Dr. Dobson Offers Encouragement to Parents of Teens

May 2009

Dear Friends:

As many of you know, I have been engrossed for several years in the process of writing a new book, Bringing Up Girls. I have reviewed thousands of pages of research outlining the challenges facing girls in the 21st century, and the findings are troubling, to say the least. Bringing Up Girls (or BUG, as it has come to be known by the staff in my office) is a “sequel” of sorts to my 2001 book, Bringing Up Boys (that’s BUB to you, bub). I chose to focus on young males because the cultural forces aligned against them were more dangerous than those facing girls. But now, I am convinced that girls in today’s world are facing dangers and difficulties that are no less significant. In truth, both boys and girls are in trouble today — perhaps to a greater extent than at any other time in our nation’s history.

If you’ve been paying attention to today’s youth culture, and especially if you’re currently raising kids, you are aware that they are growing up in an environment awash with materialism, illicit sexuality, violence, drugs, cutting, piercing, eating disorders, teen suicide and other symptoms of depression and despair. Millions of teens are confused and overwhelmed by the pressures they face. To cite just one example, a phenomenon that the media has dubbed “sexting” has emerged in the past few years, in which children as young as middle-school age are taking nude photos or videos of themselves or while engaging in sexual activity. Then they send them to their peers via cell phone. According to a nationwide survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 19 percent1 of teen guys and girls have engaged in this dangerous activity without knowing they may be creating and distributing child pornography! I tremble for our society when I consider what we have permitted to happen to our children.

As a parent, you have your work cut out for you as you seek to guide your children through this cultural mine field. That is why Focus on the Family® has made every effort to come alongside you, not only by offering counsel and advice to parents, but also by providing positive, biblical resources for teens. In years past, we have hosted conferences and produced radio programs specifically geared toward youth, with extremely positive results. We will continue to do so. Since the 1980s, we have been producing three award-winning magazines: Breakaway® for boys aged 13-16, Brio® for girls in the same age bracket, and Brio and Beyond® for women aged 17-23. Both young people and parents have expressed great appreciation for these resources.

Unfortunately, the economic downturn currently impacting the nation forced the ministry to make some very difficult decisions late last year. Our administrative team had no choice but to eliminate a number of worthwhile projects in order to devote funds to other priorities. Not only were programs cut, but a number of employees here at Focus had to be released as well. Needless to say, it was a painful, heartbreaking process. The majority of our teen-centered outreach — including Brio, Brio and Beyond and Breakaway — did not survive. Focus published the final issues of each of these magazines in February 2009.

Once it became clear that Focus could not continue producing these three publications, our leadership team began looking for another dynamic ministry to carry on the outreach. Several organizations submitted proposals for consideration by our president and CEO, Jim Daly, as well as members of our Board of Directors. (I chose to recuse myself from this process in order to avoid any conflict of interest.) After review, the decision was made to award the Brio and Breakaway brands to KOR Ministries, headed by none other than my own son, Ryan. The main audience for his ministry is teens, and he has proven himself to be a powerful Christian voice in helping young believers take strong stands for Christ while navigating the challenges posed by our culture.

Initially, KOR Ministries is making Brio, Breakaway and Brio and Beyond available online. Ryan and his associates are also investigating the possibility of publishing these magazines monthly in a print format. As you can imagine, however, it is terribly expensive to produce up to 250,000 slick magazines per month. It would become possible, of course, if teens and their parents would order yearly subscriptions. For the latest information on how this transition is unfolding, I hope you’ll visit korministries.com or tune in to Ryan’s radio show and podcast at korkastradio.com

I know I’m biased, but I must say that this new arrangement with Ryan and KOR Ministries represents a tremendous answer to prayer for us here at Focus. They are able to connect with teens in a way that was not possible through Focus on the Family. KOR is well-versed in the language and culture of teenagers, and its leaders have a passion to see them follow Christ in our increasingly hostile culture. The Web site is loaded with podcasts, blogs, Flickr photos, widgets, and links to Twitter and Facebook. (That last sentence might sound like a foreign language to you, but I guarantee that it will make perfect sense to anyone in their teens and 20s!)

Focus on the Family is expanding its use of these new technologies, as well, but KOR is able to do so in a manner that is specifically and exclusively geared toward the younger generation. KOR’s objectives, as stated on its Web site, are to evangelize the lost, teach a Christian worldview and create self-motivated Christians. Those principles dovetail perfectly with the goals of Brio, Brio and Beyond and Breakaway. It’s a match made in heaven. My prayer is that the Lord will expand and increase the influence of these wonderful publications through KOR Ministries.

May I ask that you pray for the KOR team as they take on this significant new responsibility? It’s not as if my son was sitting around bored before taking on this new publishing opportunity. He has overseen KOR for nearly six years and is an accomplished speaker who has also written four books. He is represented nationally by the Ambassador Agency in Nashville, Tenn. And perhaps most significantly, Ryan and his wife, Laura, are the parents of our beautiful grandson, Lincoln Cash Dobson, whom I call the “Crown Prince.” Chasing that kid through toddlerhood is a full-time job in itself. Please ask the Lord to grant Ryan and the team at KOR an extra measure of wisdom, grace and perseverance as they expand their teen outreach to an even greater audience. And if you’d like to consider making a donation to the cause, you can do so at korkastradio.com or by using the response device enclosed with this letter. Every dollar will be put to good use.

There’s also a response card for Focus on the Family enclosed, and I hope you’ll prayerfully consider making a contribution to the ministry. I know the economy is incredibly difficult just now, and if you’ve been adversely affected by the downturn, please disregard this request. However, if the Lord so leads and you find that you’ll have a bit extra in reserve at the end of the month, we’d love to hear from you. Jim Daly and his executives are constantly evaluating how to most effectively and efficiently carry the ministry forward against the realities of the economy. If you are able to send a gift at this time, please know that it will be carefully invested in the ongoing work of nurturing and defending families worldwide. Whether the economy is good or bad, we can’t do what we do without your prayerful involvement!

My Bringing Up Girls manuscript isn’t going to write itself, so I will end this letter and get back to work on it. Thanks to those of you who continue to pray for Focus on a regular basis — we need it now more than ever! I hope you’ll feel free to contact us and let us know how we can return the favor.

Ryan sends his warm regards and appreciation for anything you can do to help him provide for this ambitious outreach. He and his team have embarked on a very exciting adventure.

God’s blessings to you all.

Sincerely,

James C. Dobson, Ph.D.
Founder and Chairman Emeritus