Spiritual heros at Liberty – Dr. Ed Dobson

Words like “faith” and “great” had a different sound when they were spoken from Dr. Eddie Dobson’s pulpit. Audiences smiled as his Irish heritage surfaced in his enunciation of those words. 

For 14 years, Dobson, along with  his deep faith and comical accent, were a staple on Liberty’s campus.  Dobson came to Liberty to serve as dean of men in 1973 before going on to work in many roles, including campus pastor, vice president for student life, professor of New Testament Survey, editor of the Fundamentalist Journal and founder and coach of the soccer program. As an integral part of the administration team, Dobson supported Dr. Jerry Falwell Sr. through his work at Liberty University, the ministry of Thomas Road Baptist Church and the Moral Majority. 

Students loved Dobson for his preaching style and compassionate spirit. To show their appreciation, one dorm put together a sports car from a kit as a gift. Dobson proudly drove the sports car all around campus. 

He left Liberty in 1987 to be the pastor of Calvary Church near Detroit where he served until he was forced to retire because of ALS in 2000. Ever the warrior, Dobson fought the disease until his death in 2015, leaving behind a legacy of upholding Christian values and showing compassion to others. His wife, Lorna Dobson remembered that he always “stuck to the Bible” and enjoyed “respecting and listening to other people’s stories and needs.” 

He knew that being a pastor provided him the opportunity to have a profound impact on people’s lives, like other pastors had impacted him. 

“(Ed) loved seeing people’s lives changed,” Lorna Dobson said. “He had a way of connecting with people, of making a sermon relate to them personally.”