An Unsung Hero: Bob Case Helped Shape Christian Journalism
Religion Unplugged believes in a diversity of well-reasoned and well-researched opinions. This piece reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily represent those of Religion Unplugged, its staff and contributors.
(OPINION) If you are a regular reader of MinistryWatch, and you appreciate our approach to the news, you should know about Bob Case.
In fact, if you read WORLD Magazine, or Christianity Today, or The Dispatch, or any of dozens of other news outlets, you have — whether you know it or not — been influenced by Bob Case.
Bob Case died on July 31 at age 81. (Handout photo)
Robert Allen Case II is one of the unsung heroes in the development of Christian news outlets over the past 30 years, in part because of his co-founding and leadership of World Journalism Institute, whose graduates are at all the news outlets I mentioned above, and many more besides.
Bob died July 15. He was 81 years old.
Though Bob was born in Washington, D.C., he was a son of the Pacific Northwest. His family moved “back home” to Ellensburg, Wash., when he was two, making him a third-generation Ellensburger.
Bob’s obituary made sure to point out that he went through the Ellensburg school system, graduating from Ellensburg High School in l961. He then attended the University of Washington.
While he was at “U-Dub,” he became a Christian, after attending a meeting of Campus Crusade for Christ. Eventually he joined the staff of Campus Crusade, where he met Katherine Rhoda, of Berkeley, CA.
Even at this early stage in life, Bob showed a gift for starting things. In l967, Bob and Kathy went to Europe to help begin Crusades’ work on that continent. They were married in London later that year. Today, Campus Crusade – now called Cru – operates in more than 30 countries in Europe.
Bob’s conversion experience in college, and his ministry work with Cru, drove him to seek more in-depth theological education. He spent time at L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland, studying under Dr. Francis Schaeffer. He also returned to the United States to attend Covenant Theological Seminary, the seminary of the then new Presbyterian Church in America. Once again, Bob became a founding father, leading two churches in that young and growing denomination.
Bob was also one of the early leaders of the pro-life movement. In 1975, just two years after the Roe v. Wade decision, Harold O.J. Brown and Bob’s mentor, Francis Schaeffer, founded the Christian Action Council. At a time when the evangelical church was mostly asleep at the wheel regarding the abortion issue, the Christian Action Council was the first national group to take on the issue, and it was instrumental in awakening the church. In 1976 Bob became the first national director for the Christian Action Council. The Christian Action Council is today known as CareNet, and its pro-life work continues.
After this sojourn in Washington, Bob and Kathy moved back to Ellensburg to raise their family. He joined his father at Thayer Case Realtors in 1980 and continuing his education, earning a D. Min. from Fuller Theological Seminary in organizational development and in l995 an MA in philosophy from Central Washington University. While involved with real estate, he taught business, philosophy and the Great Books at CWU from 1990 to 2000.
Bob was an active writer and published many articles in popular magazines and academic journals throughout his adult life. He was also active in many Ellensburg civic affairs, serving on the Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the chairman of the Board of Directors for the Ellensburg Christian School, president of the Kittitas County Board of Realtors, and chairman of the board for Ellensburg Care Net.
Throughout the late 80s and 90s, Bob became active in politics. In l987 President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the National Council on Vocational Education. He was elected chairman of the Kittitas County Republican Party in the late 1980s and was on the Washington State Republican Central Committee during those years. In 1989 he ran for the state house of representatives from Ellensburg.
But all these activities were but prelude to the work that caused Bob to have such a great impact on me and others in Christian journalism.
In l990 he joined the board of directors for God’s World Publications, the publisher of WORLD Magazine. Kevin Martin, the president of God’s World Publications, spoke at Bob’s funeral. He frankly described the state of GWP in those days as “wobbly. Every month brought new threats. Bob was one of the strong voices urging perseverance.”
Kevin said that there was even talk at times of shutting WORLD down. But at one of Bob’s first board meetings, he steeled the spines of his fellow board members and WORLD’s leadership team with this:
We live and minister in perilous times. There is an astonishingly huge vacuum of Christian leadership in America today. Christians from coast to coast and border to border are frightened and angry, they are looking for intellectual leaders and spiritual hope. WORLD can provide much needed direction for the body of Christ. But we must be exceedingly careful and circumspect and wise to guide our Christian constituency to the biblical pattern of Christian leadership and hope.
Kevin Martin recalled Bob’s words from more than 30 years ago, and concluded, “That’s leadership.”
Around the year 2000, Joel Belz, publisher of WORLD, asked Bob to come to Asheville and start a World Journalism Institute, a training program for college students who aimed for a career in journalism or communications. He accepted the challenge and he and Kathy moved to Asheville, N.C. In that role, he helped train hundreds of young journalists who are now in publications – religious and secular – around the country and even around the world. MinistryWatch’s Managing Editor, Christina Darnell, is a WJI graduate, as are Kim Roberts, Brittany Smith, Jessica Eturralde, and Isaac Wood, three of our reporters.
Kim Collins helped him lead WJI from 2003 to 2012. “Bob is an unsung hero,” she said. “I never imagined I would stay that long with WJI, but it was a joy and an honor to be on that mission with him. Working for Bob was one of the highlights of my professional life.”
Julia Duin spent nearly 15 years covering religion and much else at The Washington Times. She was a regular speaker at WJI (as was her brother Steve Duin, a reporter and columnist with The Oregonian). She called Bob a “faithful Christ follower” with a “gentle and noble soul.”
Bob eventually turned over the leadership of WJI to Marvin Olasky. Today, it is led by Lee Pitts, WORLD’s former Washington Bureau Chief and now a professor of journalism at Dordt University.
But Bob’s involvement with WORLD did not end when he turned over the reins of WJI. Bob was a musician and lover of great music in all genres. In his retirement he wrote and recorded a popular segment on the American Songbook and Christianity for WORLD’s daily podcast, “The World and Everything in It.” That segment introduced Bob to a new generation of WORLD readers and listeners.
In 2006 Bob and Kathy returned to Washington State to be close to their daughters and his parents. When he died last month, he and Kathy had been married nearly 60 years. Both Kim Collins and Kevin Martin were quick to point out that one of Bob’s great accomplishments was that he married well, saying Kathy was a key factor in the success of everything Bob did.
The Christian life is not a competition, and it is a fool’s errand to compare the lives and legacies of Christian leaders. That said, it is hard not to notice that Bob Case died just a few hours after a much more famous Christian leader, John MacArthur. The life and legacy of John MacArthur is known to many, but if the measure of a person’s life is measured by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, I am confident that the godly legacy of Bob Case is equally secure.
This article was first published at MinistryWatch.
Warren Cole Smith previously served as Vice President of WORLD News Group, publisher of WORLD Magazine, and Vice President of The Colson Center for Christian Worldview. He has more than 30 years of experience as a writer, editor, marketing professional, and entrepreneur. Before launching a career in Christian journalism 25 years ago, Smith spent more than seven years as the Marketing Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers.