Roger Marsh: Welcome To Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk. I'm Roger Marsh, and on behalf of everyone here at the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, thank you for making us a part of your day each and every day. If you like what you heard on this program, well please, tell a friend; in fact, tell two. We exist and remain on the air because of your prayers and your faithful financial support. If you'd like to find out more about how to support us and how to receive more resources, simply go to drjamesdobson.org. That's drjamesdobson.org. Remember, you can also call us at 877 732-6825. That's 877-732-6825. Our customer care team is standing by right now ready to speak with you, to pray with and for you, so give them a call. Well, today we have a very special treat for you. We have a program that was recorded recently at a special gathering of friends of the Dobson Institute here in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The event was organized by our own Dr. James Dobson, and it included some noteworthy speakers and other performers. One of those in attendance was the Gospel Music Group known as the Gaither Vocal Band. Their leader, Bill Gaither, legendary in the Christian music circles sat down with our own Dr. Dobson before a live audience to reminisce, to laugh, and to stroll down memory lane in a time of joy and fellowship. Now, before we hear that conversation, let me tell you a little bit about our guest for today's program. Bill Gaither has been a singer and songwriter of Southern Gospel and contemporary Christian music since before there was contemporary Christian music actually, dating back to the 1960s. He's best known for performing as part of the Bill Gaither Trio, as well as the Gaither Vocal Band. The musical collaborations of Bill and his wife Gloria have resulted in more than, are you ready for this 700 popular gospel songs, including hymnal standards like He Touched Me and one that we all know, Because he Lives. Bill and Gloria's collaborations have garnered eight Grammy Awards as well as over 40 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards.
The couple are also members of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, as well as the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Throughout his career, Bill Gaither has performed in front of hundreds of thousands of fans at world-renowned venues like Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and the Kennedy Center, just to name a few. Bill Gaither and his wife Gloria have three adult children and they make their home in Alexandria, Indiana. Bill and Jim have known each other for almost 50 years and have forged a lifelong friendship with shared experiences. As you will hear, there's a lot of chemistry and mutual respect between these two Godly men and their families. Now, one small note, Dr. Dobson and Bill Gaither were joined on stage for this interview by the JDFI, Senior Vice President of Public Policy, Mr. Gary Bauer. You'll hear Gary in this conversation for a moment as well. Well, we have much to learn and model from these gentlemen who have uniquely devoted their lives to serving the Lord. Let's join them right now in a time of celebration here on Family Talk.
Dr. James Dobson.: This man and I have had a long history together. I bet you don't remember where we met.
Bill Gaither: Where was it?
Dr. James Dobson: I don't think I'm going to tell you. We were both, you were singing at an event and I was the keynote speaker. It was the Christian Book Sellers Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. We were there that night and we had dinner together. That was the beginning of the friendship. On that occasion, you invited us on the way home, because we were driving, to come by and spend the night with you guys and to be with you and get better acquainted. That was the beginning. You don't remember a thing about it.
Bill Gaither: I do remember the night at her house, Gloria and I were newly married, I suppose we were in our 20s, so we were newly married. She said, "Whatever you do ... " and she cleaned the house and everything was fine, great dinner and everything. She said, "Whatever you do, don't take them to the basement." That night we had a storm and we have lived in that same house for the last 55 years. The only night we ever had water and the basement was the night that Jim and Shirley Dobson came to eat with us.
Dr. James Dobson: You had told me that Gloria would not even let you go to the bathroom upstairs because she didn't want to get it dirty and wanted it to be-
Bill Gaither: Absolutely. We were going to have Jim and Shirley Dobson in our home. He had just written Hide and Seek and you were up at Black Hawk Baptist Church speaking, I think-
Dr. James Dobson: I was.
Bill Gaither: ... with David Jeremiah. We were so excited about it and my son, Benji came up and said, "Dad, there's a frog in our basement." The four of us ended up that night, not only did Jim and Shirley see our basement, the four of us ended up in the basement with our pants up to our knees with squeegees and brushes trying to get the water out of it. But it was a memorable night and it sealed our friendship forever.
Dr. James Dobson: I just remembered, we started out that evening, kind of formal upstairs getting acquainted. Gloria and I had taken everything that didn't belong up there down to the basement. It was all in places around the basement, and the next thing you know, we're down there with squeegees and from that point on we've been bonded.
Bill Gaither: That's a way to really get to know people. I don't recommend it, but it was a wonderful type of-
Dr. James Dobson: You've forgotten what Benji he said when he came running up the stairs.
Bill Gaither: What'd he say?
Dr. James Dobson: He said that "The window well is filling up with waters and there are frogs in there that are drowning. Please save those frogs," so that was the next step.
Bill Gaither: But we have never met since then. I don't care where we are until four of us start grinning and saying, "Remember the night in the basement."
Dr. James Dobson: The day before, see if you remember this, Gloria had some favorite black swans and somebody had killed them.
Bill Gaither: Yes, had killed one. We still have five black swan, they're beautiful with red beaks. Yes, somebody had ... and that was tragic also for my son too and for us for the family
Dr. James Dobson: Bill, the fact that you're here says a whole lot about you. You could sing with your vocal band, you could sing anywhere in the country on a given night. I know that and I know how busy you are. Yet, you canceled the plans you had for this night so you could be here, and I love you for it.
Bill Gaither: I love you too.
Dr. James Dobson: I'm still irked that Gloria didn't come.
Bill Gaither: Yes.
Dr. James Dobson: You want to make an excuse for her?
Bill Gaither: Gloria has been through two knee surgeries and a hip surgery. The surgeries went well, but evidently, she is still experiencing a lot of pain. You're the doctor, so I'm practicing here without a license. The other night I said she was in rehab and Kevin, who always corrects me on it, said, "No, she's in therapy." Bill, there's a difference. Gloria Gaither is not in rehab, so you can put your iPhones down, but we think we're getting to the bottom. We think it may be nerve related, and so Monday morning we're seeing a neurologist on it, and I think we can get to the pain, but it was too much for her to come tonight. But she said to sure to assure you and Shirley that she loves you. Shirley and she wrote a book together several years ago called Let's Make a Memory: The Importance of Family Spending Time Together.
Dr. James Dobson: And another one called, Let's Hide the Word.
Bill Gaither: Let's Hide the Word. Yeah.
Dr. James Dobson: Yeah.
Bill Gaither: Yeah. It's been a long-term relationship. We grew up in the same church, and I thank God for a church family that really believed that God still speaks today, that the Holy Spirit is real and that he can even work through musicians. We tried to be careful with our theology and our psychology. I can remember when we first started, psychology was way over here. Theology was way over here. You are responsible, I think, or one of the primary responsible people who brought good theology and good psychology together and say it makes a whole lot of sense.
Dr. James Dobson: Yeah.
Bill Gaither: Thank you very much.
Dr. James Dobson: Thank you, Bill. Psychology is still way over there.
Bill Gaither: Yeah.
Roger Marsh: You're listening to Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk. I'm Roger Marsh, and I hope you're enjoying this special program as much as I am. We are dropping to hear Dr. Dobson and Bill Gaither recount some of their memories of time spent together in fellowship, definitely, two lives well spent serving the Lord. A very special period in our culture these past 50 years, and these two Godly men have seen a lot. Both of them as you can clearly understand are grateful for their families and friends. Let's jump back into their story time right now.
Dr. James Dobson: You mentioned Gloria's hip problems. I don't know how many of you all know that Shirley was in the kitchen, and I was in the bedroom on May the 18th I think it was. She had coffee warming in the microwave, and she took it out and turned quickly and she caught her foot in a throw rug and went down hard. She flew through the air. I heard it from the bedroom, and I came running to her. She was crumpled up in a little ball, and she was in such pain I could not even move her. I called 911 and they came and did a marvelous job of somehow getting her in the ambulance, and she had surgery two days later. I think I've seen the statistics that people who are elderly who break a hip and are taken in for surgery have a 28% chance of dying there because of inflammation. I don't stutter till I get around you. How long have you stuttered?
Bill Gaither: Well, it's probably back in college, but I did something that helped cure it. I started selling Bibles, and I became the number one Bible salesman in Indiana. I had a wonderful technique, Jim. I would go up to the door and knock on the door and say, "Hi, my name is Bill, Bill, B-B-Bill, B-B-Bill Gaither and I'm s-s-selling Bibles. Would you like to b-buy, b-buy, b-buy a Bible, or, or would you rather have me read it to you?" She'd usually say, "I'll take two. Just get off the porch, would you, please?" So it helped me.
Dr. James Dobson: Well, to finish Shirley's story, she had surgery and has had no pain since the surgery. It's amazing. Would you all greet my beloved wife Shirley and whom I'm well pleased? Shirley, would you stand? As you all know, Shirley was chairman of the National Day of Prayer for 25 years. During the Bush Administration, George W. Bush, we were invited to the White House by him eight times for the eight years that he was in the White House. Shirley spoke at every one of those. God blessed her and used her, and she's now passed that responsibility on to others. But I've watched her, she not only led the National Day of Prayer, but she's a prayer warrior and I love her like crazy.
Gary Bauer: You two gentlemen have seen a lot in America over the years. You've been central to revival with your music and Jim, you've been the leader in getting men and women of faith to get in the public square. These are tough times. I'm wondering if either of you, on the basis of your experience, would want to offer some notes of encouragement that it's still possible to turn this country around if we turn back to God?
Dr. James Dobson: Well, if I didn't believe that the Lord could turn this country around, I'd be one depressed individual, but I do believe he cares for this country. There are an awful lot of believers here who are praying about it, and that's the hope of glory for me.
Bill Gaither: Gloria and I are poets, and I'm happy and she's happy to have that title. Poets throw stuff out and let you fill in the blanks, and it's been a wonderful trip. I told you one time, Jim, I said, "God called you to be a prophet, and I'm glad he called you to be a prophet because prophets get their heads cut off." You have been daring and I have just respected it so much, and that's your spirit. When we see something, it makes itself into a song. When I see the tough things happening and coming from the left, there's a side of me, Gary, that says, "Bring it on. Bring it on," because the darker the night, the brighter the light." The darker the night, so we wrote a song about it. The darker the night, the brighter the light and the bass goes, Let it shine. Let it shine ... You know the little song we learned at Sunday school?(singing)
If there were ever a time for the followers of Jesus to let their little light shine, now is the hour. Because you know what happens when light begets light begets light and there's more light all around it? The darkness can't take it. I think this is our time. I think it's a wonderful opportunity. I think it's one of the best opportunities we ever had. The darker the night, the brighter the light, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Dr. James Dobson: Bill, what I loved about the old hymns is that it was filled with theology, straight out of scripture. You could find the source for the writer, and we got away from that now. There's so much of Christian music is repetitive, and I don't want to disparage anyone, but you have maintained and revitalized theology within the church. You and Gloria came to focus on the family many, many years ago, and you had just written a song that I never forgot. It was called, We'll Be There, where you're assuring your kids, We're not going anywhere. We'll be here when you come home. You don't sing that anymore, but I love this song.
Bill Gaither: We should. We should. Yes.
Dr. James Dobson: You tried to get biblical truth into your songs, don't you?
Bill Gaither: Try to do our best. It doesn't hurt marrying a lady who was the daughter of a minister and she grew up around theology with theologians around her table, missionaries. I might have written a couple of songs. In fact, I kid her about He Touched Me. That's a BG song, before Gloria. But that's just one of the very ... There wouldn't have been all the other songs had it not been it been for Gloria. Contrary to what Mark Lowery said, I didn't marry her just because she was a lyricist, I married her because I loved her. She had a great heart. She loved Jesus, and she loved poetry. She loved literature, and God honored it. I've been blessed and you have been blessed with a great, great mate. It makes all the difference in the world.(singing)
Roger Marsh: Well, what an inspiring presentation from Bill Gaither and Dr. James Dobson right here on Family Talk. To learn more about Bill Gaither, the Gaither Vocal Band, or to access any part of today's interview so you can share it with a friend or review it in its entirety, just go to drjamesdobson.org/familytalk. That's drjamesdobson.org/familytalk. Our broadcast page is filled with tons of valuable information, and when you go there, you'll also find a directory of every program we have ever produced and aired here at Family Talk, so you should definitely check that out, drjamesdobson.org/familytalk. As we approach the end of the year here in 2022, I wonder if you've ever considered making a gift in support of the Ministry of Family Talk and the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.
If so, you can learn more on our homepage at drjamesdobson.org or call us at 877-732-6825. A member of our customer service team is standing by ready to take your call. Remember that the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute is also accessible by the U.S. Mail. Our ministry mailing address is The Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, or you can just write the JDFI for short, P.O. Box 39000 Colorado Springs, Colorado, the zip code 80949. Again, our ministry mailing address is The Dr. James Dobson Family Institute P.O. Box 39000 Colorado Springs, Colorado, the zip code 80949.
Well, finally, the election is one week from today, and the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute has created a 2022 Midterm Election Voters Guide. This resource is yours for free to download and share. To access yours, just go to our homepage at drjamesdobson.org, and sign up in the upper right hand box to get a reference manual of the distinctions between your likely choices on the issues, policies, and positions that you yourself will be deciding upon at the polls this November. Well, that's it for today. Hope to join us again next time, and until then, I'm Roger Marsh. On behalf of Dr. Dobson and all of us here at The Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, keep on singing and keep on smiling. May God continue to richly bless you and your family as you continue to grow deeper in your relationship with him. This has been a presentation of The Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.
Dr. James Dobson: When you try to teach your young child to be responsible and you just don't get anywhere, what can you do? Well, many times turning a teaching situation into a game is the best way to get results.
Roger Marsh: Here's Dr. James Dobson for Family Talk.
Dr. James Dobson: Sometimes kids have a hard time learning and remembering the things their parents tell them. It's not that they're trying to be rebellious, they simply forget to hang up the washcloth or to come to dinner on time. In cases like this, you might try making a game out of it. Kids love all sorts of contests and games, especially if adults will play along with them. I learned this strategy when our own two children were young. My wife and I tried for months to teach our kids to put their napkins in their laps before eating, but we simply weren't making any progress. Then we turned it into a family game.
If anyone took a single bite of food before putting his napkin in place, he had to go to his bedroom or outside and count to 25 in a loud voice. This worked amazingly well. Our kids never forgot to put the napkin in their laps, although I have to admit it had some definite disadvantages. You can't imagine how foolish my wife and I felt standing outside a restaurant shouting out numbers while our children snickered at the table. If you're struggling to teach your kids a lesson in responsibility and you're not getting anywhere, try turning it into a game and see how a little fun can make a child eager to learn.
Roger Marsh: To hear more, visit our broadcast page at drjamesdobson.org.
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