COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO - James Dobson made his last radio broadcast Friday for Focus on the Family, the conservative Christian ministry he founded 33 years ago and built into an influential political and social voice.
“I have a lump in my throat, but God’s in control,” Dobson told listeners.
Dobson, an outspoken opponent of abortion and gay marriage, has been gradually withdrawing from the organization, stepping down as president in 2003 and as chairman of the board last year.
He plans to start a new show, “Family Talk with James Dobson,” this spring.
Dobson said Friday the new show isn’t competition for Focus on the Family, noting that Focus agreed to donate $1 million to help him start.
“I’m not setting out to construct some magnificent organization like, frankly, this one is,” he said. “But I also do not believe the Lord is done using my voice in the culture and speaking to parents.”
Dobson said he’ll continue to speak out on family, marriage and public policy.
Co-hosts on the new show will be his son Ryan, who heads KOR World Ministry, and LuAnne Crane, a senior producer of Focus on the Family radio.
He joked Crane would speak to women, his son to younger people, “and I will speak to the geezers.”
from The Associated Press

Dobson stepped down as president of FOTF in 2003 and resigned as chairman of the board in February 2009.
Leading the organization as president and chief executive officer now is 49-year-old Jim Daly, who assumed the presidency of Focus on the Family in 2005 after 16 years with the ministry.
Despite the move away from Focus on the Family’s helm, Dobson made it very clear that he can’t simply retire, sit back and watch while the nation “is facing a crisis that threatens its very existence.”
“The institution of the family continues to be in deplorable condition, and children are growing up in a culture that often twists and warps their young minds,” he expressed Tuesday.
“We are in a moral decline of shocking dimensions,” he added.
Under the circumstances, Dobson felt it was important to move forward with a new effort while also encouraging his supporters to continue preserve and strengthen the significant and valuable work of Focus on the Family, which he says “must not be allowed to languish in the days to come.”
For his new venture, Dobson is expecting a budget of about two million dollars and has been encouraging supporters to give generously as they had in helping grow Focus on the Family.
The new 30-minute radio program will be hosted by Dobson and his son, Ryan, and will be carried daily on “numerous” stations.
“Please be prayer for us as we take this step,” Dobson said before concluding his Dec. 28 letter to supporters.
from Church Executive
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