ex-preacher

Today I got the monthly fundraising letter from James Dobson full of pictures of his family. For a donation of only $49, you can order a nice "coffee table book" full of even more pictures of Dobson's family. For an additional $200, he will sign it! Is this incredibly lame and pretentious?

Then I came across an article in today's New York Times. (excerpts with highlights for emphasis)

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July 27, 2002
For a Giant Evangelical Ministry, Facing a Midlife Crisis at 25
By STEVE RABEY


As thousands of people gather in Colorado for this weekend's celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Focus on the Family, the international multimedia evangelical ministry, its founder acknowledges that Focus is at a crossroads.

James Dobson, 66, who started the organization in Southern California with a single radio show, fears that even after Focus has spent $1.5 billion to promote his version of biblically based parenting practices, other forces have prevailed.

"Wherever you choose to stick the thermometer, you can see that we are a nation in a great deal of trouble," Dr. Dobson said in an interview in his Colorado Springs office, which offered a panorama of Pikes Peak and views of workers putting the finishing touches on stages and stands for the anniversary.

Dr. Dobson, whose stands against abortion, homosexuality and sex outside of marriage make him a lightning rod for liberals' condemnation, says he is concerned about the future of Focus, which has had two consecutive years of flat income and a continuing inability to attract younger donors.

To some outside the organization, the fall-off in interest among younger families who do not find relevance in the message of an older generation of evangelical leaders is not surprising.

"Postmodernism calls all authority into question, and so-called experts are not to be trusted," said Tony Campolo, an author and professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University, an American Baptist School in Saint Davids, Pa. Besides that, said Mr. Campolo, one of three evangelical leaders who served as spiritual guides for President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, "a movement can exist without a God but can't exist without a devil, and Focus has lost its devil in Bill Clinton."

With or without Bill Clinton, Dr. Dobson remains plenty bedeviled by the prospects for the institution of the family, which he says is "unraveling at a faster pace than ever." Census figures show that fewer than one-fourth of American households are made up of the nuclear families that Dr. Dobson deems best.

"I was very concerned in 1977 about the disintegration of the family and felt that I had to do what I could to support it and to assist with the task of raising children," he said. "I still have that passion, but now it's in the context of what I would describe as a moral free fall."

Randall Balmer, professor of American religious history at Columbia University and the author of the Encyclopedia of Evangelicism, is skeptical of such pronouncements.

"The religious right has used the rhetoric of victimization for the last quarter-century," Professor Balmer said. "They claim that it's their values that are under attack, that they are a minority in American society. That's not true at all, but they find the rhetoric very convenient because it helps rally the troops and assists in fund-raising."

The only son of a Nazarene preacher, Dr. Dobson bypassed the seminary to study child development at the University of Southern California. His work in public schools convinced him that moral relativism had bred permissive parenting. His 1970 book, "Dare to Discipline," was hailed by born-again Christians as an alternative to the liberalism of Dr. Benjamin Spock.

[snip]

Focus rapidly mushroomed into a nonprofit organization that now spends about $125 million a year producing radio broadcasts, books and periodicals, audio and video presentations, conferences and Internet sites. Paul Hetrick, a spokesman for the ministry, which moved to Colorado Springs in 1991, says it reaches people in 115 countries, including China, every week.

But last year, the ministry's income was down for the first time, and giving has remained flat this year. Many of today's young Christian families look elsewhere for advice on marriage and parenting, and Focus's Web sites, including one for sex addicts, are popular but costly to run.

[snip]

But Dr. Dobson says the ministry has little to show for its long-running opposition to abortion, pornography and gay rights.

There are signs, too, that the family values movement is losing steam.

He says evangelical Christians have not done their part. Fewer than half voted in 2000; still fewer believe in moral absolutes. Some studies show that they divorce at higher rates than others.

"There are huge numbers of people who consider themselves deeply religious folks but who can't spare 20 minutes every other year to influence our representative form of government," he said. "I find that breathtaking."

Despite his disappointment, Dr. Dobson is philosophical. "Our mission is to save some, and if we can help some families stay together and have a meaningful life and raise responsible children, we feel that we've fulfilled our obligation."

BibleBelted

Sounds like he's under satanic attack to me. Time for an emergency radio-thon. Nothing is more important than saving those precious little ones.

These guys are always whining about how hand-outs are down. I find this very annoying.

It's like a panhandler that calls you a cheapskate because of how little you gave him.

Debbie T

Welcome to the recession, Dr. Dobson. Time to tighten your belts like everyone else is doing.

Perhaps Christian's are realizing that after 25 years Dr. Dobson's work hasn't made things better in the world. Or maybe they are sending their money to other peddlers such as Paul and Jan Crouch, Robertson or Falwell. Or just maybe they are sick of the demonizing of America done by the religious right.

I am thinking that the economy is the problem here, although I would rather it be that people are waking up and realizing they don't want to line the pockets of these people anymore, with their hard earned money.