Dr. Bart Brock serves as chairman and president of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. His background includes more than 20 years in global management of brand-name, consumer-packaged-goods companies where he served for more than a decade in CFO and COO positions for companies including the First Alert® and Coleman®. He has extensive experience managing complex manufacturing, distribution, and sales organizations throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia with emphases in data analytics, mergers & acquisitions, organizational turnarounds, and value creation.
Bart recently retired as an associate professor of accounting for Colorado Christian University.
He holds an MBA from Emory University, a Ph.D. in organization development from Benedictine University, and is a licensed CPA. He continues research in accounting and finance as transformative agents for organizational improvement. He has authored and co-authored a number of academic articles and presented at national and international conferences on subjects including epidemiological methods in business, diagnostic and dialogic change, the scholar-practitioner identity, and social network analysis using Twitter. He has also authored a book entitled “The Widower’s Night: A Journey from Death to Life” that chronicles his journey of guttural grief and the biblical principles he found to comfort those who grieve.
Traditionally, this month marks a time in our nation’s history when the anticipation of Thanksgiving begins to fill the air. But hidden in the holiday rush and enthusiasm is a sad truth. Instead of joy, many people are filled with guilt for not feeling grateful as they face circumstances that weigh heavily on their hearts.
Our own beloved founder, Dr. James Dobson, departed this life for his eternal home on August 21, 2025, after nearly fifty years of expounding practical biblical wisdom for raising families, living life, and defending righteousness in the culture. We rejoice for his well-run race while mourning the great loss experienced by his family, our ministry, and you.
Perhaps you are like me. Somehow you came across Dr. James Dobson’s advice as a young adult who felt broken and was grasping for wholeness—and don’t we all have some type of brokenness? (Romans 3:23). Maybe you were raised on his counsel as your parents sought practical, biblical guidance to wrestle against a cultural tsunami that has left our children awash in confusion and great turmoil. Or, you might be a parent or grandparent who’s dealing with the terrible twos or tumultuous teen years.
Perhaps you are like me. Somehow you came across Dr. James Dobson’s advice as a young adult who felt broken and was grasping for wholeness—and don’t we all have some type of brokenness? (Romans 3:23). Maybe you were raised on his counsel as your parents sought practical, biblical guidance to wrestle against a cultural tsunami that has left our children awash in confusion and great turmoil. Or, you might be a parent or grandparent who’s dealing with the terrible twos or tumultuous teen years.
Here is a special guest post from Dr. Bart Brock, who shares part of his widowerhood journey of loss and grief into the acceptance of a new life. Dr. Brock draws from his personal experience after losing his wife of 36 years, and shares some of the answers he found, such as finding purpose beyond the pain, thankfulness through the tears, and the amazing faithfulness of God.
