Political kingpin: Focus

on Family leader’s influence quietly spreading
By STEPHANIE SIMON, Los Angeles Times

A recent poll for PBS

found that 77 percent of white evangelicals view Dobson favorably. Other Christian leaders were far less widely trusted; Pat

Robertson’s approval rating stood at 55 percent and Jerry Falwell’s at 46 percent. …

A campaign against Sen. Ken Salazar last

spring, on the issue of judicial filibusters, provoked such a barrage of calls and e-mails that the Colorado Democrat called Focus on the

Family "the Antichrist of the world." (Salazar later apologized, saying he meant only that the ministry’s approach was

"unchristian.")

Dobson devoted just 7 percent of his $142 million budget last year to explicitly political activities,

such as the Salazar campaign. This year, 5 percent of the budget has been set aside for politics. …

Some references are subtle; a

pamphlet called "When a Loved One Says ‘I’m Gay’" attributes same-sex at tractions to unhealthy family dynamics, but also

lays some blame on "today’s ‘gay-affirmative culture."’

Other political references are overt: A recent

edition of the ministry’s flagship Focus on the Family magazine defined conservatives as championing democracy, human rights and

"the cause of freedom around the world" while "liberals defend civil rights, abortion, pornography and

homosexuality." …

Don’t you love it when the Radical Right calls themselves

everything good and the left everything wrong. mjh

The calls reinforce the ministry’s

view that America’s moral foundation is crumbling — and must be shored up with political action to curb pornography, end abortion,

revoke no-fault divorce laws and stop recognizing gay relationships as legitimate.

Gazette.comGod’s BUSINESS By PAUL ASAY, THE GAZETTE

Religion is big

business in Colorado Springs, and business is booming. More than 80 national Christian nonprofit organizations with combined

revenue of nearly $1 billion make their headquarters in El Paso County [Colorado]. …

Other cities — including

Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta — have more Christian nonprofits than Colorado Springs. But this city is unusual because of its smaller

population, and because of the size, profile and influence of some of the ministries located here.

These ministries are more than

big fish swimming in a midsized pond: They’re leviathans.

Of the more than 80 Christian nonprofit headquarters in the region,

four (Compassion International, Young Life, Focus on the Family and The Navigators) have revenues of $100 million or more.

Their

influence is far-reaching….

Fourteen Springs-based ministries each have revenue above $10 million; 32 earn more than $1 million.

All the 80-some groups The Gazette studied have a national or worldwide focus, and many are household names — at least in

evangelical households.

“In my book, I would put it (Colorado Springs) as the (nation’s) most influential Christian

city,” said Rusty Leonard, founder of the charity watchdog MinistryWatch, based in Charlotte, N.C.  …

BUT WHAT DOES

THAT MEAN TO COLORADO SPRINGS? Very little of that nearly $1 billion finds its way into the local economy. …

But all that

activism has its negative side. Many residents bemoan Colorado Springs’ evangelical reputation.

“We’re so known as a

community that’s dominated by a certain socially conservative philosophy,” Skorman said. Those who don’t share that philosophy,

he added, feel unwelcome. A few companies have shied away from locating here because of its evangelical presence.

That evangelical

unease extends to more secular charities, too, who believe that many of the city’s Christian organizations only support like-minded

charities.

“I think there’s a lot of backlash against the cause of Christ because Christians don’t seem to care

about anything but proselytization or evangelism,” said Yonker, of Elevation Group.

These Christian nonprofits

often like to do business with Christian-oriented companies, too.