Dr. James Dobson’s Legacy Shaped My Life and Still Shapes California’s Families

Dr. James Dobson passed away last week at the age of 89. As I reflect on his life and influence, I can’t help but marvel at the profound legacy he left, not only on our nation, but on me personally.

What did Dr. Dobson stand for? More than anything else, he championed the biblical model of the family: one man and one woman uniting in a lifelong covenant of marriage, raising children with both affection and discipline so that they might grow into Christ-following, Bible-loving adults. He preached this message boldly in a culture increasingly hostile to it, where traditional family structure was derided as oppressive, old-fashioned, or even harmful.

But Dobson’s message rang true for millions, including my parents. Reality backed him up. In general, well-adjusted, successful, joyful children almost always came from homes where mothers and fathers were married and committed to each other. The biblical family works, and abandoning it brings heartbreak and devastation.

A Childhood Memory That Shaped Me

I remember vividly attending evening church services in the 1970s where we gathered to watch Dr. Dobson’s Family Life Series. In one particular episode directed to fathers, he pressed the urgent need for dads to be emotionally and spiritually invested in their children’s lives, before time slips away. To drive the point home, he highlighted the haunting words of the popular song Cat’s in the Cradle by Harry Chapin: “When you coming home, Dad? I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then…” The song paints the heartbreaking picture of a father too busy for his son, only to have the son grow up and repeat the cycle of neglect.

That message hit home. My own father modeled the opposite, investing deeply in his three children and his marriage. Today, my parents just celebrated their 60th anniversary. Their legacy is not just a milestone, but a testimony: three children, all married for over 20 years, seven grandchildren (two married), and even a great-grandchild on the way. Dr. Dobson’s call to fathers stuck with me and shaped our family for generations.

Courage to Speak When Others Stayed Silent

Dobson’s message wasn’t original; it came from Jesus and the Scriptures. But he gave that message a megaphone in an era when media, academia, and government were working overtime to dismantle God’s design for the family. When many pastors and churches avoided speaking directly about political and cultural threats, Dr. Dobson ran toward the battle.

He saw clearly how abortion, sexual immorality, homosexuality, and the redefinition of marriage were being promoted not just by culture, but by law and public policy. He refused to stay silent.

Continuing His Fight in California

Fifty years later, I find myself in the very state where Dr. Dobson began his ministry, California, still fighting the same battles. As Vice President of the California Family Council, one of forty state-based Family Policy Councils inspired by Dr. Dobson’s vision, I am daily engaged in defending life, marriage, parental rights, and religious freedom.

In California, government leaders continue to undermine the family, pushing harmful sex education, promoting abortion, erasing the reality of male and female, and even punishing businesses and parents who dare to live out their biblical convictions. Yet, thanks to Dobson’s example, we are not discouraged. We know faithful Christians must remain salt and light, even in a hostile land.

His Legacy Lives On

Some may say Dobson lost because the family is more undermined today than ever before. I disagree. His courage slowed the cultural collapse, and his message strengthened countless individual families who are now raising up godly generations. Many have left California for more family-friendly states, but many remain, standing firm, raising their children in truth, and resisting lies.

Children still need their fathers. Marriages still need covenant faithfulness. And California still needs Jesus. My prayer is that our state will turn back to God’s good design for family and human flourishing. But whether the culture repents or not, I and many others will keep advocating for truth until Jesus returns or takes us home.

Dr. Dobson modeled that kind of faithful perseverance. His legacy is not simply in the past; it’s alive in every family still holding the line. And by God’s grace, it will be alive in mine.