Ed Dobson (December 29, 1949—December 26, 2015) was a long-serving Northern Irish-American pastor, a University of VirginiaEd. D. in higher education, a popular founding dean of Liberty University,[1] and an early executive at the Moral Majority. He went on from the early decade of work with Jerry Falwell to grow disillusioned with Christian participation in the political process,[2] and to spend 18 years as pastor of Calvary Church, a Grand Rapids, Michiganmegachurch.[citation needed] He was a nationally known author and speaker on Christian and other issues, including after being diagnosed with ALS in 2000.[3]
Early life and education
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As Dean Merrill stated in Christianity Today in 1997,
[Dobson] arrived in Lynchburg at age 23. His first job was to be Liberty University’s dean of men, but before long he was also teaching New Testament survey, coaching the soccer team, and taking on more administrative duties. In time, Dobson was named vice president for student life as well as associate pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church. When the Moral Majority was organized [by Jerry Falwell] in June 1979, he was on the board.[5]
As a founding dean of Liberty University, Dobson was popular [with students and colleagues].[1] Journalist Merrill goes on to state, "Three years later [ca. 1982], the premiere issue of Fundamentalist Journal [a new Falwell-founded publication] listed him as one of two senior editors, and he became editor-in-chief two and a half years after that."[5] In the same time frame, Dobson and another Liberty faculty member, Ed Hindson, effectively ghost-wrote Falwell's The Fundamentalist Phenomenon.[full citation needed][7]: pg. unknown
By the late 1980s, Dobson had expressed what he aknowledges as disillusionment toward Christian participation in the political process,[2] and he moved away from fundamentalism toward mainstream evangelicalism,[citation needed] deciding that the rationale behind the Moral Majority had been wrongheaded—that to a significant degree cultural problems could not be remedied through the political process.[7]: p.15 [non-primary source needed][verification needed] In 1987, Dobson left Liberty (just as Falwell became responsible for the empire of failed televangelistJim Bakker).[8][third-party source needed][verification needed]
Dobson took the position of senior pastor at Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he would remain for eighteen years (1987–2005).[8] While pastor there, Dobson mentored a number of young men who had recently entered the ministry or were considering doing so, including Rob Bell, Michael Hidalgo, Jim Samra, Brett Werner, and Marvin Williams.[citation needed] During Dobson's pastorate, Calvary planted Mars Hill Bible Church, which would be led by Rob Bell.[9]
Dobson was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease) in 2000.[10] Dobson continued in the pastorate of Calvary Church until 2005,[8] wrote the memoir, Prayers and Promises when Facing a Life-Threatening Illness, published by Zondervan in 2007,[11] and served as an advisory editor for Christianity Today.[when?][12]
In 1993, Moody Bible Institute named Dobson "Pastor of the Year".[12] In Spring 2008, Grand Rapids Theological Seminary dedicated a "Dobson Study Center" in its classroom building to honor Dobson's long pastorate and television ministry in Grand Rapids.[15]
Personal life
Dobson lived for much of the latter part of his life in Grand Rapids, Michgan,[12][better source needed] and his family included two sons, Kent and Daniel.[16][17]
A short video was made of Dobson's struggle with his ALS,[14] and was widely viewed.[citation needed] Ed Dobson died on December 26, 2015, at age 65.[1]
Altruism
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Dobson was a Corvette enthusiast, and participated in a cross-country drive on Route 66 to raise money for ALS research, an event tht drew "40 friends and a dozen Corvettes" and raised on the order of $275,000; he stated, at the time,"I’m just praying this trip will... lead to greater awareness and... research to find a cure, probably not for me but for others”.[1]
Personal criticisms
As noted in his obituary, some religious conservatives had earlier criticized Dobson "for his decision to have an occasional beer while testifying about his Christian faith".[1] The obituary, widely circulated through syndication, was by Adelle M. Banks (for the Religion News Service), and went on to state that the wrestling he did in his "Year of Living Biblically" likewise resulted in criticism, as it
led the man who once helped run the now-defunct Moral Majority to vote for a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time, even though he disagreed with then-Sen. Barack Obama about abortion. / “I felt that Mr. Obama was closer to the essence of Jesus’ teachings—compassion for the poor and the oppressed, being a peacemaker, loving your enemies and other issues,” he wrote in an explanation of his decision.[1][18]
Family publicity
Dobson's son, Kent, became pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church (formerly pastored by Rob Bell, whom Ed Dobson had mentored) but resigned in November 2015, telling the congregation that he was "not drawn to the orthodox or the mainstream or the status quo."[16][19][20]
In May 2013, Dobson's son Daniel, a U.S. Army veteran of the Iraq war, came out publicly as gay.[17]
^ abPBS Staff & Dobson, Ed (15 October 2009). "Interview: Ed Dobson"(edited transcript). PBS.org. God in America. Retrieved 13 December 2024. Pastor emeritus of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., Dobson worked for Jerry Falwell for more than a decade, and drafted the Moral Majority's platform. He later co-authored Blinded by Might, a book critical of the religious right, and recently published The Year of Living Like Jesus. This is the edited transcript of an interview conducted on Oct. 15, 2009.
^Merica, Dan (18 February 2012). "Facing Death, A Top Pastor Rethinks What It Means To Be Christian". CNN.com. Atlanta, GA; New York, NY: CNN Belief Blog. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2024 – via The Washington Post. Editor's Note: The short film accompanying this story, called "My Garden," comes from EdsStory.com. CNN.com is premiering the latest installment in the "Ed's Story" series.
^ abcMerrill, Dean (11 August 1997). "The Education of Ed Dobson, Part I". Christianity Today. Retrieved 13 December 2024. See end of Part II of the series, for disclosure of the author's name. Note, Merrill does not state the years of Dobson's degrees.
^ abThomas, Cal & Dobson, Ed (1981) Blinded by Might: Can the Religious Right Save America?, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Dobson said that they produced "the material so he could edit it... we were putting Jerry's political agenda in writing."[page needed]
^Shelley, Marshall; Reed, Eric; Zahn, Drew & Dobson, Ed (2001). "Leave Room For God". Leadership Journal. 22 (4, Fall). Wheaton, IL: Christianity Today. Archived from the original(introductory biography and interview) on 10 July 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2015 – via CTLibrary.com.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Dobson, Edward G. (2007) Prayers and Promises when Facing a Life-Threatening Illness, Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
^ abcDobson, Edward G. & Zondervan Staff (18 June 2008). "Edward G. Dobson". Zondervan.com. Archived from the original(author biography) on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2008. Edward G. Dobson / Ed Dobson, pastor emeritus of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, serves as an advisory editor for Christianity Today and consulting editor for Leadership. He holds an earned doctorate from the University of Virginia, was named "Pastor of the Year" by Moody Bible Institute, and is author of numerous books including Blinded by Might and Starting a Seeker Sensitive Service. He moved to the USA in 1964 from Northern Ireland and now lives with his family in Grand Rapids.
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