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Focus on the Family Founder Dobson Dies at 89
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, one of the most influential evangelical Christian organizations in the United States and worldwide, has died. He was 89.
His death was confirmed Thursday by the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. Dr. Dobson, a Christian child psychologist and best-selling author, became an outspoken campaigner against abortion and what he viewed as the LGBTQ+ agenda.
Although he was never an ordained minister, The New York Times newspaper once described him as “the nation’s most influential evangelical leader.”
Dr. Dobson founded Focus on the Family in 1977 and led the Colorado Springs–based organization until 2005, when Jim Daly succeeded him as president. He remained the group’s most prominent voice through its daily radio broadcast until 2010, when he stepped down entirely.
That same year, Dr. Dobson launched Family Talk, a nonprofit media initiative under the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. The “Family Talk” radio broadcast, carried on over 1,300 stations nationwide, aimed to strengthen traditional marriages, encourage parents, and defend what he called “Biblical values in culture.”
The group also produces podcasts, books, and online counseling resources. Commentators have described Family Talk as a continuation of Dr. Dobson’s lifelong outreach to families and his broader influence on cultural debates.
FAITH, FAMILY, AND LEGACY
While Dr. Dobson wielded political influence as a leading voice in the conservative Christian movement, his lasting impact lay in his guidance to families.
In his 1987 book Parenting Isn’t for Cowards, he reminded readers: “Children are not casual guests in our home. They have been loaned to us temporarily for the purpose of loving them and instilling a foundation of values on which their future lives will be built.”
Marriage was also a recurring theme in his writings. In Life on the Edge (1995), Dobson advised young people: “Don’t marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can’t live without.”
His bestselling parenting manuals emphasized discipline rooted in relationship. “The best way to get children to do what you want,” he wrote in The New Dare to Discipline (1992), “is to spend time with them before disciplinary problems occur—having fun together and enjoying mutual laughter and joy.”
He did not shy away from acknowledging the difficulties of raising children. “Parenting is not for cowards,” he warned in the preface to Parenting Isn’t for Cowards. “It is a task that requires courage, determination, and unrelenting commitment to see it through.”
DEFENDER OF BIBLICAL VALUES
Beyond family life, Dr. Dobson urged Christians to resist the lure of material success. In Straight Talk to Men and Their Wives (1980), he wrote: “I have concluded that the accumulation of wealth, even if I could achieve it, is an insufficient reason for living. When I reach the end of my days, I must look backward on something more meaningful than the pursuit of houses and lands and machines.”
Dr. Dobson appreciated President Donald J. Trump, despite his turbulent family life. “He is much more of a gentleman than anybody knows he is. And he has kept every promise he made to the faith community,” he once told the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). “I really love and appreciate that man.”
U.S. evangelist Franklin Graham praised Dr. Dobson as “a staunch defender of the family who stood for morality and Biblical values as much as any person in our country’s history.”
“For nearly five decades, he was one of the most influential Christian leaders in our country who saw the importance of faith in culture,” Graham added. He noted that Dr. Dobson’s Family Talk radio program still reaches more than half a million weekly listeners.
“His legacy and impact for Jesus Christ will continue on for generations. I’m sure his wife Shirley and their children would appreciate your prayers,” Graham said.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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