Blessings of 1998

December 1998

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas to each of you, our beloved friends in Christ. How quickly we have careened through this year called “1998,” bringing us again to the blessed holiday season that embodies everything of significance to the human family. This is the favorite time of year for Shirley and me, when family affection, devotion to God, a spirit of giving, and the ecstasy of children all combine to create a special feeling in the air.

In that spirit, I wish we could drop by for a neighborly visit with each of the friends who have stood by the ministry of Focus on the Family these past 12 months. We would bring a basket of home-baked goodies and sip a cup of apple cider in front of your warm fire. Perhaps that world does not exist anymore, but I refuse to believe that it is gone. Even in the rush and hub-bub of everyday living, I am convinced that people still care about each other and want to link arms in Christian fellowship. May we never get too busy to reach out to one another, especially during what has been called the “lonely season.”

My great friend and the dean of Christian radio, Al Sanders, inadvertently misdialed the telephone a few years ago while trying to make a local call. He quickly realized his mistake when an older woman answered the phone. Al apologized and prepared to hang up. “No wait,” said the woman. “I am 80 years old, and no one ever calls me. Would you talk to me for a minute?”

Is there someone like this little lady in your neck-of-the-woods who needs a loving call or a friendly visit today? Is there a single mother near you who has struggled mightily to keep house and home together? Would an assortment of groceries and a warm note help her get through the expensive holiday season? Is there a member of your family with whom you have had severe conflict this year? Wouldn’t this be a great time to call and say, “I just wanted to tell you that I love you, and I’m sorry if I disappointed or hurt you”? After all, isn’t that what the Prince of Peace came to teach us?

And finally, have you slowed your pace enough to make Christmas meaningful in your own home? Each family is allotted a finite number of holiday seasons in a lifetime, and each of them is priceless beyond measure. When those days are concluded, perhaps unexpectedly, no power on earth can reunite us for another time of fellowship and worship at the feet of the Christ-child. Don’t let the opportunity of this season slip through your fingers here at the close of 1998.

Shirley and I want to express our appreciation here at the end of the year for two specific acts of kindness you bestowed on us in 1998. The first occurred last June when I suffered what my neurologist referred to as “a major stroke.” As I shared with you earlier, I could neither talk, read, nor understand what was happening to me. My work and perhaps my life were in jeopardy. But as the word quickly spread around the nation and in various parts of the world, a great volume of prayer was sent upward on my behalf. By the close of that first day, the Lord had brought me back from chaos and restored me fully. We’re grateful to the team of competent physicians who engineered my rapid recovery and they deserve great credit for what they did for me, but I’m also convinced that they were guided by the hand of the Almighty moment by moment. I thank those of you who prayed for me in a time of distress. Today, I am entirely whole and show no residual effects of the “cerebral event.”

Second, I want to extend our thanks, on behalf of the Board of Directors and the staff of Focus on the Family, for your financial support throughout 1998. This ministry would wither and disappear in a matter of months if it were not undergirded by your faithfulness. Despite this dependence, I was determined again this year not to say anything about contributions until absolutely necessary, and indeed, it was mid-November when that finally occurred. Clearly, you were there for us. We are deeply grateful for your sacrifice and encouragement. Even though we are running behind budget at this time and are still praying for a strong response at the end of the year, we are thankful for all you have done already.

As a supporter of the ministry, you might be interested to know what has happened in the past 12 months. It is a remarkable story. We are now operating in 95 countries around the world, and are heard by more than 650 million people every day! (Last year, the daily listening audience was estimated to be about 20 million). Who would have believed what the Lord was planning to do when we began in that little two-room office back in March, 1977. Today, 74 distinct programs are in full swing, focusing on children, youth, marriage, physicians, teachers, pastors, public policy, crisis pregnancy centers, “Renewing the Heart” conferences for women, “Life on the Edge” seminars for parents and teens, the wonderful Focus on the Family Institute for college students, the creation of videos and radio drama, and the development of a new Internet magazine called “Boundless” for those in the young adult years. In addition to these and many other ongoing ministries, several brand new ideas are baking in the oven for 1999. Chief among them is a far-reaching ministry to seniors, which will be made public soon. Included on our team are some of the most creative people I’ve ever had privilege of knowing!

Returning to the point, none of these effective programs would have been possible without your ongoing generosity. Some of you have been contributing to this work for 20 years or more, and I want you to know how much you are loved and appreciated.

At the risk of speaking self-servingly, may I restate the policies that continue to guide our fund raising effort here at Focus on the Family? There are 13 principles by which we operate in our attempts to function on a high moral plane. It is a matter about which we feel passionately. The way a ministry raises and spends money speaks volumes about its ethics and standards. With that in mind, let me enumerate the critical guidelines to you:

1. This ministry belongs to God, not to James Dobson. It is neither a monument to my ego nor a legacy to my memory. Focus on the Family does not bear my name…the buildings do not belong to me…we have not founded James Dobson University. I am merely a fellow servant in the work of the Kingdom.
2. The Lord has apparently chosen to place His mantle of approval on the ministry of Focus on the Family. Nevertheless, He gives and sometimes takes away. If He ever closes the doors to this work, we will accept His leadings and yield the outcome to Him. Until then, we will devote every ounce of energy to the task at hand.
3. One of the ways we can discern the Lord’s will regarding the continuation of our work is through the support He sends (or doesn’t send) from His people. Therefore, during lean times we will make our obligations known to our friends – but we will not squirm, scratch or claw for contributions. We will never resort to what we consider to be disrespectful and dishonorable methods of fund-raising, even when the needs are serious.
4. We will ask people not to support Focus on the Family or any other Christian program until their obligations to the local church have been met. It is the first line of defense for the family.
5. We will not operate the ministry at a deficit. Although from time to time it is necessary to borrow funds for large capital expenditures, such as for a new building, we will seek to repay the loan as soon as possible.
6. We consider the contributions we receive to be “blood money” — sent from loving people who have sacrificed to make their gifts possible. Our obligation, therefore, is to spend that money conservatively and wisely in continuing the ministry. We have no limousines or airplanes or condos in Hawaii. Every penny is stretched as far as possible to serve the needs of today’s families.
7. We will receipt all donations showing the fair market value of any materials requested and sent, in order to help contributors determine the tax-deductible portion of their gifts. (The Internal Revenue Service permits donors to deduct the amount they give to Focus on the Family in excess of the value of materials received from the organization).
8. When we make a purchase, we will pay the invoice within 30 days, if possible. We do not intend to use the vendor’s money.
9. We will not try to raise more money than we need.
10. I will not be the primary fundraiser.
11. My wife Shirley, and I will accept no salary for this work and will pay a portion of the radio airtime expenses to compensate for the publicity that increases our book sales. When our books are offered to listeners through the ministry, we will waive all royalties to allow Focus to obtain the lowest possible price from the publisher. When we use secretarial or staff assistance for personal reasons, we will compensate the ministry for that intrusion.
12. We will never sell or rent our mailing list to those wishing to use the names and addresses of our supporters. Those individuals wrote to us in good faith, and if they wanted to receive mail from other organizations, I’m sure they would ask for it. We will maintain the tightest security on our list of friends and supporters.
13. We will conform to the standards established by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability — the Christian organization created to ensure ethical fund raising and administration practices.

To summarize, we will try to remember always that Jesus Christ is our possessor and our dispossessor. He ordained and blessed this ministry. It belongs entirely to Him.

Our pledge to you is that we will continue to follow these principles to the letter, and that we will use your contributions judiciously to advance the cause of Christ. To do anything less would be to stand accountable someday for the trust placed in us by our friends.

I’ve told you more than you ever wanted to know about our ministry, but it’s been a good year and I just wanted to share it with you. Now let’s go for it in 1999. There are families to be rescued — children to be protected — babies to be saved — teens to be taught — widows and widowers to be comforted — marriages to be strengthened — and governmental activities to be monitored. It’s a gigantic task, but together we can make a difference.

Ultimately, of course, our Mission Statement remains the same: It is: "To cooperate with the Holy Spirit in disseminating the Gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible, and, specifically, to accomplish that objective by helping to preserve traditional values and the institution of the family." Yes, we are attempting to help families function more effectively and lovingly. But we have an even more basic motive in what we do. By helping to bond family members to one another, we hope to create an environment in which the gospel can flourish. This is our primary reason for being.

So from the staff of Focus on the Family, and from Shirley and me, we wish you a wonderful Christmas season, and join you in celebrating the birth of the Savior. In unison we say, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14 KJV)

Your friend in Christ,

James C. Dobson, Ph.D.
President