Mark Driscoll - Porn Again Christian

Every now and again I begin to write a blog entry and find myself asking the question "I wonder if this is going to get me into a lot of trouble"! I remember that feeling when commenting on the Lakeside Revival and some of what was going on there. Well I feel it again now. But I also feel that this issue is so important that I want to take the risk of getting into trouble rather than missing an opportunity.

If you were in church today you'll have heard me talk about the Elephant in the Church of Sex, and as part of that I talked about pornography. I felt there was a lot more I wanted to say on that subject, but given the limited time available suggested instead a booklet by Mark Driscoll which I'd like all the men in the church over 16 to read (and for all parents with boys under 16 to consider whether some of this would be good to share with them too). It's definitely written for men, so girls I'll leave it up to you what you do with it.

It might prove a bit controversial, so in order to try and limit the number of emails I get this week I'll make the following comments:

• If you're not yet a follower of Jesus Christ then allow God to sort your heart out before trying to change your behaviour. I'm directing this at Christians who know Jesus and have had that heart change but still have  issues from their old way of thinking and living to deal with.
• I realise that pornography can be an issue for women as well as men. However, this booklet is unashamedly aimed at men. I'm not aware of a female equivalent (if anyone is then please post a link to it), but if you're a woman and pornography is an issue which has affected you in any way, then I'd encourage you to find another woman you trust who you can talk to, or to contact one of the Unique Leadership Team who would love to help you. 
• The booklet is written in a very blokey and "in your face" style - not at all what we'd be used to from most of our Christian literature. Choose to be challenged rather than offended. If you survived the talk Sean Green gave at the Men's Day at Oakwood you can survive this!
• It's also written from a US standpoint (which might come as a welcome change to all our Americans). That means that some of the people mentioned probably won't be familiar to you, and in particular that the last chapter on the US military might seem a bit out of place, although what it has to say about prostitution is absolutely spot on.
• Husbands, think about how much of your reaction to this you could share with you wife. In particular some of the Q&A section could provoke some interesting discussions! Having lead the Marriage Course I do think there's a real need for couples to learn to talk about what they'd like from their sex lives.
• You don't have to agree with absolutely everything the booklet says - I'm not sure I did either but it still challenged me to my boots. 

You can find the booklet by following this link.

I do think we have a real choice, both men and women, as to whether we just want pseudo community where we wear our masks and play at being religious, or whether we want genuine community where we tear off the masks and choose to be real with God and with one another. Let's choose the latter.

Simon.