# Ed Dobson

Ed Dobson (December 29, 1949—December 26, 2015) was a long-serving Northern Irish-American pastor, a University of Virginia Ed. D. in higher education, a popular founding dean of Liberty University, 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, and to spend 18 years as pastor of Calvary Church, a Grand Rapids, Michigan megachurch. He was a nationally known author and speaker on Christian and other issues, including after being diagnosed with ALS in 2000.

## Early life and education

Born Edward G. Dobson on December 29, 1949, in Northern Ireland, Dobson was a pastor's son and came to the United States in 1964 at the age of 14.
Dobson earned a BA (1970) and an MA (1972) from Bob Jones University, and an Ed. D. (1986) in higher education from the University of Virginia.

## Career

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.
As a founding dean of Liberty University, Dobson was popular [with students and colleagues]. 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." In the same time frame, Dobson and another Liberty faculty member, Ed Hindson, effectively ghost-wrote Falwell's The Fundamentalist Phenomenon.$^{:pg.unknown}$
By the late 1980s, Dobson had expressed what he acknowledges as disillusionment toward Christian participation in the political process, and he moved away from fundamentalism toward mainstream evangelicalism, 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.$^{:p.15}$ In 1987, Dobson left Liberty (just as Falwell became responsible for the empire of failed televangelist Jim Bakker).
Dobson took the position of senior pastor at Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he would remain for eighteen years (1987–2005). 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. During Dobson's pastorate, Calvary planted Mars Hill Bible Church, which would be led by Rob Bell.
Dobson was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease) in 2000. Dobson continued in the pastorate of Calvary Church until 2005, wrote the memoir, Prayers and Promises when Facing a Life-Threatening Illness, published by Zondervan in 2007, and served as an advisory editor for Christianity Today.

## Publications

* Abraham: The Lord will Provide (1993).
* Blinded by Might (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999) with Cal Thomas.
* Daniel: Making the Right Choices (1994).
* King James Bible Commentary (1999).
* The Knowing Jesus Study Bible, NIV (2000) with Ed Hindson.
* Mastering Conflict and Controversy (1992).
* Prayers and Promises When Facing a Life-Threatening Illness (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007).
* Starting a Seeker-Sensitive Service (1993).
* What the Bible Really Says about Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage (1986).
* The Fundamentalist Phenomenon (1st edition 1980, 2nd edition 1986) with Ed Hindson and Jerry Falwell.
* The End: Why Jesus Could Return by A.D. 2000 (1997).
* The Year Of Living Like Jesus (2009).
* Seeing through the Fog: Hope When Your World Falls Apart (2012).
* Ed's Story (2001–2015).

## Awards and recognition

In 1993, Moody Bible Institute named Dobson "Pastor of the Year". 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.

## Personal life

Dobson lived for much of the latter part of his life in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and his family included two sons, Kent and Daniel.
A short video was made of Dobson's struggle with his ALS, and was widely viewed. Ed Dobson died on December 26, 2015, at age 65.

### Altruism

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".

### 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". 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.

### 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."
In May 2013, Dobson's son Daniel, a U.S. Army veteran of the Iraq war, came out publicly as gay.

## Further reading and viewing

* Vande Bunte, Matt (29 December 2015). "A Look Back at Ed Dobson's Ministry" (News-Grand Rapids). MLive.com. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
* Vande Bunte, Matt (28 December 2015). "Ed Dobson, Prominent Pastor, Has Died" (News-Grand Rapids). MLive.com. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
* 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.
* Barker, Greg (writer-producer); Espar, David (producer-editor); Powell, Julie (producer); Lehmann; Frank-Peter (principal cinematography); et al.; Balmer, Randall; Prothero, Stephen; Dobson, Ed; et al. (interviewees); Scott, Campbell (narrator) (11–13 October 2010). Episode 6: Of God and Caesar (AV transcript). PBS American Experience: God in America. Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Retrieved 13 December 2024. For cast and crew, see this link, and to view the Episode 6 video, see this link.
* PBS Staff & Dobson, Ed (15 October 2009). "Interview: Ed Dobson" (edited transcript). PBS.org. God in America. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
* Dobson, Edward G. (Ed) (1986). An Analysis of the Environmental Perceptions of Undergraduate Students In Evangelical and Fundamentalist Bible Colleges and Liberal Arts Colleges (Ed. D. thesis). Charlottesville, VA.