James Dobson Honored With Service Award by Louisiana College
Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family and Family Talk, was honored with the Board of Trustees Distinguished Service Award from the Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College.
Dobson was given the College's highest award, as well as an honorary doctorate of letters, in a ceremony held on Thursday as part of the College's Founder's Day.
Dr. Joe W. Aguillard, president of Louisiana College, told The Christian Post that Dobson received such honors because he is a "true national treasure."
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"He and his wife, Shirley, have transformed the cultural landscape of America for the better. Their lives exemplify all that is good about our country and they are unashamed of Jesus Christ, the one and only Savior of the World," said Aguillard.
"Recognizing that they are still Christian culture warriors today, we wanted to not only honor them with our highest award, the Trustees Distinguished Service Award, but also to have Dr. Dobson breathe the essence of his personal testimony to Christ into our student body."
In addition to Dobson, Alan Sears, CEO for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the Honorable Edwin Meese III, former Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan, were also given the Distinguished Service Award.
In a speech before students gathered at the College's chapel service, Dobson talked about the differing importance of "trophies" in one's life. Dobson told students to choose their trophies wisely, for some trophies will lose their importance with time. From his own life, Dobson gave the example of a tennis trophy he had won in college that ended up in a dumpster years later.
"I learned that if you live long enough, life will eventually trash your trophies…If it's not done for Christ, eventually it won't matter," said Dobson.
"You know what will matter? Who you loved and who loved you and what you did together to serve the Lord."
According to its website, the mission of Louisiana College is to "provide liberal arts, professional, and graduate programs characterized by devotion to the preeminence of the Lord Jesus, allegiance to the authority of the Holy Scriptures, dedication to academic excellence for the glory of God, and commitment to change the world for Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Last month, Louisiana College was ranked number 12 on Newsweek's annual report of the "Most Conservative Colleges," coming ahead of Brigham Young University-Idaho and behind Harding University of Searcy, Ark.
"We count it a great honor to be listed as the twelfth most conservative College in the nation," said Aguillard in a statement.
"Louisiana College is also proud to be recognized through this list as the most conservative Southern Baptist College in the nation."
