Focus Takes Next Step in Leadership Transition

Dr. James Dobson praised for "remarkable" legacy

October 30, 2009
Colorado Springs, Colo. – Focus on the Family Founder and Chairman Emeritus James C. Dobson, Ph.D., will leave the ministry as its primary radio voice at the end of February, the ministry announced today.

Dr. Dobson's departure from the radio programme and from official affiliation with the organization he founded in 1977 is just the "third chapter in a transition that began in 2003," when Dr. Dobson stepped down as Focus president, said Jim Daly, the ministry's president and CEO. It was a mutual decision between Dr. Dobson and the ministry's board of directors, which Dr. Dobson left in February of this year, Daly added.

"The Bible tells us that to everything there is a season – and Dr. Dobson's season at Focus on the Family has been remarkable," Daly said. "He has done a superlative job in modelling the graceful transition of leadership from one generation to the next.

"We're excited about continuing the work he began, and following the biblical principles he's always followed, to reach today's families."

Dobson, who will continue to record new radio broadcasts between now and the end of February, remains "a man of health and vigor" and will continue to make his voice heard in the public square, Daly said.

"Dr. Dobson is a wordsmith, but one word I don't suspect we'll hear him using is 'retirement,' " Daly explained. He added that a series of events to honor Dr. Dobson's contributions to the ministry will be held over the next few months.

"Focus on the Family has never been about one man," he added. "That's why Dr. Dobson has always refused to have his name put on any building here. It's about doing the Lord's work in helping families."

For more information, call Focus on the Family Africa at +27 31 716 3300 or email info@fotf.co.za