Church Life

A Change of Focus

What a beauty pageant story revealed about a ministry.

The first time I noticed the change from James Dobson’s Focus on the Family to Jim Daly’s was when the phone rang—Dobson almost never returned Christianity Today‘s phone calls (he didn’t grant an interview for this month’s cover story, either), and the organization followed his lead. I don’t know if it was this media engagement history or the specific subject of the interview, but Daly’s first words to me were, “Bet you didn’t think I’d call you back, did you?”

It was May 2009. Dobson was still hosting Focus on the Family’s radio show, and I was inquiring about criticism of the upcoming episode, “A Modern-Day Esther”—”Esther” being beauty pageant contestant Carrie Prejean, who became a conservative celebrity when her comments on marriage apparently cost her the Miss USA title. Critics complained that Focus was undercutting its stance on sexual purity by hosting a bikini contestant who’d done some semi-nude modeling. (Focus renamed the episode “Standing Strong” before it aired.)

Daly was not defensive and didn’t go on the attack. He recognized the issue but explained the ministry’s stance. “Her past modeling jobs don’t make her opinion on marriage any less valid,” he said. “She’s a 21-year-old girl whose Christian worldview is probably not fully formed …. [But] to have the courage to state her conviction is worth praising, even if it was feebly stated.

“The other stuff we’re not as interested in. We’re not condoning it or passing judgment,” he said near the end of our interview. “I’d hate to have the Christian community focus on poor decisions she’s made as opposed to celebrating that she had the courage to speak for biblical truth.”

I’ll admit that part of me wondered if the rule being applied was that opposition to gay marriage covers a multitude of sins. But as Sarah Pulliam Bailey reports in the cover story, “Refocusing on the Family,” it’s really Daly’s modus operandi: He is far more eager to celebrate the praiseworthy than to focus on poor decisions. And he’d rather work with groups he disagrees with than condemn them. He hasn’t pleased everyone (“I am not very happy with the new, progressive, ‘loving’ leadership at Focus on the Family,” Seattle megachurch pastor Ken Hutcherson lamented last year). But Daly has many people watching and wondering if this is a case study in organizational transition.

Next month: Sociologist Brad Wright looks at the data on what your neighbors really think about your faith—and the science behind your attitude towards them; Matthew Lee Anderson argues for a comprehensive, evangelical theology of the body; and Rob Moll profiles Dave Ramsey.

Copyright © 2011 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

See our cover story on “Refocusing on the Family” and the sidebar “Family Talk, Family Business.” Check back for more articles from the July issue.

Additional Christianity Today coverage of Focus on the Family includes:

Family Talk, Family Business | Focus on the Family isn’t the only Colorado Springs organization preparing for its future after James Dobson. (July 1, 2011)

Dobson Says Goodbye (for Now) | Today is his last broadcast of Focus on the Family. But he’ll be back on the air soon. (February 26, 2010)

Focus on the Family Action Taps Former Bush Aide who Resigned for Plagiarism | (January 28, 2009)

An Obama Administration in the Eyes of Focus on the Family Action | (October 24, 2008)

Focus on the Family Praises Democrats, Slams Republicans | Dobson says values voters stayed home after GOP abandoned them. (November 9, 2006)

Shane Hipps is author of Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith.

Understanding Media , The Medium and the Light , The Disappearance of Childhood , Orality and Literacy, and Generation Myspace are available from Barnes & Noble and other book retailers.

Previous Top 5 lists have featured forgiveness, dating, poetry, C.S. Lewis, the historical Jesus, family ministry, the problem of evil, biographies of theologians, orphans, prayer,doubt, community, sports, parenting, Advent, life ethics, emerging movement, Islam, loss, Calvin, spiritual memoirs, neglected doctrines, spiritual memoirs, marriage, Lent, fiction books for the soul, managing your money, devotionals, how character shapes belief, food, atheism, China, presidents, world Christianity, ancient-future faith, the civil rights era, social justice, church history, popular culture, the Civil War, apologetics, atheism, and sex.

Christianity Today has more music, movies, books, and other media reviews.

Articles on confrontation and rebuke in Christianity Today‘s sister publications include:

The Gift of Rebuke | An examination of what makes rebuke effective and why God gave it to us. (Leadership Journal, October 1, 2002)

Pastor, I’m Offended | A pastor’s reflections on confrontation within the church body. (Leadership Journal, April 1, 2000)

Four Laws for Confrontation | Looking to the Bible for advice on church discipline. (Leadership Journal, July 1, 1984)ย ย ย 

Previous coverage of Martin Luther King Jr. and racial reconciliation includes:

In Praise of Confidence | Doubt is to be endured, not celebrated. (March 21, 2011)

Behold, the Global Church | It’s time we figured out how to talk—and listen—to one another. (November 17, 2006)

CT Classic: Confessions of a Racist | It wasn’t until after Martin Luther King Jr.’s death that I was struck by the truth of what he lived and preached. (January 1, 2000)

Previous columns by Charles Colson address topics including religious liberty, doctrinal boot camp, the incarnation, and culture wars and are available on our website.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

Refocusing on the Family

My Top 5 Books On Heaven

Jesus: Democratic King

Joy in the Midst of Terror

Back to the Garden

City Parish: An Australian Builds NYC Networks

The Power and the Glamour

The Paul We Think We Know

News

Youth Movement: Finns Seek Renewal

Review

Picturing Paradise: A Review of 'Heaven in the American Imagination'

Dying Decisions: Should Relatives Intervene?

A Second-Coming Christian

Harry Potter Is Here to Stay

News

A Liberating Woman: A Reflection on the Founder of Christians for Biblical Equality

Review

Common Grace and Amazing Grace: A Review of David Brooks's 'The Social Animal'

Books to Note

India's Grassroots Revival

News

Syria's Christians Back Assad

Readers Write

Excerpt

God Behaving Badly

Q & A: Bishop Kallistos Ware on the Fullness and the Center

News

Go Figure

News

Ministerial Murkiness: Biggest Religion Case in 20 Years?

Family Talk, Family Business

News

Christian President Retains Office, Pastor Kidnapped in Mexico, & Other News

News

Passages

News

Quotation Marks

YouVersion's Volunteer Army

News

Should Marital Infidelity Disqualify a Candidate from Office?

News

Multi-Site Churches Go Interstate

News

Renewal Groups Strategize after the PC(USA) Drops Celibacy Clause for Gay Clergy

Editorial

Harold Camping Is (Sort of) Right

View issue

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Gaza War Strains Bible Scholarsโ€™ Model of Christian Conversation

How Hamasโ€™ October 7 terror attack and Israelโ€™s response exhausted a group of evangelical Bible professors pursuing unity on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Being Human

The Four Spaces of Anxiety with Lisa Cuss

Learning to identify reactivity in ourselves and others.

News

Gordon Students Count Cells, Hoping to Unlock Cancer Mysteries

Cutting-edge microscopy research could explain why some get sick while others donโ€™t.

Chinese Christians Push to Adopt Children with Disabilities

After China banned international adoptions, some believers want the Chinese church to step up.

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Global Methodist Bishops to Dance

The new denomination tussles over its authority structureโ€”but also finds surprising points of unity.ย 

Excerpt

The Chinese Christian Who Helped Overcome Illiteracy in Asia

Yan Yangchu taught thousands of peasants to read and write in the early 20th century.

The Bulletin

A Brief Word from Our Sponsor

The Bulletin recaps the 2024 vice presidential debate, discusses global religious persecution, and explores the dynamics of celebrity Christianity.

News

Evangelicals Struggle to Preach Life in the Top Country for Assisted Death

Canadian pastors are lagging behind a national push to expand MAID to those with disabilities and mental health conditions.

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