You're listening to Family Talk, the radio broadcasting division of the James Dobson Family Institute.

I am that James Dobson, and I'm so pleased that you've joined us today.

Well, welcome to Family Talk, the broadcast division of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.

I'm Roger Marsh, and today we're addressing a crisis that affects millions of American children,

and that is fatherlessness.

Throughout his life and ministry, Dr. James Dobson firmly believed that the future of Western civilization

depends on how we handle the crisis of

fatherlessness. Almost every social challenge facing our children, from poverty to educational

struggles and crime to substance abuse, connects to this father absence. Our guest today here on

Family Talk knows this pain firsthand. John Smith Baker grew up without a father, carrying that

wound throughout his childhood. After a successful career as CEO of Brunton Group, God transformed

John's heartache into purpose through a ministry called Fathers in the Field, and he now leads

that ministry full-time, serving the 13 million fatherless boys all across America. It's not even

been a month since Dr. Dobson passed, but we felt that the timing of revisiting this conversation

was absolutely perfect. So now let's get into part one, Dr. James Dobson's conversation with

John Smith Baker on today's edition of Family Talk.

Well, hello, everyone, and welcome to Family Talk.

I'm your host, Dr. James Dobson, and today we're going to be talking about an issue that I believe is at the heart of the crisis our families are facing today.

Fatherlessness is pandemic in this country.

As I wrote some time ago in my book, Bringing Up Boys,

quote, the future of Western civilization depends on how we handle the crisis of fatherlessness.

And I believe that's more true now than it was then.

...