[The following article was found while Afromerica researchers were drifting the Internet. Afromerica will analytically dissect this article in an attempt to prove that American religion has gone totally secular. When you see Afro Interpretation that is us talking.]

Focus On The Family Announces First Layoffs, Cutbacks In Group's 26-Year History

COLORADO SPRINGS (EP) - James Dobson's broadcast and media ministry Focus on the Family will cut $5 million from its budget and lay off 34 employees.

Afro Interpretation

A $5 million cut from any budget signifies that this religious organization has a choice not to cut any employees at all. If they are cutting $5 million from the budget, what could the whole budget be? First, this provides evidence that this religious organization is more of a secular "corporation" than a house of worship.

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The layoffs are part of the elimination of 100 positions from the organization's staff of 1,300. Sixty-six of the positions to be eliminated are currently unfilled. The other 34 will come in the form of layoffs, the first in Focus on the Family's 26-year history, said spokesman Paul Hetrick.

Afro Interpretation

An elimination of 100 positions out of how many? The fact that a religious organization even hires people to work for them is a blow to religious sacredness. The initial understanding of religious work is supposed to be, first of all, to work for the Lord, not for any man, and not for a salary either. Working for the Lord is suppose to be given freely of ones own free will and love for God. How did man intervene in this and turn religious worship into a business?

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The cuts are a result of decreasing donations that have affected many ministry organizations in the past year. The budget for this fiscal year is $130 million, which will be reduced to $125 million following the cuts. The group is entirely funded by donations; and giving suffered in light of slowing economic growth, stock market declines, rising unemployment and the public fear of war with Iraq.

Afro Interpretation

So we see that the whole budget was at one time $130 million but will drop to $125 million after the drastic lay-offs. This is beyond real. Out of an annual income of $130 million, a whole 100 jobs - which would probably equal at least $2,500,000 or two and a half million dollars if each position paid at least $25,000 a year - is going to make a serious difference in what this organization spends.

If employing people is - to their interpretation - a work of God by providing income to some family, then why would that family's income be the first, among many other expenditures of the church, to be cut? Furthermore, the annual salary expenses of the church are probably - as the $2,500,000 figure shows - is most menial compared to the advertising, media outreach, and marketing expenses this church would have to spend in a year to even draw this much income from donations.

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The Colorado Springs Gazette reported that some of employees have already left the company after being informed of the layoffs, and others will be considered for open positions that were not eliminated.

Focus on the Family will also cut merit pay increases and travel, decrease the frequency of its magazine to eight issues per year, and remove an office cafeteria and the annual employee picnic.

Afro Interpretation

The "company." Ah ha, this says secularism if nothing else. They did not say church or religious organization; they said "company." This means they have commercialized God and packaged Him into a product they distribute. Employees, merit pay, travel expenses, magazines, cafeteria, and annual employee picnics. These are supposedly the rest of the $5 million budget cuts.

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"We are thankful for at Focus on the Family so far, we have not had to undergo or take drastic measures," Hetrick told the Gazette. "This has impacted us, and I don't mean to make light of it. But it has impacted us in a lighter way than it has other nonprofit organizations."

Donations to the group have decreased 2 to 3 percent since 1999, despite fund-raising pleas issued by Focus on the air and in its newsletter.

Afro Interpretation

Whine, whine, whine. Drastic measures like what, God forbid canceling the media broadcast. That would mean they could not preach to the television audience, which would basically eliminate their whole base. And they would have to actually talk to people face to face like Jesus did. They would have to walk around their town and see people for real instead of sitting lazily behind television screens and pointing fingers.

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In a memo to employees, Dobson wrote that December giving had improved but January giving was disappointing. He also explained that Focus on the Family avoids taking on any debt and does not currently have a reserve fund. The philosophy is "If the money doesn't come, we simply do less."

Afro Interpretation

It is essentially impossible for "money to come." Money has to be gotten, or in their case and any other donation driven organization, blatantly asked for. Therefore, if they do not ask for any money, they could do nothing. This philosophy is against all that Christ stands for because with Christ you can do all things, even without money. They are not thinking philosophically, nor spiritually, they are thinking secularly.

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Hetrick said that Focus does not plan to downsize many of its current projects, including efforts to help young families, expand the ministry in new countries, evangelize to a secular audience, improve outreach to blacks and expand its Internet ministry.

Afro Interpretation

Point in case proven. If their efforts were to help young families, they would not be laying them off. But if the families they are talking about are virtual families on the other side of the television then their observation of what a family is, is distorted. What about this country? Why leave the country? There is poverty and hunger here in the United States, maybe right around the block from them, or in some nearby Black family.

Now the good part, they feel they have to improve their outreach to Blacks. If this is not the most obvious show of religious hypocrisy there is. They have admitted that their market does not include Blacks. This is because most Blacks do not have the right amount of donation power as their middle to upper class of white churchgoers. Just like any other bureaucratic "company," their marketing department goes after the group that appeals to their lifestyle and spending habits. This is a classic case of the game of economic demographics and consumer spending.

Focus on the Family is not a predominantly Black supported organization because they have avoided the Black dollar and have ignored the Black problem - other than the poor souls in Africa - which is nothing more than a sad attempt at humanitarianism; a show of charity and compassion. All which is bull and plain Christian hypocrisy. If this religious organization knew anything about the God they are supposedly serving, they would know that if they themselves feel they are not a diverse people, then God knows it also.