Culture and Comedy, my latest at X3Church

The focus of June at x3church has been raising awareness about porn addiction. As I began to work on pieces for it, I had a difficult time framing how I could approach the discussion in a fresh way.

Here's my attempt to do so, albeit heavily edited and improved by the x3 staff (my submission did not read as well as the final, polished piece).

How feel you?

PORN: Yoke or Joke? 

Excerpt:

"Bring up porn as a joke, you’re clever.

Bring it up as a social danger, you’re a prude. 


Funny how that works. 
Only it isn’t. 
"

Protect and Love : My Latest at x3Watch

Ha! I did not even realize this went live! If you have a home, own media, have children, have friends who have children, or let other people into your house, you may find this article I wrote for the x3watch Blog worthwhile:

The Loving Act of Protection

Here's an excerpt:

"Think of your residence as a castle, and pornography as a latent attacker against your family. You know that he could pass through the walls at any moment, and he could lay claim to one of your loved ones without your knowledge. The truth is clear: evil moves, and it wants to take up residency in our homes."

In God's Image : Recovery Ministry : The Solid Rock Road: Jerry Pineda

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

A Series Presented by 3LCpublishing

Wednesday, I posted an interview with Jamee Pineda, co-founder of The Solid Rock Road, a ministry that she began with her husband, Jerry. While I have corresponded with both Jerry and Jamie, it was him with whom I first made contact. I will always appreciate Jerry's willingness to connect with a small burgeoning author like me, and I look forward to our continued interaction in the future. 

Today, we'll spend some time getting to know Jerry Pineda and hear his heart for ministry. 

In God's Image : Recovery Ministry : The Solid Rock Road : Jamee Pineda

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

A Series Presented by 3LC Publishing

Below are interview questions I sent to Jerry and Jamee Pineda, co-founders and writers of The Solid Rock Road, a ministry dedicated to helping people overcome addictions.

I met Jerry and Jamee through Twitter, and we exchanged our respective books (you can read my review of theirs here; their review of mine is on the Stronghold Amazon Page). The Pinedas and I have been in contact a bit since that time; and as I have continued my own ministry work with X3church, I have grown in appreciation for the importance of both good content and strong leadership at the heart of recovery programs. Jamee and Jerry offer both, so I felt they would be great subjects for the "In God's Image" series. 

Each of them were willing to answer the questions independently, so we'll get to know Jamee a bit better today, then spend some time with Jerry on Friday. 

Small Group Leader? Youth Leader? Pastor? You should read this.

A groundswell is coming.  If you’ve been in a body of believers—a real community with vulnerability, honesty, and confession—than you’ve probably seen the truth.  Christ’s bride has an addiction problem. It’s not alcohol. It’s not smoking. It’s pornography.

In the minute or two it takes to read this article, over 30,000 people have been watching pornography online.

And a portion of the people with whom you worship on Sunday are the ones doing the watching—and, in some cases, creating.  Porn has become ubiquitous. Any teenager with a smartphone can access an unlimited amount of erotic material, and for the first time since the 1970’s, a blatantly pornographic work has become a normalized part of the cultural zeitgeist.

Addiction and Community. My Latest at X3Church

Below is my recently published piece on Community for X3Church.

Can You Be Accepted, No Matter What? A Family Says Yes.

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.

Quit Saying 'No' to Your Addictions...

Saying “no” is hard. It is. Humans like to say, “yes”. Oftentimes, we like to oblige others or ourselves. We like to be agreeable. Saying “yes” is easy.

But those in any type of recovery have a conundrum, because our journey is based on saying, “no”. Whether we’re addicted to drugs, smokes, booze, or porn, we’re all forced to say, “no”, and we don’t always want to. 

Some of us have not said “no” to our addiction for some time; others cannot remember if they ever have, and still more just want to keep saying it one more day. Wherever you are on that spectrum, you know how hard it is. You usually can’t just say it once and be done with it, either; rather, the desire remains too strong, calling to you again and again. Sometimes resisting is so hard that we collapse under the siren’s song just so that it will shut up.

Saying “no” is work.

Recovery Resource Review: Intentional Warriors

When I discovered James Cordrey's site, Intentional Warriors, I felt that I had found a kindred spirit. His content was openly anti-porn and pro-pursuing-righteousness, presented with a professional look and forthcoming attitude. His posts and platform revealed a life that Christ renewed from destructive behaviors and near-collapse, and that's a life to which I feel connected.

From Ruin to Recovery, and the Ministry Beyond...

I was struck with a very encouraging realization recently.

My prayers have been answered. Literally.

For those of you who have followed this blog for any amount of time, you know that I followed the Lord's leading in December 2010 to do two things: First, return to my home state of Delaware; second, write a novel. The process of doing these two things I have not shared in full on the blog as of yet, and I am unsure I ever will. To make a long story short, I did the first in August of 2012 and completed the second in May 2013. Since that time I have felt like my life was in a holding pattern while waiting to make my next move.

Recovery Resource Review: Follow the Solid Rock Road!

Though I am still learning my way around Twitter, I have discovered that a little bit of honesty and courage when reaching out to others can be the starting point for real connection and not simply "following". One such connection I have made is with Jerry Pineda, on whose account I stumbled late last year. Jerry and his wife Jamee are involved with drug and alcohol recovery ministry in which they use a self-developed curriculum (co-authored by Sherry Colby) entitled, "Follow the Solid Rock Road".

Interview: Stronghold, Faith, and Recovery.

I had the great blessing recently of speaking with Jeff Fisher, a wonderful Christian brother who was willing to read Stronghold and later interview me about it for his ministry's audio resource, "The 104 Podcast: Top Tips to Sexual Purity."