Member Care and Lausanne 3: Blog Five

Porn as Mission and Porn in Mission:

We are as Healthy as our Secrets

The Lausanne 3 Conference brought together some 4000 people this past October in South Africa. Here are excerpts from one of the seven MCA blogs at the Global Conversation portal at Lausanne 3.

The main question of this particular blog: How do pornography and other sexual addictions affect the people involved in mission?
Are they really such an issue? Yes, No, or Probably?!
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Porn as Mission? You bet. In fact, there is a major multi-billion industry whose mission is to convert you into a regular, paying, porn-using consumer.

Porn in Mission? You bet too. It’s insidious, ensnaring tentacles pop up almost everywhere it seems--in our daily lives, media, our thoughts--and even if we do not seek it out.

Here is a quick tool to help assess sexual addiction.

More on Porn. There is a continuum of involvement in pornography (or any other addictive behavior such as food, substance use, work, control). At one end some people include porn as part of their daily “coping routines.” Towards the other end some may “lapse” into porn periodically, minimizing its potentially lethal and addictive impact. Where are you and your colleagues on this continuum of porn usage? How freely can you discuss this reality in your mission/church setting?

Mission/aid workers are certainly not immune! Pornography destroys the beauty of our human sexuality, replacing it with a haunting, incapacitating bondage. The humans that create and proliferate porn want your money—they could care less about you. Pornography exploits millions of people including those whom mission/aid workers are trying to assist.

Like any serious addiction, you cannot overcome porn by sheer will power, or by yourself, or simply by exhorting yourself to never do “it” again. Healing takes time and discipline, strict accountability and utter honesty, close friends and tight internet controls. It requires understanding emotional and environmental triggers, learning/relearning healthy behaviors and healthy human sexuality. Take action now to help yourself and also others.

Courage! Remember, we are as healthy as our secrets.

http://www.covenanteyes.com/ (accountability tools for internet use)
http://www.sexhelp.com/ (resources and includes a self-assessment tool)
http://www.arabicrecovery.com/ (many resources for recovery in Arabic)
http://www.sa.org/ (support for sexual addictions including locations for support groups)
http://www.christianrecovery.com/ (resources/links for healing from addictions, abuse, trauma)
http://www.xxxchurch.com/ (Christian resources for sexual purity including podcasts/interviews)
http://www.safefamilies.org/ (oriented towards child protection/families, plus free internet filtering)
http://www.settingcaptivesfree.com/ (addiction resources; free courses for education/accountability)

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Reflection and Discussion
1. Take the assessment tool above. What did you learn about yourself?

2. How can porn use and sexual addictions be helped in your setting? How does culture play a role in identifying and dealing with such sexual issues?

3. Review the web sites above. What materials and resources seem to be the most helpful for you or others?