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GUEST ARTICLE
How Many Porn
Addicts
are in Your Church?
Mike Genung
[We offer this article for the warning it offers to you in the use
of the internet. We
continue to be shocked at the dangers found on the internet,
accessible so easily to anyone who uses the world wide
web. Although
great benefits may be derived from the internet in searching
for reliable information, including Scriptural truth, we
are aware that there are also grave dangers in using it. Perhaps
many or even most should not expose themselves to these
dangers and the pull of the flesh. I,
personally, use Integrity Online, a very restrictive internet
provider and I recommend it for any who need access. The
following statistics are for denominational groups and
other churches. While
professing Christianity, we doubt that most of these would
be truly saved, but the facts mentioned still are startling
and should give us caution. RH]
Could
half of Christian men have a problem with porn, as so many
of the statistics say? Porn is reported to be a 12 billion
dollar industry in the U.S… 50 percent of men viewed pornography
within one week of attending a Promise Keepers stadium
event… 54 percent of pastors said they viewed porn within
the past year in a Pastors.com survey… in a 2003 Focus
on the Family poll 47 percent of respondents said
porn is a problem in their home.
12
billion… 50 percent… half. My eyes glaze over at numbers
like this. Are we supposed to buy into the idea that half
of the men in the church are porn addicts? Maybe it’s just
more sensational rhetoric meant to rouse us for battle
against the culture.
But
In My Church?
Certainly
half the men in my church
couldn’t have a problem with porn. Most the men in our
body of 600 are in their late 30s to early 40s, married,
and the father of little ones. They have successful careers
making good money and are involved in ministry. I couldn’t
picture so many of these men I sit next to every Sunday
leering at porn.
Wanting
to prove the numbers wrong, in the spring of 2004 I approached
the leadership of our church and asked if we could survey
the men on the topic of pornography. Our
numbers will be different; “half” can’t be true here, I
thought. Of those who responded, 25 percent had looked
at porn within the past 30 days, 44 percent within six
months, and 61 percent within the year. The real statistic
is probably higher; I heard later that a number of men
didn’t fill out the survey “because they were afraid of
how it would be used.”
Pure
Desire
Ted Roberts, a pastor who’s ministered to many caught in the bondage
of sexual addiction recounts the following story in his
book Pure Desire:
“I was speaking
in the Bible Belt not too long ago. When I asked the gracious
pastor what he wanted me to share about during the weekend
service, he said, “just tell them about the great work
God is doing at your church.”
I said, “I would
love to do that, but I will end up talking about real life – about
the bondage, addiction and trauma that so many people are
struggling with today. And I will challenge them to open
up these areas of their lives to God so He can heal them
and set them free.”
The expression
on his face changed a bit and he commented, “Well, I don’t
think we have a lot of folks dealing with the depth of
issues that you’re talking about. This isn’t just the Bible
belt part of the country. We call it the buckle of the Bible Belt.”
But that pastor
gave me the green light, so I didn’t pull any punches.
Then, at the end of the service, I gave an altar call for
people struggling with sexual issues. No one moved at first.
Then the dam broke, and they lined up three to four deep
at the altar…”
Let’s
Get Honest Here
A
few years ago a friend of mine told me of a small men’s
retreat he attended in Idaho. When the men were challenged
in the area of sexual purity, the biggest, toughest looking
guy in the room stood up and said “I’m struggling with
porn and I know some of you guys are too, so stand up if
you are and let’s deal with this!”
Half
of the forty men in the room came to their feet.
Accepting
the fact that at least half of Christian men (pastors,
music ministers, missionaries and those in children’s ministry
included) have an issue with porn is a big pill to swallow.
We want to see the church in a positive light; we don’t
want to picture little Jenny’s daddy “relieving himself” to
pictures of naked women (or men, if his bent is with homosexuality).
We don’t want the problem to be this big, because the church
is in serious trouble if it is.
Another
Man Speaks
The
following excerpt is from an open letter Chuck Swindoll
posted on his Insight for Living Website not long ago:
“The most recent studies available
suggest that one out of every two people-that's 50 percent
of the people sitting in our pews, are looking at and/or
could be addicted to Internet pornography… Truth be told,
that statistic could be even higher…
Stop and imagine the ugly but
very real possibility of some of your own elders and deacons
leaving your meetings and going home to surf porn. Think
about youth leaders viewing it one minute, and leading
a small group with your kids thirty minutes later. It's
ruining marriages, destroying relationships, harming youth,
and hurting the body of Christ. You hardly need to be reminded
that fallen pastors and priests did not "suddenly" fall.
More often than not, pornography played a role in their
downward spiral.
My
friend, it's time to do something about it. In fact, we need
to start today. Making a difference requires action… Our
churches are in trouble. This is no time to simply wait and
pray.”
The
Bottom Line
In
my ministry to those who struggle with porn and sex addiction,
I see many marriages and families on the brink of divorce.
Most guys wait until their dirty little secret spins out
of control into a big traumatic mess before they do something
about it. What starts out as “just me and pictures” can
destroy a family. Sadly, there are some marriages that
don’t make it.
The
church needs to expose this snake and cut off its head
before more lives are ruined. In upcoming articles we’ll
provide you with effective strategies for doing just that.
Mike
Genung struggled with sex addiction for 20 years before
God set Him free in 1999. He is the director of blazinggrace.org,
a ministry to the sexually broken which also helps churches
deal with the black plague of porn. (crosswalk.com/church/pastors-or-
leadership/how-many- porn-addicts-are-in-your-church
-1336107.html)
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