By Michaela Gordoni
“The Healing Church: What Churches Get Wrong about Pornography and How to Fix It” author Sam Black is sounding the bell on how porn is destroying the church.
“This is not another purity sermon,” says Black, who serves as the director of Life Change Education for Coveneant Eyes. “It’s a primer for church leaders on pornography strongholds — why they can’t look the other way and how to be a safe place with safe processes, where it’s OK for people to come as they are, and not stay as they are.”
Black shows others how to heal, drawing on his experience with addiction.
He says the first step that churches need to take is to acknowledge that porn affects their members and guests. Two-thirds of men and one-third of women who attend church regularly say they struggle with porn. But the church doesn’t realize that. Unfortunately, only 7% of churches provide resources for those struggling with porn addiction, The Christian Post reported.
Related: How the Church Should Address Pornography: Counsel, Conversation, Resources and Care
“Internet pornography is in your church. If your church has got more than 50 members, it’s in your church,” said ethicist Richard Land. “I can tell you hardcore pornography is on the seminary campus. It’s on the Christian college campus. It’s in the pastorate. It’s on the staff.”
Over one-third of churchgoing men struggle with porn and 36% of young Christian men report daily porn use. Of women aged 18 to 35, 73% say they have viewed porn in the past six months, and over a quarter report viewing it in the past week.
“Porn isn’t what it used to be,” Black said. “It’s far more accessible, more extreme and more violent. And it’s reshaping how people think about sex, relationships, and even the value of another human being.”
Baptist News Global reports “The porn industry’s annual revenue is more than the NFL, NBA and MLB combined. It is also more than the combined revenues of ABC, CBS and NBC.” And believers are supporting that by visiting porn sites.
If you ask a Christian, “How do you spend your free time?” they wouldn’t answer “by watching porn.” But that’s what may are doing behind closed doors.
“When pornography becomes part of your life, it erodes your confidence in God’s design,” he said. “You start doubting not only your faith but God Himself.”
Black believes that porn’s pervasiveness in the church undermines every ministry it has, including the weekly sermon, marriage class and children’s ministry. The church needs to address it and provide help.
“Addressing this issue doesn’t drain a church’s resources — it strengthens the Body of Christ,” he said. “People grow in Scripture, in prayer, and in their willingness to serve.”
Read Next: No One Wants to Talk About Porn in the Church But…They Need To
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