Congregational Leadership

“Give Us Clean Hands and Pure Hearts”

Statistics on pornography and sexual addiction can be very discouraging to look at, to say the least. Safe Families, a program of TechMission, Inc.--a group that was formed to assist parents in protecting their children from pornography and other dangers on the Internet, reminds us of the widespread infiltration of our homes and minds. Here are some of the trouble statistics they recently provided:1

• The total porn industry revenue for 2006: $13.3 billion in the United States; $97 billion worldwide (Internet Filter Review).
• Unique worldwide users visiting adult web sites monthly: 72 million (Internet Filter Review).
• Adults admitting to Internet sexual addiction: 10%; men made up 72% while women were 28% of this group (internet-filter-review.com).
• More than 70% of men from 18 to 34 visit a pornographic site in a typical month (comScore Media Metrix).
• More than 20,000 images of child pornography are posted online every week (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 10/8/03).
• Approximately 20% of all Internet pornography involves children (National Center for Mission & Exploited Children).

One of the things you learn when you deal pastorally or as a counselor with those who struggle with sexual addictions is that these addictions often develop after early exposure to pornography or sexual abuse by a child predator. You might even be surprised at the near completeness of the relationship between adults addicted to pornography and those who had their first exposure to pornography as a child. To help combat this ever-increasing population, Safe Families offers a media sobriety covenant and other resources to help serve the positive role models needed for our nation's children.

Sexual addiction related problems are rampant. Fifty-seven percent of pastors say that addiction to pornography is the most sexually damaging issue to their congregation.2  Safe Families further reports "two-thirds of the 350 divorce lawyers who attended a meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, said the Internet played a significant role in the divorces in the past year, with excessive interest in online porn contributing to more than half such cases." Less than a decade earlier, pornography had an almost non-existent role in divorces. Seventy-six percent of victims in net-initiated sexual exploitation cases were 13-15 years old, 75% were girls. "Most cases progressed to sexual encounters" - 93% of the face-to-face meetings involved illegal sex.3

Pastoral leadership teams know firsthand how these addictions are consuming their work. At Olivet, we mimic a local congregation in these areas. It is the goal of this University Chaplain to create a safe environment where students can find help-serious, practical wisdom and insight-which can give these students handles for working in cooperation with the Holy Spirit in their deliverance from the bondage of these addictions.

These sexual addictions play out in many hideous and dreadful ways. The ugliness does not respect if the person is a victim-an innocent victim-or if the person voluntarily perpetuates the habit. Drug and alcohol abuse, pornography, eating disorders, chronic masturbation, homosexuality, promiscuity-are all fallout that spiritual care givers are facing regularly in their congregations and campuses.

In the past weeks, the campus community at Olivet has been giving ourselves to the text: "Who may stand in this place?" We are asking God to help us with Clean Hands and Pure Hearts. We had two very gifted men (cf. Speaker Bios and Resources on this page), both of whom have a personal testimony of deliverance from the homosexual lifestyle and sexual addictions, address our students in chapel. Further, both men gave evening talks and met with our students in Dr. Kent Olney's Human Sexuality course. I cannot overstate how powerful these days have been here at Olivet. The Holy Spirit of God so blessed us with His accurate, grace-filled ministry.

Seeing that the pervasiveness of this type of sin impacts us so much, I am interested in knowing:

• What kinds of resources have you found helpful in your ministry load with the persons to whom you are spiritually responsible?
• Are you able to provide a "safe place" for disclosure and simultaneously hold your parishioners "helpfully accountable"?
• Do you find that the depth of dealing with these subjects weighs you down in an inordinate way?

 1  http://www.safefamilies.org/sfStats.php
 2  Christians and Sex, Leadership Journal Survey, March 2005
 3  Journal of Adolescent Health, November 2004