LINN—David Krueger, chairman of the Christian Life Commission (CLC) of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC), said the time for denial is over.
“There is an 800-pound gorilla in the church auditorium that most congregations seem to be ignoring,” said the pastor of First Baptist Church, Linn. “That gorilla is pornography.”
The CLC plans to tackle the problem head-on through a pair of workshops in August and September. One is in St. Louis; the other is in Independence.
“Last year when we were discussing our priorities for 2011, pornography and the sexualizing of our culture was a top issue,” Krueger said. “We committed ourselves and our resources to attempting to raise awareness of the problem in our churches, and to provide them with resources to combat this scourge.”
The workshops are designed to train pastors, church staff, and congregations on how to help those trapped in the web of pornography. Entitled “Providing Moral Leadership in a Sexualized Culture,” the first will be Aug. 27 at Canaan Baptist Church in St. Louis and the second will be Sept. 17 at Sycamore Hills Baptist Church in Independence. Each workshop runs from 8:30 a.m. through 12:30 p.m., with registration at 7:30 p.m.
John Splinter, executive Director of Pure Hope Ministries in St. Louis, is the keynote speaker.
Attendees will be able to choose from eight different topics during two break-out sessions.
Registration fees are $20 per person, $15 per married couple and $10 per person for church groups of five or more. For information and online registration go to: www.mobaptist.org/moral_issues and click on “Christian Life Commission Workshop.” (VISA and Master Card are accepted).
The CLC seeks to educate and to encourage MBC churches to challenge their membership toward Christ-like living and the development of a biblical worldview. Family life and moral issues are two of the commission’s primary responsibilities.
“We’re targeting Missouri Baptists through our mailings, but the conference is open to pastors, staff, and church members of all faith groups,” Krueger said. “This is not just a Baptist problem.”
The Internet has been a game-changer in porn delivery. Previous generations had to seek out magazines or movies in local stores, but now hardcore content is available anytime, free of charge, to anyone with Internet access.
“When you had to go into a drug store or video rental place to purchase porn, that kept a lot of Christian men from yielding to the temptation because of the public shame of being seen acquiring such material,” Krueger said. “But the anonymity of the Internet has been too big a temptation for many Christian men and women to resist.”
As a result, pornography has become a huge problem in our culture. Consider some of these statistics:
• 12 percent of all web content is pornographic in nature;
• 35 percent of all Internet downloads contain pornographic material;
• Porn revenue is larger than all combined revenues of all professional football, baseball, and basketball franchises – $12 billion a year in the United States and $57 billion worldwide;
• The largest consumers of Internet pornography are teenage boys age 12-17; and
• In a 2007 poll of 1,000 respondents by ChristaNet.com, 50 percent of Christian men and 20 percent of Christian women were found to be addicted to pornography.
Pornography addiction and the sexualization of the culture is a growing problem in American society, and the local church is not immune. James Dobson of Focus on the Family calls it the new crack cocaine. About 57 percent of pastors say that addiction to pornography is the most sexually damaging issue to their congregation, with 51 percent saying cyber-porn is a temptation for them and 37 percent saying it is a current struggle. Over half of evangelical pastors admit viewing pornography last year.
It is also crippling families, with 47 percent saying pornography is a problem in their home. The Internet is a key factor in two out of three divorces. And 34 percent of female readers of Today’s Christian Woman’s online newsletter admitted to intentionally accessing Internet porn in a recent poll, with one out of six women, including Christians, struggling with an addiction to pornography.
For more information visit www.mobaptist.org/moral_issues or email Krueger at fbclinn@osageconnect.net.
BY STAFF