radio commentaries, which air on thousands of U.S. stations and 160 other countries, including China.
The 73-year-old licensed child, marriage and family psychiatrist is a prolific writer who came to fame in 1970 with his book “Dare to Discipline,” which advocates corporal punishment for young children. Dobson has since written 35 more books on Christian development and family.
In his long career of calling for strong Christian families and acting as a fierce opponent to abortion rights, gay marriage and pornography, Dobson has never been tainted by public scandal.
Not without controversy, Dobson helped President George W. Bush win re-election in 2004 in an endorsement that later angered some Christians during Bush’s failed nomination of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court. Miers’ record on abortion was unclear.
Complaints over Dobson’s “king- making” came from independent voters, especially during the most recent presidential election. He made headlines in 2008 when he backed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist preacher, in the GOP primaries. After stating he would never vote for Sen. John McCain “as a matter of conscience,” Dobson later changed tack after McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Focus on the Family has declined somewhat since its peak in 2002, when it employed more than 1,400 people. It now employs 860, according to The Post’s Electa Draper. Of course, most everyone’s hurting in this economy, and Focus could find its way without Dobson. But it won’t be easy, especially as Dobson, healthy and vigorous as always, can now take his act solo, as some who know him well have speculated.
While we disagree with many key elements of Dobson’s agenda, we’ve never doubted his passion for helping families and his commitment to his work. We expect we’ll continue to hear from him for years to come.
