James Dobson, Founder of Focus on the Family, Dies at 89
James Clayton Dobson Jr., the evangelical psychologist who became one of the most recognizable voices in American Christianity through his ministry Focus on the Family, died on August 21, 2025. He was 89. His passing was confirmed by the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.
For more than four decades, Dobson shaped evangelical thought on marriage, parenting, and family life. Trained as a child psychologist, he first gained national attention in 1970 with his bestselling book Dare to Discipline, which promoted a model of firm yet caring child-rearing. The book’s success led to media appearances, speaking tours, and eventually the creation of a small radio program that would become the foundation of Focus on the Family.
Launched in 1977, Focus on the Family grew from modest beginnings in Southern California into a sprawling organization with international reach. At its height under Dobson’s leadership, the ministry employed more than a thousand staff, published books and magazines, offered counseling services, and, most notably, produced a daily radio broadcast heard by millions of listeners across the country.
Dobson often described himself as a family counselor rather than a political activist, but his voice carried considerable weight in the nation’s cultural debates. Focus on the Family became a major player in the rise of the Religious Right, advocating on issues such as abortion, marriage, and education. Presidents and politicians sought Dobson’s support, and his ability to rally evangelical voters made him a key figure in conservative politics from the 1980s through the early 2000s.
Even after stepping down from Focus on the Family in 2010, Dobson remained active. He founded the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute and launched Family Talk, a new radio ministry that continued to broadcast his commentaries, interviews, and advice to a wide audience. Over his lifetime, he authored more than 30 books, including Love Must Be Tough and Bringing Up Boys, which extended his influence well beyond the airwaves.
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on April 21, 1936, Dobson was the son of a Nazarene minister. He earned his doctorate in psychology from the University of Southern California and spent his early career in academia and pediatric counseling before turning to media ministry. That background gave him a rare ability to combine psychological insight with evangelical conviction in ways that resonated deeply with his audience.
Dobson’s admirers regarded him as a steadfast defender of family and faith; his critics saw him as a symbol of evangelical entanglement with politics. Yet few disputed his impact on both church and culture. His legacy is woven into the institutions he built, the countless families influenced by his teaching, and the evangelical movement he helped to shape.
He is survived by his wife, Shirley, their children, and grandchildren.
JOIN US Everybody can earn 250/h USD + daily 1KI’ve made 42,000USD so far last year working online.I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. It’s really user friends and I’m just so happy that I found out about it. Go to this site home tab for more details.
Just join This Website↠ ↠↠↠☛ https://Www.Paycash1.site
ᴍ ᴍᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴏᴠᴇʀ 𝟷𝟹ᴋ ʙᴜᴄᴋs ᴀ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜ ᴡᴏʀᴋɪɴɢ ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ. cx ɪ ᴋᴇᴘᴛ ʜᴇᴀʀɪɴɢ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ᴛᴇʟʟ ᴍᴇ ʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴍᴏɴᴇʏ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴄᴀɴ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴏɴʟɪɴᴇ sᴏ ɪ ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ɪɴᴛᴏ ɪᴛ. ᴡᴇʟʟ, ɪᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴀʟʟ ᴛʀᴜᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀs ᴛᴏᴛᴀʟʟʏ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇᴅ ᴍʏ ʟɪғᴇ.
ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴅᴏ.→̶>̶→̶→ https://Www.Worksprofit1.online
My roomate’s mom-in-regulation makes usd eighty one each hour at the laptop . She has been fired for eight months but remaining month her paycheck turned into usd 17367 just operating on the pc for a few hours…..
Reading This Article:———- https://Www.Jobs99.site
Remote work isn’t just a trend, it’s the future of work. qs Work Remotely from your own house. We just want your typing skills, You can make more than 120USD/Hr. No matter where you are. Let’s Grow together and do great things, even if we’re far apart…
Take a Look……… https://Www.Cash43.Com
My roomate’s mom-in-regulation makes usd eighty one each hour at the laptop . She has been fired for eight months but remaining month her paycheck turned into usd 17367 just operating on the pc for a few hours…..
Reading This Article:———- http://Www.Payathome9.Com
JOIN US Everybody can earn 250/h USD + daily 1KI’ve made 42,000USD so far last year working online.I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. It’s really user friends and I’m just so happy that I found out about it. Go to this site home tab for more details.
Just join This Website↠ ↠↠↠☛ https://Www.HighProfit1.Com
I’ve got my first check for a total of thirteen thousand US dollars. I am so energized, this is whenever I first really acquired something. I will work much harder now and I can hardly hang tight for the following week’s installment. Go to the Home tab for more detail. I highly recommend everyone to apply………………. Www.Works6.Com
JOIN US Everybody can earn 250/h Dollar + daily 1K… Y You can earn from 6000-12000 Dollar a month or even more if you work as a part time job…It’s easy, just follow instructions on this page, read it carefully from start to finish… It’s a flexible job but a good eaning opportunity.tab for more detail thank you……..
For details check ——-⫸ http://www.join.money63.com
This is the filthy Calvinist who STOLE our money and then PURPOSEFULLY threw the culture war to the gays because Calvinist trash like him believe everything is merely predestined. Good riddance to so much rubbish.
One of your stupidest comments to date. If he were that fatalistic, he never would’ve written the first book.
What you’re claiming about him, is just about the opposite of the truth. One of his best books, in my opinion, was titled “Love Must be Tough”, where he explains how toughness and steadfastness is often the most loving approach. If Christians had followed the principle of tough love, then the church wouldn’t now be falling away, with a large percentage now embracing, celebrating, and promoting sin.
He is the one that decided to soft peddle the opposition to gay marriage and it literally led to its legalization. He bilked good Christians out of their money Then he threw the culture war becauaw Calvinists need a depraves society to try to prove their falaw doxyrine of total depravity. But all that was proved is nobody is born with total depravity but total depravity is brainwashed into people by the government being wicked. So despite getting their precious gay marriage legalized the Calvinists still lose, as they also will lose on the Day of Judgement.
He decided to only argue the neagtive consequences of not having both a mother and father in the home and not that scripture condemns it as a sin. He threw the culture war, brainwashed pastors to be soft on the issue, and destroyed Western society.
No, that’s what happens when people get too political. They start making atheistic arguments that would carry political weight, and set about trying to explain how and why the Bible is correct, but in a manner and from a perspective that could be codified into law. As a psychologist, he approached it from that academic perspective, for that reason. I agree that it’s a mistake to not just stand up and say “it’s sin” and “because God said so”. In the grand scheme of things, what God says is all that matters, and that’s more than enough to end any debate. It’s all the argument we need. But what you’re describing is more a symptom of our politics, and how both parties often work off of one another in a race to the bottom. You’re looking for individuals and groups to blame, Calvinists one minute, Jews the next, somebody else five minutes later, but you fail to realize that we battle not against flesh and blood. It’s a spiritual war. And the deceiver is at work in and on all “sides” …
As I said, if he were a fatalistic Calvinist, he would not have written any books at all, in the first place. Pay attention. And think about it.
Calvinists write books only to make money. They write books but attack anyone trying to truly fix a problem. Because they don’t want the problem fixed. But they want money and to pretend they want the problem fixed.
That’s your problem, right there. You’re trying to fix what only God can fix. It takes a change of heart. Without a change of heart, nothing is ever fixed. And only God can do that, through the work of the Holy Spirit.
This is where you, and those with similar theology to yours, are severely at odds with the Gospel. You cannot forcibly “fix” anybody. You cannot forcibly create heaven on earth. This is why the Bible tells us to disassociate, and to not go out and proactively judge the world (1 Cor. 5). Rather, we call the world to repentance.
If you want to blame someone for sin in the world, then blame Adam. Right. Blame the serpent.
Ultimately, yours is a false gospel. You blame everything and everyone except the sin of Adam, and you think the way to fix everything and everyone is every way but the change of heart and mind that only God can bring about. In so doing, you show yourself to be depraved and living enslaved to your flesh rather than living, born again, by the Spirit.
You mistake what I just stated as just throwing up our hands and giving up. Some have called it “loser theology”. You see it as supporting depravity. To the point that you call people fatalistic Calvinists, who aren’t anywhere near being Calvinist, much less the hyper-Calvinist fatalistic sort.
On the contrary it’s recognizing how God works. It’s knowing and understanding the Gospel. God will always win. Whether or not we win or lose, He will always win.
Your mindset, and your theology, is about like looking at Jesus hanging on the cross and saying “He lost!”
Well, you’d better guess again …
Wickedness comes from the heart (Mark 7:21-23). The sinner is without excuse (Rom. 1:20)
The heart is where things are fixed. The work of Jesus and God’s love for us is why things are fixed. The point of repentance and submission to Him is when things are fixed. The Spirit countering the sinful flesh, making us a born again new creature, is how things are fixed.
If you want things to be fixed, Titus, that’s the when, why, where, and how its done … that’s the gospel, and there is no other way in existence that will work. That’s the only way to fix anything, that will actually work.
Probably the number one rallying cry of all those unrighteous is what? They yell, “I was born good!”
Yet what do you argue here, Titus, if not the same thing?
What happens when you sin, do you take responsibility for it, or do you blame someone else? Do you say, “the Jews made me do it!” … “it was the Calvinists!” ??
You can argue the theology of total depravity, but you can’t argue against any and all depravity. All are born into sin. And there’s a false dilemma many believe, though there is a point where total depravity is not at odds with the fact that God is not willing that any should perish. Who did Jesus say the Holy Spirit would convict of sin, righteousness, and judgment? The world. That means everybody. He’s calling all to repentance. See, so it is very possible for people to have been born fully and completely depraved, and for salvation to be entirely a work of the Lord, yet also the gospel be for all and not just a select few. Buying into and believing the many false dilemmas is a part of the problem. You have to understand that the scripture doesn’t conflict, just as its Author is perfect. And know that its not wrong just because you might not understand it. But instead of that, you undermine original sin, the fact that sin entered the world through Adam, that all are born into sin, and therefore essentially reject the entire gospel in the process.
Its an unassailable fact that Calvinists made gay marriage legal to sneak in their false doctrine.
Like who? It was pushed by the Obama admin, and organizations such as the HRC. None of them are Calvinists. Certainly, according to scripture, none are even Christians, despite what they may claim.
It’s a sin to justify sin. (Prov. 17:15, etc.) And scripture clearly says that those who continue in sin are not born again. To justify sin, in any manner whatsoever, would be proof they’re certainly not one of the elect, much less born again. Doing so is, in fact, depraved.
And it’s worth remembering here that false accusation is a very serious sin.
If I’m not mistaken, none of the SCOTUS justices were protestant/evangelical. All professing Christians were RCC.
Who in the sam hill are you talking about, Titus?
You and some of the other conspiracy theorists here, it seems you do nothing but falsely accuse. Do you not understand that false accusation is a serious sin? Read Deut. 19:15-21.
If you continue in that sin, are you born again? What’s the Bible say about that?
Where is your proof of this supposed “unassailable fact” ?????
What you’re describing, Titus, is not Calvinism, but rather Confucianism. The idea that there is some sort of “ideal” balance between good and evil. At the end of the day, like all other false religions and philosophies, it is nothing but an effort to justify evil. It justifies sin and wrongdoing. It’s nothing but an excuse.
I will concede that Roman Catholics borrow from Confucianism, in that they believe the good has to outweigh the bad. And that notion is clearly not in accordance with scripture. Jesus says our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees (Matt 5). We are called to 100% righteousness, and 0% wickedness. Evil is never justifiable.
Since the professing Christians on SCOTUS at that time were all RCC, I will concede that it could be possible for such Confucianist ideas to have played a role. But Roman Catholics are not Calvinists.
Roman Catholics are probably the closest to Confucianism of any professing Christians. Others who pervert the grace of God into a license to sin, are not. They are the sort who completely reject God’s definition of what’s evil and what’s good, substituting their own, and pervert the grace of God to a license to be 100% evil and 0% good. They’re not the same.
I personally do not agree with the hyper-calvinists, as I explained prior. Though scripture does say that some are indeed condemned as they live and breathe – those given to strong delusion (2 Thess. 2), and those who are condemned from long ago (2 Pet. 2, Jude) -, we don’t necessarily know who is or is not too far gone and beyond redemption. That’s for the Lord to judge.
No, its Calvinism, because when you say people are born “totally depraved” its to your benefit to use government to brainwash people to become “totally depraved” i.e. gay. That is why Calvinists worked toward making gay marriage legal. But in the end, it proved that “total depravity” is NOT inherited but something that bad governments (governments influenced by Calvinists) brainwash people into.
You are one messed up dude, Titus.
By your backward “reasoning”, since the Gospel is that all are born into sin, it would be to the advantage of Christians to promote sin. If not total depravity, then some depravity. See, whether the subject is total depravity or partial depravity, all are born with a fallen sinful nature. That’s why we need a Savior. That’s foundational to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without original sin, there is no Gospel. Without original sin, there would be no need for a Savior to reconcile us to our Creator. Without original sin, there would be no need to be born again by the Spirit.
You might as well be trying to claim that the entire Bible promotes sin just to prove itself correct. That Jesus and the Apostles promote sin in order to prove themselves correct. That Almighty God promotes sin just to prove himself correct.
That’s irrational.
And I’m not going to waste my time with you any longer. You are intentionally not paying attention. You continue in false and unsubstantiated accusations, and other sins. You intentionally show that you are without conscience, and therefore that you are yourself, depraved.
If all are born good, Titus, then where does evil come from?
See, you have to explain the existence of evil by saying that “some” are born bad, but not all. And then you set about to falsely accuse those who you believe were born bad. And who, apparently, caused you yourself to sin, because none are without sin, and you’ve sinned just in your comments here, if none other.
One minute it’s the Jews. The next it’s Calvinists. Tell me, if Calvinists are doing such evil things, then wouldn’t that mean they were born depraved? Or were they born good and did somebody else make them depraved?
You’re irresponsible. You take no responsibility for yourself. The truth is, you are exactly like the wokeists in this regard. And as I noted, you’re exactly like the homosexuals and transvestites, in that same manner. Your false religion is a lot more like Critical Theory. Always blaming somebody else.
Use your noggin, son
JOIN US Everybody can earn 250/h USD + daily 1KI’ve made 42,000USD so far last year working online.I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. It’s really user friends and I’m just so happy that I found out about it. Go to this site home tab for more details.
Just join This Website↠ ↠↠↠☛ https://Www.EarnApp1.Com
I started using this remote work platform about a month ago, and honestly, I was surprised how simple it is. I’m now making 1170+ per week — just from my phone. No special skills, no interviews. If you’re looking for something real and flexible, I’ve shared all the info on my site.
HERE☛ rb.gy/uvl61c
I’ve got my first check for a total of thirteen thousand US dollars. I am so energized, this is whenever I first really acquired something. I will work much harder now and I can hardly hang tight for the following week’s installment. Go to the Home tab for more detail. I highly recommend everyone to apply………………. Www.Works6.Com
JOIN US Everybody can earn 250/h USD + daily 1KI’ve made 42,000USD so far last year working online.I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. It’s really user friends and I’m just so happy that I found out about it. Go to this site home tab for more details.
Just join This Website↠ ↠↠↠☛ https://Www.EarnApp1.Com
Good riddance.