Category: Social Issues

National Porn Sunday

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Statistics says that pornography use is rampant in America, and the American church is not exempt. It is sort of the elephant in the pew. Take a look at this:

  1. Men admitting to accessing pornography at work-20%
  2. U.S. adults who regularly visit Internet pornography websites-40 million
  3. Promise Keeper men who viewed pornography in last week-53%
  4. Christians who said pornography is a major problem in the home-47%
  5. Adults admitting to Internet sexual addiction-10%
  6. Breakdown of male/female visitors to pornography sites is 72% male & 28% female
  7. Internet Pornography Sales-$4.9 billion
  8. Pornographic websites-4.2 million (12% of total websites)
  9. Pornographic pages-420 million
  10. Daily pornographic search engine requests-68 million (25% of total search engine requests)
  11. Daily pornographic e-mails-2.5 billion (8% of total emails)
  12. Internet users who view porn-42.7%
  13. 89% of porn is created in the U.S.
  14. $2.84 billion in revenue was generated from U.S. porn sites in 2006
  15. Over $3k a second is spent on porn worldwide.
  16. 72% of porn viewers are men.
  17. 260 new porn sites go online daily.

Source: www.XXXchurch.com

National Porn Sunday – Super Bowl Sunday, February 6

I’ve been thinking about this event, King’s Grant has outreach Super Bowl parties scheduled, but what if the Men of Steel took this farther?

Over 300 churches throughout the country have taken part in Porn Sunday. This is the chance to bring hope to those who are struggling with pornography. For some it is ludicrous to link three X’s with church and for others it is long overdue. The one undeniable truth that can’t be ignored is the blatant push for all things sexual in our society. Porn Sunday seeks to drive the conversation about pornography into our churches, families and lives. This weekend service brings healing to those sitting in churches who are caught up in pornography.

F.A.Q’s

  1. Will this prepare my church to have accountable relationships? Yes.
  2. I don’t know if my church is ready for this yet. Take a risk. The freedom and healing for the people in pew is worth it.
  3. Can I use the kit just as a resource for my congregation? Yes.
  4. Doesn’t the title and approach trivialize a serious topic? It actually does the opposite. People will laugh a little but in the end they will walk away equipped to deal with a tough issue in their lives.
  5. Why is an elephant the mascot? Porn is the elephant in the pew. The thing everyone wants and needs to hear from the church on, but continually does not.
  6. Will the press show up at my church? Maybe. If you send out a press release (included) and promote the weekend well.
  7. Will some people in my church not understand why we are addressing this issue? Yes, but a few should not hold us back from helping the majority.
  8. Isn’t pornography a men’s only issue and be dealt with at a mens breakfast? Definitely not. There are women who struggle greatly with pornography and also there are women who need to hear a message of hope because their husbands are in way too deep.
  9. What age group is PornSunday appropriate for? Middle school and up appropriate. The average age a child sees pornography is age 11.

A Word from XXXchurch.com

The reality is that as men we all struggle. And for some it’s an overwhelming struggle with pornography. We know where to find porn and we know how to keep it hidden. In our culture the line has been blurred on what is porn. The magazines, TV and the Internet put it right in front of us every day of our lives.

It is time to make some decisions. What are we doing with all the junk that is coming at us? Consume it, get in way over our heads or are we going to live for things that are greater? There is a point in which we have to acknowledge that what we keep hidden from our wives, girlfriends, children and even closest friends we are not proud of. The question is simply will you live a life that is transparent?

At the core of consuming porn is selfishness. I will get my fix. No one will know. It is my secret. It is what I do in private. My dad did it. Everyone does it and I am going to as well.

Porn is a fantasy designed to do one thing, keep you completely to yourself. It is a lie. Porn tries to tell you what sex should feel like and look like. Porn will destroy the relationships around you. You will pull away from reality because of this dirty little secret. As you consume porn, it becomes your life and you will eventually lose control to addiction. Stop now. Be done with it all. Change today because there are much greater things than porn to give your time, money and energy to.

Next Steps:

1. Confess
Go before God with everything. Confess your struggles through prayer. He already knows it all anyway, right? You have to put all your junk out on the table and acknowledge that you can’t handle it anymore-you need God. You cannot handle it on your own.

2. Get Accountable
Find someone in your life that you trust and let him or her in on your struggles. Such as a close friend, pastor or family member. You are not alone. You are not supposed to deal and carry this on your own. God has placed people around you that will walk with you as you move toward freedom. As men we naturally want to keep it all to ourselves. It it is time to own up to those closest to you.

Download XXXchurch’s free accountability software X3watch. It’s simple and completely free. This software monitors what is accessed online and sends a report of any questionable websites to your accountability partners e-mail addresses.

Download X3watch – www.x3watch.com.

3. Clean It Up
Throw away the porn stash. Delete it all. Literally get rid of the things that are tripping you up. It is time to break that pattern of the things that make you stumble, the things you go right back to.

Maybe you need to cancel your cable or internet altogether, move the computer out of the basement to the kitchen or get a filter on your computer. Take solid action steps toward moving away from your places of struggle. The process of cleaning it up is continuous and will not happen overnight. Define the specific situations you struggle and take tangible steps to eliminate those places from your life.

Source: www.XXXchurch.com

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Jesus and Alcohol

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Since we are looking at the first sign in John’s gospel this Wednesday (the wedding at Cana – John 2:1-11), I know the topic of Christians and alcohol is going to come up.

Christians who abstain from alcohol have often tried to insist that total abstention was the practice of Jesus and the disciples. Obviously the miracle at Cana poses a bit of a problem-after all, would Jesus have turned water into wine if he thought it was wrong to drink it? Add to that the fact that no one at a wedding in those days would have drunk anything except wine, so we must assume Jesus himself drank, (not to mention the elements at the Last Supper).

In the past some teetotalers came up with the “two-wine theory,” claiming that some of the biblical words translated “wine” in fact referred to non-fermented grape juice. It is an interesting idea, but not a true one. In ancient times, with no refrigeration, grape juice had a way of turning into wine rather quickly, and when the Bible says “wine,” it really does refer to alcoholic wine.

The Bible does have some harsh words to say about drunkenness, notably in Proverbs, but then again Proverbs also advises, “Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish, and wine to those that are of heavy hearts” (Proverbs 31:6-7). In the age before pain relievers and anesthetics, alcoholic beverages really did have medicinal value. Wine was also the only real disinfectant available for cleansing wounds, as we see in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

It is worth noting, however, that people in ancient times, not only Jews but the Greeks and Romans as well-generally drank their wine diluted with water, so ordinary table wine was about half the strength of wines today. Even the pleasure-loving Romans mocked heavy drinkers who insisted on having their wine undiluted.

Today there is also a distillation process that is different from natural fermentation. I discovered that in fermentation, you’re allowing the natural processes of living things (like yeasts) to produce alcohol. There’s a limit on how high a concentration you can produce this way. Alcohol is a metabolic poison, so increasing concentration tends to kill off the micro-organisms producing it. I read that you can’t get much more that 15 proof (7.5%) from natural fermentation.

In distillation, you’re using heat to increase the concentration of alcohol by driving out the water. I am not aware of any alcohol limit on that method, except patience. Even if there is a limit, it must be higher than the limit on fermentation. So, distillation can produce a more potent wine.

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Alliances Today

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Isaiah warned Judah not to ally with Egypt (Isaiah 20:5; 30:1-2; 31:1). He knew that trust in any nation or any military might was futile. Their only hope was to trust in God. Although we don’t consciously put our hope for deliverance in political alliances in quite the same way, we often put our hope in other forces.

Today we continue to make alliances with other disciplines. We hope these will lead to meaning, justice, purpose and perhaps even salvation. Does this seem on target?

Government: We rely on government legislation to protect the moral decisions we want made. We want to stand on what is right, elect people to represent us, but the minority rules in our politically correct society. Our republic is great, but legislation cannot change people’s hearts.

Science: We enjoy the benefits of science and technology. We look to scientific predictions and analysis before we look to the Bible. Science has been raised to the level of deity, omniscient and irrefutable.

Education: We act as though education and degrees can guarantee our future and success without considering what God plans for our future.

Medical care: We regard medicine as the way to prolong life and preserve its quality-quite apart from faith and moral living. Today we see health care as an inalienable right along side of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Financial systems: We place our faith in financial “security” (making as much money as we can for ourselves) forgetting that while being wise with our money, we must trust God for our needs. Jesus had much to say about money, and most of it was warning us about it’s being a trap and a barrier to dependence on God. Paul sums it up in 1 Timothy 6:9-10, 17-19.

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A Spiritual Oil Spill

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On Tuesday, April 20, 2010, there was an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed eleven workers, devastating eleven families from Day One. I’ve read this is the worst environmental disaster in US history, but just how big is the spill? Imagine if the spill was in Virginia Beach, how far would it reach? Click here to find out, (or to type in your city and state).

Today, this event in the Gulf is on Day 56, completing eight full weeks of disaster for the Gulf coast, but on a serious and spiritual note, I have a few questions to ask…

How is our sin like an oil spill? Let me suggest that as the oil comes from deep inside the earth and gushes out to destroy life and the environment, our personal sin comes from the deepest and darkest regions inside of us and also leads to a similar destruction of life and family.

How do we tend to deal with that sin? The experts at BP and the US government have tried numerous methods to cap the well and stop the flow of oil. One method after another has failed and we wonder if the oil leak will ever be stopped. What are some ways that we try to cap the sin spillage in our lives? We try one thing after another until we discover that there is only one way to cap the sin problem we have, the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross (John 14:6, Romans 5:8). The bottom line is that we try to cap the well on our own, with little success. When a relationship is breached, the only way to mend the relationship is to follow the prescription of the offended one. We cannot come to him on our own terms.

How can we clean up the mess we have created? BP is utilizing thousands of employees and volunteers to help clean up this oil spill. When it comes to getting rid of sin, if we could clean up on our own, we would not really need Jesus or the Holy Spirit to work through us. The goal of the believer is to conform to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29) and the Spirit is called our Helper (John 15:26). Let’s work in partnership with the Holy Spirit to conform to the image of the Son. That’s what sanctification is all about, becoming more and more like Jesus in thought, word and deed. So, for those who have trusted Christ, the gospel has effectively capped our rampant sin spillage.

How does sin impact the lives of others? Just as this oil spill has affected hundreds of thousands of people and communities, sin also has a lasting effect on others. Think about how your sin has affected those around you; your relationships at work, with your wife, your business dealings, your peace. The dark oil of sin is lurking just off the coast ready to destroy whatever it can cover. We can set out a boom, but the source of the leak needs to be capped.

Why do we often feel so helpless? Romans 1:16 tells us about the power that is available to us, to save everyone from the looming oil spill of sin. Tony Hayward said in the BP public relations commercial that “we will make this right.” The “good news tells us how God makes us right in his sight.” (Romans 1:17) Praise God that he has been in charge from Day One and gets the job done for those who know they cannot survive without him.

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A Classic Leadership Mistake

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I have come to realize that we are the sum total of our decisions. Each of us can look back at the critical decisions we have made and see how they directed the course of our lives. Flash forward to the path we see before us. For better or for worse, our destiny is determined by decisions. Many times big decisions might seem like little decisions, but destiny can turn on a dime when we make a poor decision.

A great example in the Bible is found in 1 Kings 12:8. Solomon has died and is asleep with his fathers (1 Kings 11:43). His son, Rehoboam, was all set to be crowned the king over Israel (1 Kings 12:1). The people request an audience with the young king and they plead that they will serve the king if he will lighten the heavy load his father put on them (1 Kings 12:4). Rehoboam wisely delays his decision and seeks counsel from the elders (1 Kings 12:5).

The wise and experienced elders recommend that Rehoboam back off the hard labor on the people in order to gain their loyalty (1 Kings 12:7). Here is the decision that determined the destiny of the nation, Rehoboam abandoned the counsel of his parents’ generation and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him (1 Kings 12:8, 13). “If you thought my father was hard, you ain’t seen nothing yet” (1 Kings 12:14). These young men inherited something for which they did not work for or earn.

In politics today, how often do we read about our young national leaders forsaking the wise counsel of history in order to embrace failed socialistic policies of the past? Once the “new generation” is in power (Generation We) they will set the new course for America. As Solomon’s situation predicted, the Builders and Boomers who created a strong America will soon die off and leave it all to fools who did not earn it… all vanity and futility (Ecclesiastes 2:17, 18, 19, Psalm 39:6, 49:10). They will eventually learn that promoting and endorsing a utopian society will not make it so just because they claim to have the larger voting block.

But I digress, what about your situation? Who are you listening to?

I think Rehoboam made the classic mistake many young leaders make. He surrounded himself with “yes men.” By surrounding himself with the good-old-boys from his youth he limited his counsel and experience. It’s so important to have some people who can speak into our lives from a different vantage point. It’s so important to have counselors who have been there, done that and can speak from experience. It’s so important to respect those who have made more trips around the block and around the sun.

I believe that we only make a few major decisions in our lives and we spend the rest of our lives managing those major decisions. In context, this little decision by Rehoboam (to listen to the wrong crowd) split the kingdom in two! It led to civil war between the Israel and Judah (1 Kings 12:16, 19, 20). All of this sprang from a young leader’s arrogance. He even foolishly sent Adoram (the leader over the forced labor) to share the news, and the people killed him (1 Kings 12:18).

I think it’s important that we listen to the voice of innovation but we also need to listen to the voice of wisdom and experience.

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