In God's Image : Recovery Ministry : Intentional Warriors

In God’s Image: “Subcreators in a Created World”

A new series from 3LCpublishing

Below are interview questions I sent to James Cordrey, founder of IntentionalWarriors.com and author of the book of the same name. James and I have been corresponding for months, and each of us has read the other's book and reacted to it. We have connected as men of God, brothers in Christ, and fellow soldiers in the war against lust, not only in our hearts but also in the body of believers. 

James was kind of enough to be the first participant in the "In God's Image" series, through which I hope to highlight fellow believers whose creative energies are resulting in kingdom work. The hopefully ongoing feature will allow our brothers and sisters in Christ to share details about the ministries or projects which they have founded, created, or built for our Father’s glory.

I am very glad to be sharing James' responses with you, and I hope you will take time to visit his site.

1. Define yourself in one word (Disciple, Christian, American, Man, etc.)

Warrior.

2.  Why do you chose that term?

Because my identity is firmly rooted the fact that the LORD is a warrior, as revealed in Exoduse 15:3, and I am made in His image to be a warrior for the Kindgdom. There are many battles to which He has called me.

3. In two sentences, tell us about Intentional Warriors—what it is and for whom it is intended.

Intentional Warriors is a movement of men fighting for purity and freedom in a sexually saturated society.  It is a movement, and a book, for anyone who needs freedom from the ravages of porn and lust.

4. What led to the creation of Intentional Warriors? Was it a specific event or was it a more general decision?

Intentional Warriors was a passion and a dream in my heart for a number of years before God brought together a small number of men who all had the same issue:  addiction to porn and lust.  One by one I found myself in conversations with men and the subject would arise.  We started meeting in 2009, before the name Intentional Warriors was used.  Things have grown from there.

5. How has your work in ministry required you to sacrifice? 

Sacrifice is a challenging word.  In one sense, any time a person gives of himself or herself for the sake of others, a sacrifice is involved.  Serving others often means saying “no” to oneself.  And yet, while that is technically a "sacrifice", somehow it seems slightly unworthy to be called a sacrifice given the sorts of sacrifices I know many people make for the sake of the Gospel.

By way of a more specific answer to your question I would say that I have sacrificed sleep, free time, and resources to minister to men on these issues.  My family also has sacrificed in that they have to share me with others, sometimes more than they would prefer.

6. What is your primary goal for Intentional Warriors?

The goal for Intentional Warriors is to follow God on a journey of healing our hearts and bring as many people along as we can. I want hope, freedom and the power of God to reach every man — and ultimately woman as well — who is caught in the trap of porn and lust.

7. What is your largest hope for those to whom you minister?

My greatest hope is for men to recover Biblical masculinity, walk in a redeemed passion, and grow in freedom such that the counterfeits of porn and lust are exposed and defeated in their lives.

8. What are two key ways in which your work benefits others TODAY?

I meet with a group of men who are working through their issues and seeing real healing.  Men, whose marriages were on the fence four years ago, are experiencing connection with their wives that they thought was not possible.  Men are learning to fight for purity and freedom and they are seeing how much better their lives are without porn and lust. They are making choices to have real relationships. It’s beautiful.

9. How have you seen God’s goodness and faithfulness in your work with Intentional Warriors?

God has been incredibly good to me individually and to Intentional Warriors over the years.  He has rescued me and given me healing upon healing.  For Intentional Warriors, He has reached men and set them free, and He has given Intentional Warriors many opportunities to connect with men and women as He ignites this movement. He has taken the book and the message to an international audience as well. Just the fact that self-publishing exists now and I could get this book to print is a major thing for which I am thankful. 

I also have great faith that God is using and will use Intentional Warriors on an increasingly larger scale to play its part in the rescue of men. 

10. How can readers learn more, donate to your cause, or partner with you and get involved?

I really love the opportunity to bring the message of Intentional Warriors to audiences who are interested in pressing in to this issue in our Christian subculture.  I am available for speaking and consulting with churches or ministry groups.

You can visit the web site:  intentionalwarriors.com. You can buy the bookon Amazon, either as print-on-demand paperback or in electronic form.  The Kindle app also works great on Apple products.  I also would love to connect with readers of the blog and the book, so please use the email link in theContact section at the site.