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Dr. James C. Dobson, a towering figure in American Christianity and a steadfast champion of the traditional family, passed away today at the age of 89.
A psychologist, New York Times best-selling author, Radio Hall of Fame inductee, and advisor to five U.S. presidents, Dr. Dobson spent his life promoting biblical values, strengthening marriages, and equipping parents, focusing on the vital importance of family at the heart of American life.
“Dr. Dobson was a pioneer—a man of deep conviction whose voice shaped the way generations view faith, family and culture,” said Gary Bauer, Senior Vice President of Public Policy at the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. “His bold leadership, integrity, and compassion helped equip countless families to thrive in a world of shifting values. He was a mentor, a counselor, and a steady voice of truth in turbulent times.”
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, James Dobson was the son, grandson, and great-grandson of ministers.
Known for his steadfast testimony throughout his life, he once told CBN News a story about some rebellious moments during his youth and the powerful action his father took to set him straight.
“Surprise, surprise… My dad was gone a lot, and my mother raised me. She was a great, great mother… but like a lot of kids, when I turned 16, I began to think I knew more than she did. And I had been out somewhere, I didn’t do anything really bad, but I came home, and she said, ‘I know where you’ve been,’ and I said, ‘Right, I’m going to do it again.’ And I’d never taken her on like that, and she looked at me and said, ‘What did you say?’ and I said, ‘I’ve made up my mind. There are some things I’m going to do my way.’ And she just said, ‘Hmm,’ and she had the phone sitting there, and she reached over and took the phone—my dad was a thousand miles away—and she called him while I was standing there. She had a simple message for him: ‘I need you.’ … And to my shock, my dad canceled a four-year slate of revival meetings and said, ‘I’m not doing that anymore.’ He got on a train and came home.”
That decision changed everything for the young “Jimmie Lee,” as he was called.
“And my dad, by making that sacrifice, invested in me. We hunted, we fished, he was with me. It pulled me back from the edge. I was an only child, so that time with my mother and dad was idyllic,” he recounted.
The young Dobson, however, did not follow his forefathers into the pulpit—choosing instead the path of academia. That decision led him to become a leading childhood psychologist at the University of Southern California. It also reflected his growing concern for the rapid demise of the family.
With wife Shirley and two young children, Dobson left university life in 1977 to begin a radio program on 34 Christian stations titled Focus on the Family. Ironically, he says it was his own family that began to suffer.
“I was neglecting my own family, and my dad saw it. He wrote me a letter, and I still have it today. He started off by saying how proud he was of me… but the world into which your children are born is very different than the world into which you were born. And if you don’t have time to invest in them and pray for them, you’ll lose them,” he recalled. “I could cry today, it’s been all those years. He said to me, ‘When you sit where I sit, all this other stuff you’re doing, it’s wonderful, but I’m telling you, it won’t matter anything.'”
Dobson cut back on travel and put his energy into the program. Focus on the Family took off, eventually growing to 7,000 stations in 150 countries and reaching 220 million listeners each day.
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