Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family was back in the news over the weekend, and not for a good reason. You'd think they would have learned their lesson after their silly accusation that SpongeBob SquarePants was trying to turn kids into homosexuals was widely mocked...but apparently not.
The conservative Christian group Focus on the Family is accusing national gay advocacy groups of using bullying-prevention initiatives at public schools to introduce the viewpoint that homosexuality is normal.
Focus on the Family education expert Candi Cushman told The Denver Post in Saturday's editions that the Christian group supports bullying prevention but that the issue "is being hijacked by activists."
"We feel more and more that activists are being deceptive in using anti-bullying rhetoric to introduce their viewpoints, while the viewpoint of Christian students and parents are increasingly belittled," Cushman said. The Colorado Springs-based group said conservative Christians are portrayed as bigots for their opposing viewpoints, while public schools increasingly teach students that homosexuality should be accepted.
So...is Focus on the Family saying that it's okay to bully homosexuals? What about targeting kids who wear SpongeBob SquarePants backpacks? Is it cool to bully them, since they must be on the road to turning gay anyway?
As far as we can tell anti-bullying messaging has always been about stopping bullying in schools period -- regardless of the reason behind it. It's more than a bit ironic that in this latest tirade, Focus on the Family just comes off as, well, one big bully.
Colorado Springs Gazette reporter Mark Barna writes for The Pulpit blog:
Focus on the Family founder James Dobson was pushed off the Focus radio show by the organization's board of directors. The board told Dobson that his last "Focus on the Family" radio broadcast would air Feb. 26. Dobson was disappointed. He didn't want to leave his radio show. That's when he decided to start "Family Talk with James Dobson," set to air on radio stations May 3.
Or so goes the account by Rev. Ken Hutcherson, a high-profile conservative evangelical who leads the Antioch Bible megachurch in Kirkland, Wash. Hutcherson has made a name for himself for his flamboyant manner and opposition to abortion and gay marriage (and as a former NFL linebacker).
On Tuesday, Hutcherson's editorial called "I Lost My Focus on the Family" was published online at World Net Daily. In it Hutcherson says he knows that Dobson was pushed out of Focus, claiming to have talked to Dobson and Focus president and CEO Jim Daly about it.
Focus on Wednesday denied Hutcherson's assertions, but Hutcherson didn't back down.
"I am not speculating. I know what the truth is," Hutcherson said in an interview today with World Net Daily...
In the editorial, Hutcherson expresses his disapproval of Focus' new kinder, gentler approach on hot-button issues like abortion and gay marriage.
The politicization of Focus on the Family under James Dobson, which ultimately led to large sums of money poured into political battles while the organization's "core mission" of family counseling shed its workforce, is a well-known story we've discussed in this forum many times.
What's really going to be different remains to be seen, but this public spat is an indicator that at least some on the religious right are afraid that Focus is giving up its hard political (spelled GOP) edge--while others, possibly including the board of Focus on the Family, welcome the change.
Focus on the Family leader James "SpongeDob" Dobson has resigned his post, according to The Associated Press:
Conservative evangelical leader James Dobson has resigned as chairman of Focus on the Family but will continue to play a prominent role at the organization he founded more than three decades ago, The Associated Press has learned.
Dobson notified the board of his decision Wednesday, and the 950 employees of the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based ministry were informed Friday morning at a weekly worship service, said Jim Daly, the group's president and chief executive officer.
Dobson, 72, will continue to host Focus on the Family's flagship radio program, write a monthly newsletter and speak out on moral issues, Daly said.
Dobson's resignation as board chairman "lessens his administrative burden" and is the latest step in a succession plan, the group said. Dobson began relinquishing control six years ago by stepping down as president and CEO.
President George W. Bush met privately with Focus on the Family Founder and Chairman James Dobson and approximately a dozen Christian right leaders last week to rally support for his policies on Iraq, Iran and the so-called "war on terror."
"I was invited to go to Washington DC to meet with President Bush in the White House along with 12 or 13 other leaders of the pro-family movement," Dobson disclosed on his radio program Monday. "And the topic of the discussion that day was Iraq, Iran and international terrorism. And we were together for 90 minutes and it was very enlightening and in some ways disturbing too."
