Posts Tagged ‘Shirley Dobson’

On August 21, 2025, one of the most prominent spiritual leaders of the 20th and 21st centuries–Dr. James Dobson–passed away at age 89 and received his heavenly reward.

Dr. Dobson, as most knew him, was a vital Christian influencer in the United States and around the world through his books, radio broadcasts, and the founding Focus on the Family in 1977.

I had the privilege of meeting and working with him and his wife Shirley during a 30-year period at the National Day of Prayer in Washington, D.C. 

I am very grateful that he helped us focus on the family.

He Helped Us Focus on the Family: A Tribute to Dr. James Dobson

My wife and I started our family in 1981 with the birth of our first son, Nathan. Twins David and Bethany followed in 1983, Megan in 1986, and Ryan and Jason in 1992 and 1994.

Shirley and I were raised in nominally religious homes (as were most Americans in the 1950s and 60s) but lacked specific understanding on how to raise our children for God. During those important years we searched for books and role models to follow.

Dr. James Dobson’s Dare to Discipline (1970), Preparing for Adolescence (1974), and The Strong-Willed Child (1978) served as primers for us in child raising and Bible-based family norms. His books became a cornerstone of our family/homeschooling library for the next quarter of a century.

I’m not so sure our kids appreciated the biblical emphasis on God, the Rod, and Your Child’s Bod (the name of Larry Tomzcak’s 1982 book), but we heeded his advice, devoured Dr. Dobson’s writings, joined Focus on the Family’s mailing list, and endeavored to raise our children for Jesus.

We will always be grateful for Dr. Dobson’s wise insights on the family with God’s Word at the center.

If you’d like more information on Dr. Dobson’s life and times, I recommend Kathy Branzell’s National Day of Prayer Tribute and Dr. Richard Land Tribute: A Giant of the Faith.

Today I’d like to share some personal reflections of James Dobson and his influence on our nation/world the past fifty years.

Focus on the Family

Dr. Dobson is probably most known for establishing Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs in 1977. The FOTF campus is a giant complex that houses many aspects of ministry–all aimed at helping parents raise their kids according to the wisdom of the Bible.

I visited the campus a number of times in the 1990s and was impressed with their committed staff and the great array of ministries they created and ran on the 45 acre campus. Today Focus on the Family is a 100-million-dollar operation that continues to bless parents and children around the world.

Missionary Pioneer

It’s hard to believe that for 1900 years prior to the 20th century, only three primary leadership roles existed in the Church. You could pastor a local congregation, teach at a university (theologian, or you could be a missionary planting new works among unreached peoples.

Ruth Tucker explains that even in the 19th century, the missionary’s role was limited: 

His time was largely consumed with saving souls and planting churches. Even if he practiced medicine of translated Scriptures, he was first and foremost a preacher of the gospel. By the 20th century, that concept of a missionary was changing. Missionary work was becoming far more diversified. By mid-century, many mission societies had been founded for the express purpose of promoting certain mission specialties, and in the decades that followed, it was assumed that a missionary would specialize in a particular aspect of ministry.

Dr. James Dobson was a missionary pioneer to families–a “people group” in great need of change, especially in the West. His laser focus on family life birthed many other ministries of like persuasion over the decades.

In my book The Fourth Wave, I list thirteen areas of specialized ministries that exploded in the 20th century. Dr. Dobson’s high profile as a missionary to the family led the way.

Prophet to the Nation

I first heard Dr. Dobson speak at the National Religious Broadcaster’s Convention in Washington, D.C. in January of 1989 before 4,000 people at the Shoreham Hotel. He related his providential moments with serial killer Ted Bundy just before his death in a Florida electric chair. In my autobiography (One Small Life) I wrote:

The Lord raises up men for a certain hour. When they have completed their task, and have left the scene, he appoints another. And another. People come and go. God’s work carries on…James Dobson has now stepped forth by God’s call…How amazing and continuous are the acts of God through his people in history.

For another two decades, James Dobson’s voice on numerous issues–especially family life–reverberated through the Halls of Congress and across the nation. 

He was God’s prophet for family renewal.

The National Day of Prayer

For 36 years I participated in the National Day of Prayer in Washington, D.C. and regularly ran into James and Shirley Dobson. Shirley became the head of the National Day of Prayer Task Force in 1991 and served faithfully for the next 25 years. With the backing and influence of Focus on the Family and her husband’s notoriety, Shirley became the “builder” of the NDP into the largest prayer gathering in the nation.

Shirley wisely scheduled her husband to speak last each year at the national celebration in the Cannon Building. She knew that would keep the crowd from dwindling during the six-hour prayer time.

She was right. When Dr. Dobson “prophesied” at the end, the room was usually packed with national visitors, Congress people, and their staffs.

In 1993, Paul Fleischmann, leader of Youth Ministry Executive Council (YMEC), invited the Dobsons to a private dinner prior to the NDP for a meet-and-greet and Q&A session with 40 national youth leaders. It was special to meet them in person. Dr. Dobson was serious and thoughtful. Shirley, very gentle and kind.

I later became friends with Shirley Dobson by escorting her each year from the afternoon national celebration to the evening city-wide gathering through the labyrinth of tunnels and hallways on Capitol Hill (which I knew well from working in D.C. during the Reagan years). 

It was a privilege to help build a bridge between Shirley Dobson, the NDP national leader, and Dr. Corinthia Boone, the Capital City NDP coordinator. They were as different as night and day, but united in rallying the Church to pray for our nation.

James and Shirley Dobson formed a great partnership in ministry for 64 years–which greatly influenced and grew the National Day of Prayer.

Be There

It’s sadly true that during Dr. Dobson’s lifetime of work, the American family continued to deteriorate and splinter. He might be compared to Jeremiah who prophesied in Israel for forty years but the Jews didn’t listen.

Yet, his courage to raise the flag for family renewal certainly retarded the secular destruction of the family unit and mobilized millions to give priority to their families. 

He laid a wonderful foundation upon which many others will build.

On May 22, 1997, Dr. Dobson gave the commencement address at Huntington University, telling the story of how “Pistol” Pete Maravich, a famous basketball player, died in his arms in 1988 after a pick-up game on the FOTF campus. Here was his final challenge to the Huntington students:

I want to tell you, be there. On resurrection morning, be there. I will be looking for you then. Nothing else matters. Be there.”

Yes.

That the final focus–joining God’s eternal family through faith in Jesus Christ.