In 1978,
Dr. Dobson filmed the original series in a packed auditorium not too far
away from where we were on Saturday.
A lauded child psychologist and best-selling author even then, Dr. Dobson taught from both a
clinical and biblically-based perspective, providing practical advice on how to
raise boys and girls, how to strengthen one’s marriage, and how to apply your
faith in a family setting. Dobson’s spirit came from a place of deep concern for the state of the
family and his perspective on the direction things seemed to be going
culturally (even back in the 70's).
The film series was seen by tens of millions of families and helped launch
Dr.’s first ministry, Focus on the Family. With Dr. Dobson's leadership, for 30 years plus Focus built upon that foundation as Dr. went on to publish more than 80 books and reach hundreds of millions of people
through his nationally syndicated radio program. When Dr. Dobson was asked why he started and now heads
a new ministry, Family Talk, his answer was simple, yet
profound. “The job is not
finished, and there’s much more that I have to share.” This was proven true once again this weekend.
• Still
the voice of the Christian family in America…
• Still passionate
about parenting, marriage and faith…
• Still
uncompromising about biblical family principles and righteousness in the
culture…
(even
when it is unpopular and brings criticism – and persecution!)
And now
with 35 more years of additional experience and personal perspective, Dr.
Dobson hit the road in early 2012 and been working with an award-winning major
film production company to put together an amazing multimedia series, called Building
A Family Legacy. He considers this new film series the
“bookend” to the original teaching videos first produced in the late 1970’s.
While Dr.
Dobson is all about impact – helping as many people and using his gifts to come
alongside as many families as possible - he’s equally concerned (nearly
obsessed) with really reaching, teaching and connecting with the individual in
each and every audience - the husband, the wife, the grandparent, young adults and even children.
As much
as any of the individual topics and terrific advice that was provided impacted me,
(and there was a ton,) that is what I witnessed at the filming – someone who is wholly committed to the lifelong
call God has put on his life.
It was
simply awesome.
Finally,
I’d be remiss not to mention something else that was really significant. Professionally, I’ve been working in media and
marketing for more than 20 years.
As a radio producer and musician, I’ve visited tons of studios, been on television
and movie sets, and participated in large live events of all types. Senior Pastor John Hagee and Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, TX,
hosted the filming event this weekend.
Far more than that, he and his son, Pastor Matt Hagee, opened their
home – and indeed their extended family – to the Dobsons, to our Family Talk staff, and thousands who came to be challenged and inspired to
strengthen their family.
I’m not
exaggerating. These folks rolled
out a red carpet of welcome in ways that I’ve never seen – ever – with any
group or organization. With a
spirit of friendship and collaboration they made available to Dr. Dobson and
this film series effort some of the kindest, most collaborative, and
professional staff that I’ve ever encountered – not to mention impressive
facilities and media technology.
From the greeters and volunteers, to the production team, to the
planners and managers, to the audio and television producers, to the Hagee
family themselves – every single person I met was simply off-the-charts
cool. They also coordinated with 12 local Chick-fil-A restaurants to feed the 5,000 attendees - absolutely FREE. That too was a Texas-sized blessing.
It's one thing for the big boss to extend an invitation. It's another thing alltogether to have the whole body live out that invitation with heart and class. When you see a team like that work with such unity, there’s no question why God has blessed them so richly
over the years. They don’t keep it
– they pass it along.
I hope
someday we’ll have the opportunity to do for some other group what the folks
at Cornerstone Church, John Hagee Ministries, and GETV
did for Family Talk. It was the
definition of hospitality. It WAS
Church. It WAS family.
