In 1977 when James Dobson started Focus on the Family, American families were in a great deal of turmoil. Dobson, a Christian psychologist who grew up in the Holiness movement started Focus on the Family to try to help resolve some of the confusion and to strengthen the home. And while he was successful in many ways, the American church began to look to him as more than just a psychologist with much better advice than the world and looked to him as an Evangelical leader. This shift was in many ways not beneficial for either Dobson or the church.
In this episode, we want to look at Dr. James Dobson’s life and overall influence on the American family and the church. One of the main issues we want to focus on is what happens when the church follows someone whose primary focus is on something other than proclaiming and teaching the Word of God. To do that, it’s crucial to understand that every Christian is not called to lead the church. Every Christian who ministers is not required to focus on teaching the church how to understand the Word of God and equipping the saints for the work of the ministry. But the men who lead the church must have as their primary focus how to cause God’s word to shine forth and to transform the hearts and minds of those they are ministering to. And it is as much the duty of the church to follow the right men as it is the duty of the leaders to have the right focus. This is one of the main reasons that Dr. Dobson’s ministry is a bit of a mixed bag. He fought fiercely against the most visible cultural attacks and pressures that were assaulting American homes such as abortion and the sexual revolution, and he championed a return to Biblically mandated corporal punishment. For all of these positions, he was viciously attacked. But at the same time, he was and continued to be first and foremost a Christian psychologist. His fundamental view of man and sin was shaped by psychological principles and while he looked to align those principles with scripture, that alignment limited the extent to which scripture could be the primary focus.
It’s important for the church to examine how it is being led. It’s important to look back and see how past decisions caused significant impacts, not so we can praise or condemn James Dobson. If his faith was in Christ, then he has and will continue to receive His eternal reward from the hand of the one who is the author and finisher of the faith of all who believe, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Timecodes
00:00:00 James Dobson
00:07:16 Dobson's Haters
00:10:54 Psychologist or Pastor
00:34:06 Entire Sanctification
00:36:13 Self Esteem
00:44:48 Media
00:53:42 Culture War
01:00:03 His Mentor
Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Permanent Hosts - Dan Horn, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director - Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music - Gabriel Hudelson