Dobson to speak in Minot

Ryan Dobson may joke that he has too much time on his hands, but the wonder is how the author, radio host and regular speaker finds time to do so much.

Dobson, whose headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colo., will speak at 6:30 p.m. April 18 at the Grand International Inn in Minot during Our Redeemer's Christian School's 30th annual Friendship and Fundraising Banquet.

"I'm a product of Christian schools," said Dobson, who said he is a big fan of Christian education and has spoken at other events that help raise funds to support Christian schools and teachers.

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Ryan Dobson, left, co-hosts a pre-recorded radio show with his father, James Dobson. He also hosts his own separate radio program and is a published author.

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Dobson is the son of family counselor, author and radio host James Dobson, formerly of Focus on the Family. Behind the scenes, Dobson has been developing his own base KOR World Ministries, with the purpose to "build passion and identity in Christ followers." He produces KORKast, a podcast that challenges listeners in how they see, hear and think about life and their interaction with culture, according to his biography. He has been co-hosting a pre-recorded radio show with his father as well in addition to hosting his own separate radio program.

"I am very blessed to be able to work with my dad," said Dobson, who called the senior Dobson, "an amazing, amazing guy ... smart, caring and compassionate."

Since his father left Focus on the Family last year, James Dobson has been hosting his own radio show "Family Talk with James Dobson," which can be heard locally on KHRT. Ryan Dobson's Grounded-Radio is streamed live on the Internet five days a week.

"I talk to a different generation in a little different way," said Ryan Dobson, but the message is much the same as his father's.

Ryan Dobson said he and his father probably reach different demographics, but their subject matter overlaps and they often introduce their audiences to the other's work during their radio programs.

Ryan Dobson said he's revisited some of his father's parenting manuals to help in raising his own 4-year-old son. "Dare to Discipline," one of his father's classic texts, came out in 1970, the same year Ryan Dobson was adopted by the Dobsons. Ryan Dobson and his wife are in the process of adopting a second son.

James Dobson is still writing advice for parents. Ryan Dobson is a bit awed that his father drew on 3,500 pages of research for his one recent parenting book.

Ryan Dobson said he has worked to repurpose some of his father's work in new ways and disseminate it to a new generation, such as posting short excerpts of James Dobson's works online with the option of purchasing the full text if the audience is interested in seeing more.

Ryan Dobson is a published author as well. His first book, "Be Intolerant," was published in 2003 and drew on Ryan Dobson's experiences of talking first hand to teen-agers and young adults at music festivals, concert tours, youth camps and crisis pregnancy center activities. He also wrote "2 Die 4" and "2 Live 4." His fourth book "Wrecked: What God Can Do When Things Crash and Burn" was released in June 2008 and deals with the theology of suffering and how Christians should help those who are suffering in the world, much as people are currently responding to the ongoing crisis following the earthquake in Japan. He said he is currently working on his next book.

According to his biography, Ryan Dobson "uses every opportunity to call people out of the moral relativism of today's society and into 'the ultimate adventure' of following Christ."

Ryan Dobson, who holds a bachelor's degree in communication studies from Biola University in southern California, is also a regular public speaker and leads short-term missions trips and men's retreats. He was ordained as a minister in 2007.

Ryan Dobson said he and his father have been hunting pheasants in the Dakotas for the past 20 years, but this will be his first trip to Minot. He is looking forward to speaking here.