I join a multitude of believers in mourning the death of Dr. James Clayton Dobson, Jr., who went to meet his Creator and Redeemer on August 21st. He was the founder of Focus on the Family, a faith-based radio program that is broadcast in more than a dozen languages on over 7,000 stations worldwide. Although he was not an ordained minister, he was a champion for social and traditional conservatism.
He was called “the nation’s most influential evangelical leader” by The New York Times and one of the most powerful spokesmen for the values sincere Christians hold dear. He was a prolific author and a valiant soldier for truth in the American culture war.
Martha Jean and I had the privilege of “dining with the Dobsons” in a setting that exceeded the mundane, humdrum existence that generally characterizes our lives.
It all started in the spring of 1995, when a very notable couple began showing up in our congregation during my tenure as pastor of Eastside Baptist Church in Marietta. When I stood up to preach one Sunday morning, I saw U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and his wife seated in our worship center.
He was kind and complimentary about our worship service when he spoke to me at the door of the church after the benediction. In the succeeding months, the Gingrich couple came to Eastside when they were in their Marietta home, located only a couple of miles from the church.
I attempted to visit them in their home, but they were apparently never in town when I tried to call on them. However, during the Christmas season of 1995, Speaker Gingrich invited Martha Jean and me to join him at his table for the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Hotel on February 1, 1996.
We were so excited to have that opportunity and accepted the Speaker’s invitation with great delight. We traveled to Washington on January 31 for the breakfast the next morning. When we arrived, we discovered that we were at table number one right in front of the platform. The Speaker was already there, and we were soon joined by members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and then James and Shirley Dobson came to sit at our table as well.
I was privileged to sit next to James Dobson, and we had a delightful conversation about his ministry and discussed the biblical foundations that inspired and solidified his convictions regarding a traditional, nuclear family.
For some unexplainable reason, I did not know the significance or meaning of “nuclear family.” For all I knew, it was a family that was about to explode. However, Dr. Dobson explained to me that a nuclear family is simply a traditional family with a mother and father and their children living together as one household.
I don’t know how our conversation disintegrated into such a prosaic, pedestrian chatter, but we somehow started talking about television game shows, and I mentioned that in the summer of 1967 my wife and I were on vacation to California and while in the Los Angeles area decided to see if we could get in the audience of “Let’s Make a Deal” hosted by Monte Hall. We not only succeeded in getting in the audience but were chosen to be contestants on the show.
James Dobson smiled and said, “You won't believe it, but Shirley and I were contestants on ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ as well.”
He said, “Did you win anything?
I replied, “Yes, we won a Maytag washer and dryer, $200, and some boxes of 20 Mule Team Borax. We also had a chance to go for the big prize – a Pontiac Firebird sports car, but decided that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
I am sure I asked Dr. Dobson if they won anything, but for the life of me, I can’t remember if they were awarded a prize or not. However, I recall him saying, “Being on the program satisfied my game show greed enough for a lifetime.”
My overall impression of James and Shirley Dobson in that brief encounter was heartwarming; and I concluded that James Dobson’s ministry has been founded on the vision of a man who loved the Lord and had a passion to bless families with biblical truth and a godly example. His influence will continue to be felt through the international Christian communications ministry he established, now led by Jim Daly.
___
J. Gerald Harris is a retired pastor and journalist who served as editor of The Christian Index for nearly two decades. You can reach him at gharris@loveliftedmehigher.org.
Share with others
