Sex, Dating, and Relating

I was interested in this series after watching one disc from the adult LYW marriage DVD series. That disc was recommended to me when I was looking for ways to help youth caught up in pornography & masturbation. I thought the information shared on that disc was enlightening and wondered if there were materials on this same topic specifically geared for teenagers. Information that would equip them with tools to use at this age that would help them avoid problems later in their own marriages. I had great hopes for the content of this series.However, I was severely disappointed after viewing all 4 discs in this series. The section on "Relating" was labeled "for Teens" but instead it was just a recycled adult marriage seminar. With precious little information that would be helpful for the needs of youth trying to navigate their own relationships. Additionally, I found the sexual innuendo inappropriate for a teen audience. Worst of all was the recommendation that women should use sex as a bargaining tool. While this *may* be useful in a marriage it is not at all appropriate for unmarried teen girls!The section on "Sex" was also not very useful or helpful. The statistics Pam quotes are outdated, and she offers few practical tools to help. It was more of a "Scared Chaste" lecture which does little to change the behavior of teens who, under the power of their Personal Fable, believe in their heart of hearts that "Nothing bad is ever going to happen to ME". She also seemed to offer little hope for those who have already lost their virginity. Mark also offered few practical tools to help the boys caught up in pornography and masturbation. And I found his delivery rather condescending and critical.I tried to stay hopeful all the way through the last disc, especially seeing that one question directly related to the issue my teens are struggling with. But Mark's answer to "what should I do if I'm already involved in pornography and masturbation?" was simply... "Stop!" That is NOT AT ALL helpful for a teen who is already convicted and ashamed of his behavior but finds himself overcome by temptation and powerless to resist. Was Mark ever a teen-aged boy himself? Does he not remember the difficulty? Is he aware of the greater challenges boys in 2019 face with the immediate access to pornography they now have? Telling them to just "stop" is certainly not a new idea to them. What they need to know is "HOW?" And that information is not in this DVD series nor in the Discussion Guide.

We used this DVD for our youth on a retreat. It was new information for some of the youth and for the younger ones, it was interesting. It was helpful.

thanks

He has no spot to review him on his website or social media (not surprising, the bad reviews probably got to be too much). He's using out-dated, proven-wrong methods including, but not limited to: Telling women it's their fault they messed up the kids, telling men they aren't capable of making connections from one thought to another (guess my husband and millions of intelligent men are magic then?), gender stereotyping instead of keeping up with science and seeing it's a personality/brain type which has nothing to do with genders, telling everyone to STOP feeling and expressing said feelings!, etc. We walked out after he finished rambling about how feelings needed to be thrown out of relationships, to see if it was a joke, but there was no punchline, he really thinks no feelings is a good thing. Mark Gungor was adamant: No feelings with your partner, no feelings with your kids, no feelings with your friends, no feelings at all. They call this Animotophobia when one fears emotions. And it is a mental disorder, NOT a way to fix a marriage! Please seek help Mark. And venues (especially churches) need to stop helping to spread damaging information to the couples in their communities by inviting someone who fully admits he has NO credentials: he's not a doctor, he's a not a psychologist, he didn't go to college to become a marriage expert or an expert on the human brain, etc. That is money I will never get back, but at least people can now read this review and be warned!