Perhaps equally difficult is understanding what to do when sin mars God's s*xual design. I have on occasion heard pastors preach against p*rnography, calling it harmful, sinful or evil, but have never heard any address in a meaningful sense the individual, familial and societal impact of p*rnography. And I have never heard a sermon that addressed the topic in such a way that one who struggled would know that he is not alone and that healing is possible.

I hope many reading this would say, "Daniel needs to come to my church. We talk about this." If you haven't taught on p*rnography in your role as spiritual leader, I say that not only can you do this but that you must.

A recent report on men who purchase s*x  revealed that the authors couldn't find enough men who hadn't used p*rnography, gone to strip clubs, or purchased s*x from prostituted women to form a control group. They had to change their definitions of "non-s*x-buyers" to include "men who have not been to a strip club more than two times in the past year, have not purchased a lap dance, have not used p*rnography more than one time in the last month, and have not purchased phone s*x or the services of a s*x worker, escort, erotic masseuse, or prostitute." That means that p*rnographic understanding of s*xuality is not potentially a problem for some of those in your faith community. It is a guarantee.

In his classic book, Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that the final obstacle to true Christian fellowship is the inability of people to be sinners together. He was concerned even in the 1930s that the church had become a place of show and that most people felt compelled to hide their sin in order to appear respectable like everybody else. If you are not teaching and preaching about healthy and broken s*xuality, what are you communicating to the numbers of people who silently struggle? Do they feel that such topics are off-limits? Is your congregation a safe or fearful place for sinners?

I don't know any man (or woman) who enjoys the struggle with p*rnography. Some may not yet be at the point of humility and brokenness and others may not be ready to admit they have a problem. But, deep down they know and hate it. However, there are also those for whom the fight has gone on long enough. They and their families will receive your message with grateful hearts and hopeful spirits.

This edition of PILOT LIGHT is meant to nudge you to take that first step toward talking about the harms of p*rnography and becoming a safe place for the s*xually broken in your midst. We have included resource lists  and action steps. We also highlight one community which is confronting this evil in a compassionate and comprehensive way. In all of this, we are hoping that we can help create a community of leaders who feel confident and equipped to tackle the deep wounding of society. Like our savior did.

Daniel Weiss

Director of Research and National Outreach