The Rev. Richard D. Dobbins was a pioneer in the Christian mental health field.
His legacy will continue in the lives of those he touched as a pastor, counselor, grandfather and father.
“My dad modeled for us the commitment to serve and to work very hard,” said the Rev. Sharon Dobbins Alberson, of Cuyahoga Falls. “He was a very positive person. He taught us how to lead and not to be afraid of the unknown and to follow our calling.”
The Rev. Dobbins, a pastor and psychologist who integrated psychological principles with faith, died Tuesday at his home in Lakeland, Fla. The 86-year-old Akron native was the founder of EMERGE Counseling Services, a world leader in the Christian counseling movement.
The Rev. John M. Palmer, president of EMERGE, said the Rev. Dobbins will be remembered for helping bring a holistic approach to both ministry and counseling.
“He helped us see that God created us as whole human beings and that the physical, spiritual, mental and emotional all impact our lives and interact with each other,” Palmer said. “He had the unique ability to integrate Biblical truths with sound psychological principles in order to help hurting individuals find hope and healing in the midst of painful and difficult personal and family circumstances.”
Akron-based EMERGE was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1973. The counseling center, which has served more than 200,000 clients in his history, began as a vision of the Rev. Dobbins more than 55 years ago. At that time, his first wife — the late Dolores, who died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1992 — experienced postpartum depression.
The Dobbinses were unable to find mental-health care that respected their Christian faith. Secular mental-health professionals suggested that recovery would come if she abandoned her religion. Christian folks attributed the depression to her not praying or reading the Bible enough.
The Rev. Dobbins explained seven years ago during an interview with the Akron Beacon Journal that when his wife was miraculously healed by God during their personal daily devotions, he recognized the need for Christian mental health care.
“His lifelong mission was to bring healing to people in the area of mental health by integrating the vast body of knowledge in psychology with the valuable teaching of scripture,” said James Lupica, a longtime EMERGE board member. “We all affectionately called him ‘Doc.’ He has been a friend, counselor, pastor and mentor to many, including myself. His work will live on through the counseling ministry and church that he founded.”
In addition to EMERGE, the Rev. Dobbins also founded Evangel Temple, which is now Celebration Church on Dan Street in Akron. In fact, EMERGE was initially a ministry of the church, said Lupica, who currently chairs the board at Celebration Church.
The Rev. Dobbins served the local Assemblies of God congregation as pastor for 26 years. During that time he continued his studies in psychology at the University of Akron, where he earned undergraduate, graduate and doctorate degrees in psychology and counseling.
He was also a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Ohio Psychological Association (OPA). He received special recognition from the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) for his pioneer work in the Christian mental health field in 2003 – the same year he retired as CEO of EMERGE Ministries.
After leaving EMERGE, he founded Dr. Richard D. Dobbins Ministries, Inc. to develop and publish his written work and to provide online tools (www.rddim.org). In addition to writing, Mr. Dobbins lectured at universities and led seminars via this ministry.
Alberson said that her father died unexpectedly and peacefully in his home.
“He died in the way that he had hoped. He wasn’t ill. He didn’t suffer. He went peacefully,” Alberson said. “I know our dad would want to thank all of the people who believed in the vision of having a safe place for people to address their emotional and psychological struggles in a faithful way. His life illustrates a mustard seed faith. The vision was born in his heart and he had the courage to ask other people to water it. They will continue to water it and it will continue to grow.”
In addition to Alberson, the Rev. Dobbins is survived by his wife, Priscilla, whom he married in 1994; daughter, Ilene Myers, of Stow; son, William Richard, of Rochester, N.Y.; sister, Ruby; five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Victory Church (www.victorylakeland.org), 1401 Griffin Road, Lakeland, FL 33810. Visitation begins at 9:30 a.m. Burial will take place in Lakeland.
A memorial service is at 7 p.m., June 18 at EMERGE Counseling Services (www.emerge.org), 900 Mull Ave. in Akron. The Richard D. Dobbins Memorial, a fund to help further the mission of EMERGE, has been established at the counseling center, where donations can be made.
Condolences can be sent to Priscilla Dobbins at 199 Glen Eagle Circle, Naples, FL 34104 or pidobbins@gmail.com.
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com. She can be followed at www.twitter.com/ColetteMJenkins.