Freedom Begins Here Blog

On the blog, Jesus Needs New PR, Matthew Paul Turner opened up what seems to be Pandora's Box when it comes to questions from Christians about...SEX!

I really appreciate Matthew's open and candid way of dealing with issues related to the Church.

You should definitely check it out:

http://jesusneedsnewpr.blogspot.com/2009/07/sex-questions-welcomed.html

The Stories Behind Sex Addiction
How Desire And Powerlessness Can Lead To A Compulsion For Sexual Behavior
Broadcast Sunday, November 16, 2008

In the summer blockbuster movie, "The Dark Knight", one of the themes is Bruce Wayne's weariness with maintaining his alter ego by wearing the mask of "The Batman".

We might not be "The Batman", but we are also very good at hiding who we really are behind our masks.


After all, if people really knew us they might not love us and accept us at all.

We may not be hiding behind a superhero mask, then again, maybe we are, acting like we have it all together when really we don't.

And, we also grow weary because maintaining our alter ego is work and it's hard.

Thankfully, there is One we can always be ourselves with, "without the mask", who does love us and who does accept us just as we are.

That is God and that is good.

We can be honest, we can be open, we can be transparent with Him. He knows it all, anyway.

So, take off your mask. It's ok.

Be real. Be accepted. Be loved.

Begin to live Free.

Then you will inspire others to "take off the mask", too.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

As an FBH team member, I can first testify to the great difficulty we have experienced in getting media coverage for our project. It's not that people aren't interested, or that the story's not newsworthy. It's just the very important detail that porn is pornography and that 50 percent of Christian men and 20 percent of Christian women are dealing with a addiction to it. If a news source validates the problem with a story, a blog entry, or some other "published" mention, they are tacitly agreeing with the statistics and sadly don't really want the heat in their backyard.

Enter the Brown Bulletin, the alumni magazine of John Brown University. Their Summer 2008 issue features the Freedom Begins Here story as their cover story. Check it out.

(In all fairness, seven of our team members are JBU alumni. However, the weight of the story and subject matter required more than just an editorial gut check -- I believe it was a display of courage in the epic battle of helping the Bride of Christ, His Church, prepare Herself for the coming Bridegroom. Thanks for being so brave!)

Fox News recently did an article entitled, “8 Signs Your Partner Is Addicted to Porn” written by FOXSexpert, Yvonne K. Fulbright. Sexpert? Huh?! Anyway… the article reads more like “Is he cheating on me?” and less like “Is he, she, or even AM I Addicted?”

What I found most intriguing is the blog connected to the article… entry upon entry of placating a behavior that wounds. It wounds us, and the ones we love. One of the defensive responses that we hear when we breach the topic of porn and sexual addiction is that it doesn’t hurt anyone. I think anyone who has struggled with this can recall the inner voice of “reason” explaining the “coping-method” concept, the “not-a-physical-affair” argument, or even the “it-will-help-my-relationship” justification. It’s just NOT true. The pain of pornography IS real. So who does it hurt… REALLY?

Homo simul iustus et peccator :: Mercy, not condemnation

We all know the effect social networking has had on our culture. Everyone and their mother (literally) is now able to have an online presence... What does your presence look like? We are so naive to think that the pictures we put online are only viewed by our friends. Think about the images you're making available to the world... and to people that could potentially be struggling with an addiction to pornography that could be triggered by a "revealing image." It seems like everywhere you look there are triggers and I have a suspicion that while the majority are supposed to act as triggers, many are not.

If you have a Facebook, or Myspace, or any other online presence please take a moment and think about how you're presenting yourself. Be a light to those in dark places...

I mean, who honestly likes clicking on a link to a myspace page and then waiting 5 minutes just to see half naked pictures of some random person? All you wanted to do was see if you knew the person, right? And what's up with all those "rear shots" used in spam friend invites? There are at least 3 a day that I have to mark as spam. Sex might sell in advertising, but if you ask me, sex is killing social networking!

Check all that apply… I don’t struggle with porn. I know that my pastor doesn’t struggle with it either. I really don’t know anyone who views pornography. I have a great family and a great marriage. I am a Christian. I am very blessed. I can say “yes” to some of those things. Now flip the coin.

I am struggling through this life. I can’t sit in front of a computer for more than 5 minutes. I’m unable to stay alone in a hotel room with cable TV service. I can’t even drive through that one part of town. I am so broken. I am so alone. I will never make it. Do you know this voice? All of us do (Romans 3:11-18). Even if you’re a Christian leader or pastor, all of us have stumbled. Some still bear the scars from our falls. Maybe it wasn’t sexual temptation, but we have all felt broken and alone.

The Protestant Reformer Martin Luther used the Latin phrase “Homo simul iustus et peccator” to explain the state of all believers in a new light. Man is at the same time saint and sinner. What a paradox. I am a saint and a sinner. I’m not perfect, just forgiven. PBPGINFWMY. Say it however you like, but it is the transformational power of the gospel. It is the light of hope shining into the darkness and the darkness cannot hide from it.

So what does God require ME to do about this whole porn thing? If you think you are a saint, think again about YOUR need for a Savior. If you think you are a hopeless sinner, consider YOUR Savior and the mercy He extends to all. There is a beautiful answer to that question in Micah 6:8, “Do what is fair and love kindness. Walk without pride with your God.” I can be fair and kind to those who struggle. I can humbly come before God to find freedom.

Jonathan
Homo simul iustus et peccator :: Mercy, not condemnation

My home fellowship group has been doing a study on the gospel of Mark this year. As I was preparing for our lesson this week, I read the section in Mark where Christ is about to go to the Cross. One of the sections of that lesson talks about how important Jesus’ sacrifice really is. We cross-referenced other verses to study the point.

Ephesians 5:1-2
Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. (The Message)

Jesus gave everything to us in order that we might have a life that is impossible for us otherwise. The verses go on in Ephesians.

Ephesians 5:3-4
Don't allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. (The Message)

Ephesians 5: 8-10
You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You're out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it. (The Message)

We are bombarded with so many messages and so many images from television, from movies, and from the internet. We don’t take big steps into the darkness, but instead we slide into it. Every day I need to remind myself that I need to focus on “the good, the right, the true.”

YouTube is the 3rd most trafficked site on the web, according to Alexa Internet statistics. Everybody is using YouTube. It has revolutionized media communication just as much as the television did back in the 1950’s.

But there is a big difference between broadcast television and the user submitted content on YouTube. The difference is regulation. When TV hit the scene five decades ago, your choices were “I Love Lucy” or “Gunsmoke.” Not exactly TV-MA material, much less XXX. We all know that the FCC has a tight grip on what television networks can and cannot show on network TV. Even though most of us are quick to point out the tolerance of questionable (ok, downright scandalous) content on network TV, it pales in comparison to the increasing selection of sensual videos and pics available at our fingertips on sites like YouTube.

Now don’t get me wrong, as a professional video producer myself, I think the concept and model of YouTube is brilliant. But for those of us (might I say all of us) who have major temptation issues when we see a video titled “lonely girl in bedroom,” the amazing innovation of YouTube also presents a huge stumbling block that begins to reveal why we are facing an epidemic of pornography addiction. And even though YouTube attempts to block actual nudity, porn producers do just about everything to drive you back to their site after clicking on one of their teaser videos.

Understand that I’m not pinning the moral fallout of our society on YouTube! I’m also not blaming them alone for the crisis of pornography and sexual addiction. Just a few minutes of surfing around on sites like MySpace, Flickr, and Friendster can be like running the gauntlet of sexual temptation all while sitting in the comfy secrecy of your bedroom. These sites are full of sultry images and videos just waiting to trip us up. I know I’m not saying anything earth shattering here and you may be wondering where I’m going with this.

I mainly just want to ask a question. Is it safe to assume that all of us struggle with sexual temptation on some level? I’m not just talking about guys here. Girls, you struggle too and that’s normal. If that is a safe assumption, and we know that porn is thrown at us constantly without discretion for age or situation, how can we win the battle and find real freedom from pornography and sexual addiction?

What do I think? I think it starts with ruthless accountability. If you haven't installed accountability software already, do it now! Through our partnership with Covenant Eyes, you can download a free 30-day trial here: Download Covenant Eyes Trial