August 4, 2026
The Leader’s Sexual Integrity
Christian leaders must guard against pride, secrecy, and sexual sin by cultivating integrity of heart, practice, and awareness before temptation becomes collapse.
Articles for tag: pornography
February 7, 2021
Strangers Start Path to Healing at Emotional Bible Study
By Dee Ann Billings On a recent night I got a glimmer of what a church would be like if Jesus were here in the flesh sitting amongst us. We often refer to Jesus as the giver of freedom—freedom from our sins and freedom from our pain. Unfortunately, the church oftentimes has become the opposite of that. That night was the first of a six-week Bible study called “In the Middle of the Mess.” We opened the class to the community, knowing there were hurting and struggling women who needed freedom from their pain. But we didn’t expect a roster
February 23, 2017
Finding JOY in the Journey
By Rick Chromey How God helped me turn temptation, trouble, and trial into blessing and beauty. Life is a carnival of temptations and troubles. We all walk wounded with hurts, habits, and hang-ups. We”re stuck in moments we can”t escape, desperately addicted to vices and voices we can no longer ignore, resist, or deny. I suffered with my pain for many decades. Life for most of us is tattooed by loss, tragedy, abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Maybe you”ve endured an affair or addiction. Maybe you suffered salacious ridicule, unjust criticism, and unfounded rumors. Perhaps you”ve been unexpectantly fired, forcibly retired, or unfairly
January 25, 2017
Our Compelling Story
By Jim Tune Sociologists tell us societies are not held together by rules and laws, and that order cannot be enforced by swords or guns alone. People must find their motivation and meaning in powerful ideas””beliefs that justify their institutions and ideals. Writer Percy Bysshe Shelley once said, “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” I think he was trying to say that, through their vivid imagery and memorable rhythms, poets have the power to shape how people think. In 1703 Andrew Fletcher wrote, “Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its
February 9, 2015
True Love and the Hookup Culture
By T.R. Robertson You”re drunk. You”re at a party, sitting on the couch. It”s three in the morning. You”re looking around. You don”t know where your roommates went. You”re tired. You don”t know how you”re getting home. You look next to you, at this person. They look at you. You say to yourself, “All right . . . “ You won”t find lines like that in your average romance novel. They”re a college student”s description of a typical college hookup situation, quoted at the 2014 Q Conference by sociology and religious studies scholar Donna Freitas. Freitas is the author of
January 1, 2015
Faithful and True
By Mark R. Laaser If you were Satan and wanted to bring down the church””all churches and all denominations””what would you do? Attack leadership, of course. Thanks to the Internet, Satan now has that technology, and he is using it. I call addiction to Internet pornography among pastors the tsunami that is threatening to engulf the church. I am an ordained pastor who struggled with sexual addiction, and by the grace of God, found freedom in March 1987 when I went to an inpatient treatment program. Thanks to the intervention of the Holy Spirit and the best clinical resources available at
October 5, 2014
Avalanche
By Dudley Rutherford A well-known, yet misguided, quote says, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” The opposite is actually true. What happens in Vegas can stay with you the rest of your life. In California, we have our own adage that rings true: “What happens in California will sweep across the country within 10 years.” My guess is it”s actually two or three years, but who”s counting? When I think of the moral decline on display in California today, the only word that comes to mind is avalanche. And I am not talking about a little snowball rolling down
November 24, 2012
Sticky Conversations: Pornography in Ministry
THIS IS THE SECOND IN A SERIES OF FIVE “STICKY CONVERSATIONS” By Steve Larson We want to believe this is someone else”s problem. We want to believe that ministry professionals are above entanglement in this sin. But statistics tell us, and my experience affirms this: pornography is present even in the church, but those enmeshed in it can be helped. A little over 15 years ago, I left the marketplace in Michigan and planted a church in Cary, North Carolina. Crosspointe Church began in the fall of 1997. Having been involved in a family business for a number of years,
July 12, 2012
Discussions Just Begun
By Mark A. Taylor “Wherever two or three are gathered together . . . someone’s wrong!” That was one of a hundred one-liners Chonda Pierce delivered during her alternately hilarious and heart-touching monologue during the Thursday-night evening session at the North American Christian Convention in Orlando, July 12. Chonda hadn’t attended two special seminars I heard earlier that day. But each of them contained questions and ideas that at least someone in the church would call wrong. This is one more thing good about this year’s North American Christian Convention. It stretched us by challenging us with ideas we may
March 3, 2010
Some Who Read This Are Homosexuals
Mark A. Taylor reflects on homosexuality in the church, urging Christians to confront sin with biblical conviction, grace, accountability, and humility about their own need for repentance.
April 8, 2007
Our Motives for Pure Living
In the wake of Ted Haggard’s fall, Greg Allen urges a humble, restorative response—while warning leaders to guard the mind, pursue accountability, and protect marriages so Christ is honored in life and leadership.
October 8, 2006
Faith on the Front Lines
Three church leaders describe different approaches to social and political engagement—from public advocacy to community action—sharing risks, church reactions, and practical counsel for Christians seeking to speak up wisely.
May 21, 2006
A Safe Place to Be a Sinner
A reflection on how churches can become safer places for people struggling with sexual sin—by dropping categories, speaking honestly, and walking patiently with strugglers toward healing in the body of Christ.
May 21, 2006
Broken Mirrors
Using the image of a cracked mirror, this article explores how early wounds and sinful reactions can shape sexual and relational brokenness—and how God can bring healing that turns weakness into strength.
January 1, 2001
Something to Talk About
In a culture saturated with sexual messages, the church must speak clearly and compassionately about God’s design. This editor’s note urges congregations to be positive, patient, and gracious while telling the truth with love.
