The religious right, like any political movement, has to worry about replacing long-time leaders. The Big Three — [tag]Robertson[/tag], [tag]Falwell[/tag], and [tag]Dobson[/tag] — are all in their 70s and have begun to experience health problems. It’s only natural for the movement’s organizations and activists to start wondering who’ll lead the crusade for the next generation.
Dobson’s Focus on the Family, however, is asking itself a slightly different question. Instead of wondering how to fill the big guy’s shoes, Focus wants to figure out how to keep Dobson around — indefinitely.
Several years ago, the ministry’s board and its top executives began grappling with the question of a successor for James Dobson. In 2005, Jim Daly, who joined the ministry in 1989, was chosen to become the permanent president and CEO of Focus, solving one half of the successor problem. But the ministry’s leaders could find no one who could take James Dobson’s place as the public persona of the ministry. Then they hit upon a daring idea: Why not create a “virtual” James Dobson who could continue as the public face of the ministry long after the flesh-and-blood man was gone?
Scripture has a timeless quality, and Focus executives felt that with a little buffing and polishing, Dobson’s homespun advice could be equally enduring. After all, the underpinnings of Dobson’s war come from his interpretations of the Good Book. Old cassettes and videotapes are being re-edited or redone, and Doctor D. is busy rewriting or updating various passages of his most popular books. “I’ve addressed just about everything relative to the family at this point. I’d hate to see it go the way of all flesh,” he told biographer Dale Buss.
Just what the religious right needs — it’s own V.C. Andrews, who managed to churn out books years after her death.
In Dobson’s case, it kind of gives new meaning to the phrase “holy ghost.”