“Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8
Right now, whether in populated cities or rural America, the fight against domestic sex trafficking is bringing awareness to the masses. Rightly, the Christian community is taking up this cause to bring justice and stop the epidemic. Glory! Jesus commands that we rescue and be His hands and feet!
It is not enough to rescue victims alone. Jesus rescues everyone in the equation. Yet, no one, not the sex addict, offender or rescue can clearly see Jesus in their darkness. Each needs Christ’s body, the Church, to be “Jesus with skin on” to come alongside them speaking truth in love to their strongholds, proud arguments, those wounding core issues that blind their eyes and harden their hearts.
Although compassion for the rescue comes easy, the Church is fooling itself if we think this alone will stop the problem. Unless we address the “Demand,” both inside and outside the Church, our incomplete efforts will not be enough to stop
the epidemic.
A Kelton research study stated that “60% of Americans would be willing to bend morals and tandards to live a more fascinating life.” Since BARNA reports that 85% of Americans identify themselves as Christians this lack of vision and purpose is equally revealing as it is disturbing. Christians should be experiencing a full and gratifying life, one that is safe to share the “word of their testimony” (Rev. 12:10) and comfort the way they were comforted (2 Cor. 1:4).
According to Christianity Today, only 12% of churches offer any form of sexual addiction ministry. FORGIVEN MUCH MINISTRIES proposes this solution.
• Address sexual addiction and the lack of trauma/core issue recovery in the church.
• Establish biblical and clinical recovery foundations.
• Equip believers to minister with a confidence of literacy on core issue addiction recovery and group dynamics.
• Empower and mobilize believers to serve out of their testimony and make a difference in their generation.
FORGIVEN MUCH MINISTRIES, founded in 2007, is a Christ-centered training ministry called to speak about sexual addiction and mobilize leaders to plant and sustain safe, core issue recovery support groups within the Church.
"Evil flourishes when good men do nothing" - E. Burke. This message isn’t for pacified, middle of the road Christians, but for those who crave the full throttle, sold out, all chips in the middle life that Jesus taught. These people know in their gut that they’re called to much more and they’re ready. They sense God calling them up to the next level and they want an extraordinarily satisfied, thrillingly gratified life bad enough to risk the opinion of others. I invite you to join us, to make a difference, being “Jesus with skin on” to the least of these in our day.
Prayer covering, manpower and financial support are needed in the following areas to fulfill this call to ministry:
• “Best Practices” collaborative partners implementing compassionate ministry to rescues, addicts and offenders
• Provide networking connections into the Christian community
• Financial support for webinar, online training assessments and daily operating expenses
Excerpts from: “Specialized Experience in Core Issue Addiction Recovery
Written by Sue Moore, S.A.S.
Forgiven Much Ministries
The expanding impact of addiction on society is forcing a deeper look into what is
behind these behaviors and the effectiveness of recoverymethods and practices. In the US alone, population statistics indicate that 26%, 80 million people, 12 years
and older abuse substances.1 Add to that 47% of Christians admit that pornography (only one of twelve presentations of sexual addiction) is a major> problem at home2 and we can clearly see that we are a culture reeling in the
addictive condition. The question really is,
“Are we ready to address what is driving our behaviors?”
Based on decades of research, Dr. Patrick Carnes established the “Cycle of Addiction” which involves a sequence of stages beginning with Preoccupation or
Fantasy, leading to Rituals, then Acting Out and Despair. Each repetition of the cycle intensifies the craving and neurochemical tolerance. In Carnes book, “Out of
the Shadows,” he relays how this behavior begins with delusional thought
processes that are rooted in the addict’s belief system. “Each person has a belief
system that is the sum of the assumptions, judgments, and myths that he or she holds to be true. It contains potent family
messages about a person’s value or worth, relationships, needs, and sexuality. Within it is a repertoire of what “options” – answers, solutions, methods, possibilities, ways of behaving – are open to each of us. In short, it is a model of the world.”
Consider:
• 70 million Americans deal with emotional conflict feeling held back by their past. 3
• In 2000, 8% of the US population was sexually addicted, 24 million people over a decade ago!9
• Today’s erotic trilogy “Fifty Shades of Grey” has sold 30 million US copies. Americans (typically women) can't get enough…”10
• 1/3 of visitors to all adult web sites are women11
• 58.5 sexual imprints each day emanate from media, marketing and music12fostering an appetite for pornography no longer hidden in late night viewing, but 70% is viewed from 9am-5pm13 by men, women and now children.
• 90% of adolescents (8-16yo), view porn online (most while doing homework).14
• Juvenile sex offenders are responsible for 40% of ALL sexual offenses.15
Whatever the coping method, as Christians we face an internal dilemma to teach others to obey all that Christ has commanded.
• Weekly over 25 million (47%) Christians are dealing with major pornography issues at home! 2, 16
• 37% of pastors say pornography is a current struggle17
• 64% of Christian leaders confirmed that they were struggling with sexual addiction/compulsion.18
• 59% in the Christian community believe it is acceptable to cohabitate.19
• 40% of homosexuals say they are committed Christians.20
• 34% of female readers of Today's Christian Woman's online newsletter admitted to intentionally accessing internet porn.
CITATIONS
1 CASA 7 –Huffington Post - CASA Columbia Report
2 Focus on the Family 2003
3 BARNA
9 MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Study, Washington Times, 1/26/2000
10 http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/story/2012-08-29/erotica-trend-fiftyshades-
of-grey/57416594/1
11 2006, J. Ropelato, TopTenReviews
12 National Coalition and Richard Blankenship, M.Ed., Cornerstone Training
13 SexTracker.com
14 2006, J. Ropelato, TopTenReviews
15 Bob Rubinow, M.A., PCC-S, Kent, Cara. - from Juvenile Sex Offender Treatment.
16 population and addiction stats CASA
17 2001, Christianity Today, Leadership Survey
18 2006 "Men's Secret Wars," Patrick Means
19 2008, Barna: UnChristian
20 BARNA - Spiritual Profile of Homosexual Adults Provides Surprising Insights 2009
