Ten guys plop themselves into chairs and sofas arranged in a circle at Eastside Faith Center in Eugene. One of them pulls out a guitar and strums the chords of a hymn. Others close their eyes, nod their heads and quietly sing along.
Common bonds bring these men together each week. They are the bonds of faith and fellowship and pornography.
Participants in this “For Men Only” accountability group vary in age, temperament and work status. But most will tell you, privately, that they share the same problem with pornography: They want to stop using it but can’t, and need the help of God and others to quit.
“You have made the way to take our shame away,” says the guitar player in an opening prayer. “Lord, I’m living for you, to be worthy of you, regardless of my situation today.”
No religious or other demographic group is immune from pornography’s reach – not in a country where an estimated 40 million adults say they regularly visit porn Web sites on the Internet. In one survey cited by Internet Filter Review, an oft-quoted resource on cyberporn, 47 percent of polled Christians describe porn as a major problem in the home.
Thanks for this article.
This is a huge problem that is not being addressed in mainline churches including the Episcopal Church.
On Sunday, there was a Vineyard church with a big headline on their marquee that read, “Confront the Elephant in the Room: National Porn Sunday”
My sermon couldn’t top that…
I too think this a good article and applaud this faith centre. This is a fight we should all be fighting and one that is desperately important to win.