http://www.freedombeginshere.orgFreedom Begins Hereen-usTue, 06 Jan 2009 16:56:13 -0600Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:56:13 -0600http://rss.freedombeginshere.orgcontact@freedombeginshere.org (Freedom Begins Here)http://edition.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/09/01/sex.addiction/index.html?eref=rss_latest (CNN) -- When actor David Duchovny made headlines for voluntarily entering rehab for sex addiction, fans of the "X-Files" star were left wondering: How can someone become addicted to sex? It turns out sex addiction, also called compulsive sexual behavior, operates somewhat like a gambling compulsion or alcoholism: It's about devoting your free time to a behavior that you cannot stop, even if you damage relationships or prompt other negative consequences. Examples of addicting sex behaviors include extensively using pornography, having affairs, sleeping with prostitutes, and masturbating excessively, to the point where such behaviors get out of control.Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:56:25 -0500http://edition.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/09/01/sex.addiction/index.html?eref=rss_latesthttp://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/24/2344811.htmIn the statement, Michael Guglielmucci said he had been addicted to adult pornography for 16 years, apologised to those he had misled, and promised restitution. Michael Guglielmucci has been stood down by the Australian Christian Churches, formerly known as Assemblies of God. The Australian Christian Churches is investigating the incident and says it is still deciding what form of discipline it will take.Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:05:02 -0500http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/24/2344811.htmhttp://www.ministriestoday.com/display.php?id=17451How to counsel married couples through bedroom problems Terry and Tami seemed like the perfect married couple. They were in their 30s, attractive and successful. They’d known Pastor Phil for several years and one day came to him for counseling. As soon as they all were seated behind closed doors, Tami blurted out: “Pastor—Terry and I aren’t having sex!” Pastor Phil’s mind reeled: Not this couple. No way, he thought. His mind instantly raced back to his Bible-school training. He could not recall any lessons he might have had on “The Sexless Marriage.” In fact, he couldn’t remember ever counseling a couple who didn’t want sex. In the end, all he could say was: “Terry, Tami—you should fast and pray.”Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:26:38 -0500http://www.ministriestoday.com/display.php?id=17451http://www.ministrytodaymag.com/display.php?id=17093Few things are more disheartening than seeing one of your own staff members fall to pornography. As a senior pastor, your reaction and guidance set the stage for this leader's future path. From athletic fields to battlefields to fields ripped with fire, a common motto of brotherhood sounds: "When one falls, we all fall." So it goes in the body of Christ, to which Paul applied an identical truth: "If one member suffers, all the members suffers with it" (1 Cor. 12:26). Today we find ourselves a suffering church due, in part, to an increasing number of ministers falling to pornography. But what do you do when this affects someone serving on your own staff?Fri, 02 May 2008 10:15:29 -0500http://www.ministrytodaymag.com/display.php?id=17093http://blog.ministrygrowers.com/2008/04/10/porn-in-the-usa-part-3/How much of the church is affected by porn? Unfortunately the church is as affected as the rest of the population. There’s a ministry called Freedom Begins Here that has started talking about the “20/50 Crisis.” A startling survey recently revealed that 20% of Christian women and 50% of Christian men admit they are addicted to pornography. Not just struggling . . . addicted. When we include the stats for those who are “struggling” but wouldn’t call themselves “addicts” we see that some 70% of Christian men are struggling with pornography on some level. In the younger generations, this stat is even higher. Focus on the Family reports that of the 10,000 calls, emails and letters they receive every day, struggles with pornography represent their No. 1 incoming request for help overall. Practically speaking, with stats like these this means that nearly every family and every church is affected by pornography. These men are our sons, our fathers, our brothers, and even our pastors. These women are our daughters, our mothers, and our sisters.Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:39:41 -0500http://blog.ministrygrowers.com/2008/04/10/porn-in-the-usa-part-3/http://www.madetoworship.net/archives/66As a male living in a hyper-sexualized culture, the onslaught of visual ads meant to stimulate the mind to action is constant. From TV shows to billboards to the Internet, our culture is enticing all ages of men, from young to old, to lust. Consequently, many of our young men are falling prey to easily-accessible pornography from an early age…Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:33:21 -0500http://www.madetoworship.net/archives/66http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2baafa04-fa8e-11dc-aa46-000077b07658.htmlIndonesia said on Tuesday it would begin to block access to pornographic websites after the country’s parliament passed a wide-ranging law criminalising the act of producing and accessing “immoral” content on the internet.Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:41:34 -0500http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2baafa04-fa8e-11dc-aa46-000077b07658.htmlhttp://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2008/03/25/News/Prof-Says.Pornography.Harms.College.Students-3281871.shtmlBoys first download pornography at 11-and-a-half years old, and grow up to see women as either "invisible" or mere sexual objects, Wheelock College women's studies professor Gail Dines told 300 people last night.Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:12:11 -0500http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2008/03/25/News/Prof-Says.Pornography.Harms.College.Students-3281871.shtmlhttp://www.christianpost.com/article/20080318/31558_Ex-Porn_Star_Leaves_Sex_Industry,_Joins_Church_Staff.htmA former porn star has left the sex industry to start a new life as a college student and church secretary, a group ministering to sex workers announced Tuesday. Sophia Lynn, 24, is now an office staff at Celebrate Community Church in Sioux Falls, S.D., where she will work while attending college. The South Dakota church offered Lynn a place to live, a college scholarship, and a job at the church office when they heard she wanted to leave the sex business. Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:05:45 -0500http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080318/31558_Ex-Porn_Star_Leaves_Sex_Industry,_Joins_Church_Staff.htmhttp://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=8008962"It's probably more prevalent than one would admit," says psychiatrist Dr. Tim Valko who treats people with sex addictions in our area. The addiction makes people feel they have to watch pornography and/or be involved in sex. Those helping sex addicts say more men are seeking treatment, but that doesn't mean more men than women have the problem. If the behavior goes untreated, Jones says there could be dire consequences.Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:03:06 -0500http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=8008962http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/churches-unite-saturday-to-fight-porn-and-sex-addictionFREEDOM BEGINS HERE aims to combat “crisis of pornography and sexual addiction.” They’re meeting Saturday in Little Rock.Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:45:21 -0500http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/churches-unite-saturday-to-fight-porn-and-sex-addictionhttp://commercialappeal.com/news/2008/mar/15/faithful-battling-the-porn-habit/Pastor Margaret Bondurant has seen what pornography and sexual addiction can do to church members. That's why the Nesbit pastor of Christ Community Church made her way to a round-table forum Friday afternoon to learn how church leaders can deal with the problem.Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:44:14 -0500http://commercialappeal.com/news/2008/mar/15/faithful-battling-the-porn-habit/http://www.cmcentral.com/special/7621.htmlThe members of Birmingham rock band Rush of Fools knew they wanted to serve God from early ages. But they probably didn’t suspect that that service would include taking a stand for freedom for sexual addicts. Frontman Kevin Huguley notes that none of them have found sexual addiction an issue in their own lives, but he adds, “We’ve all been affected by it, in our churches, and in friends and leaders we’ve seen fall.” It is for this reason that they are willing to be advocates for help. “Nobody is talking about these issues,” he says. “Marriage and sexuality are not being portrayed as God intended through this crisis and a whole generation is observing this distortion.”Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:42:40 -0500http://www.cmcentral.com/special/7621.htmlhttp://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/churches-unite-saturday-to-fight-porn-and-sex-addiction#more-178FREEDOM BEGINS HERE aims to combat “crisis of pornography and sexual addiction.” They’re meeting Saturday in Little Rock.Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:39:22 -0500http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/churches-unite-saturday-to-fight-porn-and-sex-addiction#more-178http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/11/asia/AS-GEN-Japan-Child-Pornography.phpAP TOKYO: Japan should ban possession of child pornography and crack down on animated films, comic books and computer games that show children being...Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:22:11 -0500http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/11/asia/AS-GEN-Japan-Child-Pornography.phphttps://www.freedombeginshere.org/?page=news&id=47February 21 – Quincy, Illinois. It was a frigid snowy day in Quincy this Thursday. But that didn’t stop people from coming out. It was the largest and most diverse crowd yet. We had seasoned pastors sitting next to earring laden, longhaired GenY pastors and everything in between. Different as they could be in many ways, yet rallying around the same cause—helping their churches find freedom from pornography. Thank you so much to Jan and the staff at Coffee on Broadway! You were so gracious to us. February 22 – Merrillville, Indiana. Wow. It is amazing to see the response from people who come to hear what we’re all about. Two moms who are active in their church and community heard about us on the radio and decided to come. And we are so glad they did. They are championing the cause. They actually want us to come back to their communities with Rush of Fools and put on an event to talk about the issue. That is exactly what we need to get this movement off the ground. February 23 – Des Moines, Iowa. Maybe it sounds cliché, but God is continually bringing the right people at the right time to these events. Today we met a man who is actually helping a church deal with a crisis involving the pastor’s pornography problem. In fact, he met with the church congregation the very next day and was planning to use some of the Freedom Begins Here material in the meeting. This man drove 100 miles to hear what we had to say. Amazing!Mon, 3 Mar 2008 10:47:55 -0500https://www.freedombeginshere.org/?page=news&id=47https://www.freedombeginshere.org/?page=news&id=46Well, we’re at it again. Last week we were in Lynchburg, Virginia. This week we will host Pre-Launch Events in Quincy, IL, Merrillville, IN, Des Moines, IA and Naperville, IL, respectively. Why these cities you ask? Because we’re doing the Pre-Launch Events in parallel with the Rush of Fools / Newsboys concert tour. Our events will happen in the afternoon of the same day of the concert. What is all of this about? In partnership with Gary Smalley, we have created a series of DVD ToolKits, entitled Freedom Begins Here, that will equip churches to help people who struggle with pornography and sexual addiction. Before our nationwide release of Freedom Begins Here, we are inviting a handful of Christian leaders to this invitation-only Pre-Launch Event. On our website are the cities on the Newsboys/Rush of Fools Tour where we will be. You can meet some of the guys from Rush of Fools, hear about their passion for this cause, and learn how Freedom Begins Here can prepare your church and help you create a safe place that is ready and equipped to respond to the potential flood of responses. We would love for you or a church leader you know to join us! RSVP here. There is no obligation. We will be serving coffee and snacks. And there will be door prizes such as free concert tickets, CDs, t-shirts, and copies of the Freedom Begins Here Toolkits.Mon, 3 Mar 2008 10:46:35 -0500https://www.freedombeginshere.org/?page=news&id=46https://www.freedombeginshere.org/?page=news&id=45Early tomorrow morning we will fire up the engines, melt the frost from the windshield, fill up on petrol and coffee and head east on a long road trip to meet up with the Rush of Fools/Newsboys "Go" tour in Lynchburg, Virginia for the very first Pre-Launch Mobilization Event. This will be the first official public unveiling of the Freedom Begins Here products and our partnership with Rush Of Fools. Please pray that God will prepare the hearts of all the pastors and church leaders we will meet with. Pray that the message gets through. Pray that a movement will begin. The lives of millions struggling with pornography hang in the balance as we step out and urge churches to start talking about this silent struggle. Check back for updates, photos and videos from the road.Mon, 3 Mar 2008 10:45:59 -0500https://www.freedombeginshere.org/?page=news&id=45