Focus on the Family was formed as a non profit interdenominational family focused operation in 1977.
Formed with one simple purpose; to nurture christian families Focus on the Family maintained a strong profile of family friendly programming for several years.
A different face for a different time.
The face I will show you today is one you will not be familiar with.
The face is scared, the face is tarnished, the face is all but crumbled.
When Focus on the Family was formed in 1977 it emerged at a troubled transient time for a nation. Where the religious right and evangelical christianity was not nearly as strong as it is today.
Formed by James Dobson, a old school evangelical. Coming from a long line of Nazarene Evangelicals, Dobson was a conservative christian during a time where conservative christianity was on the downtrend.
Now to understand the events around this retelling you'll need to understand the time period we're talking about. FOTF did not begin overnight. Of course while it was founded in 1977, it was not until 1983 that it really began to function as a well known entity.
In this period of the 1970's the United States was riding on the wave of the hippie revolution, and a well known counterculture of the revolution was the "Jesus Freak" movement. A liberal movement with simple living and communes at its core. The Jesus Freak movement shares a lot with the modern evangelical movement; from millenialism to speaking in tongues. But what they did not share with the modern evangelical movement was a penchant for politics. The Jesus People preferred to stay out of such issues, and beleived in many ways they were above the world.
These communities were acceptably far different from what you would imagine christianity today. Open and strange, and often places where every alternative lifestyle was accepted.
The Formation
As this movement was extremely popular and extremely fervent albeit different it would be of no extreme suprise that some of these ex-jesus-people would filter into the emergence of the modern evangelical rise.
Throught 1983 the main staff of Focus on the Family was built, much was made of the children ministries, part of FOTF main focus. Spearheaded by several historical figures of the Jesus People movement, the Focus on the Family children ministries worked as a self sentient program.
For the next several years the children ministries part of FOTF made up over 60% of their services. Mostly working on Bible School literature, the transcendental quality of this work is still accepted today. As the new FOTF literature becomes more and more politicized.
in 1987, the Children Ministries staff spearheaded a unique series, focusing on children, Adventures in Odyssey ran with a original staff up until 1996.
Listening in to the old series, one could not initially tell it was a christian series, althought strong christian undertones were there. And once in a while a biblical theme would make its way into the narrative.
The tone of the shows were accepting and loving and very much a continuation of jesus people's standards.
How we get to today.
In 1989 the Political wing of Focus on the Family was created, and had dinstinct goals of Social Conservatism. Until 1993 the Political Wing was its own entity. Upon the merging of the two entities the Original Staff that worked on Adventures in Odyssey felt the increased attempts to spearhead political views into their work.
In 1996 the entire staff was laid off and Adventures in Odyssey, alongside with most of the children program was put on hiatus, as FOTF moved to a entirely politically motivated program. From marriage conferences to radio talk shows.
When the Adventures in Odyssey series was brought back in 1997, cleansed of its original cast, story line, and politicized listeners dropped by nearly half.
What am I trying to say here?
Well this might be a big workaround, a huge narrative, telling you a lot of shit about nothing?
Well the thing is, FotF used to be a good institute. Just as the United States used to be a great country.
There was a time when bullshit like this wouldn't fly.
And ain't it a shame that that day has gone?