The frank talk by the Revs. Craig Gross and Mike Foster about the struggles many Christians are having with pornography has drawn huge crowds in several churches across the country.

"We were tired of hearing stories about people's lives being wrecked, and feeling they had nowhere to go in the church to get help," Gross says. He and Foster hope to engage 200 churches in talking openly about "America's dirty little secret" and are offering resources to help the churches initiate healing programs for their congregations.

While some consider the effort controversial, many religious leaders recognize they do need help learning how to approach this sensitive subject.

Surveys indicate that 40 million people in the United States regularly view Internet pornography, which accounts for $2.5 billion of the $12 billion U.S. porn industry. Some 25 percent of search-engine requests are porn-related; 20 percent of men and 13 percent of women admit accessing porn at work.

For years, churches were in denial about the scope of the problem, but the toll on marriages, careers and faith communities has grown, say Christian leaders. And it involves not only congregants, but pastors.

In a 2001 survey published in Leadership Journal, 37 percent of pastors said resisting pornography was a struggle for them, and 51 percent admitted it was a temptation.

"For 25 years, I would have said that the pro-life issue is the most pressing threat to America morally, but pornography has overtaken it," says the Rev. Richard Land, a leader in the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest U.S. Protestant denomination. "More people's lives are being destroyed on a daily basis by addiction to pornography than through abortion."

Douglas Weiss, a counselor with divinity and psychology degrees, speaks at churches of many denominations on sexuality issues. "Wherever I am . . . and no matter what the denomination, at least half of the men in the church admit to being sexually addicted," he says. Based on his experience, "the clergy don't differ that much from the general population -- between a third to half."

The Colorado-based Evangelical group Focus on the Family was alerted a few years ago when its toll-free clergy-care line began lighting up with calls from ministers -- and 25 percent were porn-related. "We've been working hard to alleviate the addiction, and are seeing some improvement," says the Rev. H.B. London, vice president of ministry outreach.

Focus on the Family has spent thousands of dollars sending pastors to treatment centers. It also offers churchgoers help through its "Pure Intimacy" Internet program and has set up a global referral network of Christian counselors.

The Rev. Ted Roberts of East Hill Foursquare Church in Gresham, Ore., a former fighter pilot who speaks of gaining freedom from sex addiction through God's grace, has built a thriving church community around small-group ministries focused on recovery.

Paul Rasavage, an engineer, created a Web site as a prayer support group for Roman Catholic laity and priests that has seen steady growth since 2002. "People are so relieved to discover they are not alone and help is available," he says.

Simon Sheh, a psychologist of evangelical faith in Edmonton, Alberta, offers a one-day seminar designed to equip men to safeguard themselves against pornography. Pastors bring church members; fathers bring teen sons. "It's a family thing, to create a legacy of purity in the family," he says. Surveys show that the average age of first exposure to Web porn is 11. Most people caught up in it say it began in their early teens.

Although the seminar uses the Bible to encourage people to be honest and to take responsibility for themselves, Sheh says, it also educates about the consequences of addiction and about the things that most often underlie it.

"Pornography is not just about sex. It is a drug of pain relief," Sheh says.

Counselors say it is often emotional pain -- from childhood abuse or feeling isolated, rejected or inadequate -- compounded by not having someone to talk with about it.

Recognizing those factors helps men deal with the shame of seeking help.

Weiss conducts a "Sex, Men, and God" conference for churches that has spurred more than 100 "freedom groups" across the country. Another way to help men to be honest and resist temptation is to find another person with whom to be open about challenges. XXXchurch.com offers "accountability software" that will send a biweekly listing of Web sites one has accessed to a chosen "accountability partner."

See ...
Christians, America and Porn Sunday
A Christian Porno Site
X Rated Youth

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