Well, we officially survived our weekend of porn at Crossroads!
Now we'd love to hear what you thought about Porn & Pancakes and the Weekend Services.
Also, tell us if you had any conversations around this topic with friends, co-workers, family members, etc.?
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6 comments:
This was a great encounter with a difficult subject. I have my own history with porn and struggling to overcome my appetite, and this was a great refresher that the struggle is worth it. As I was listening to Craig speak, I thought "I've heard all this before, I have an accountability partner" and was tempted to tune out. I'm pretty sure Satan was encouraging this line of thought, but I didn't tune out. I didn't get any new information or inspiration, but the struggle with porn is a marathon and not a sprint, so I found myself grateful for the encouragement to keep running the race. I hope many more men will join us, we who struggle for sexual purity; there is strength in numbers.
I have a friend who's a girl who found a magazine that belonged to a male friend of hers. When she first told me about it she kind of came at it from the standpoint that he must be some kind of degenerate pervert. I did my best to explain to her that pornography is something that a lot of (if not all guys) have some kind of encounter with. I found myself having trouble explaining that it was a natural thing for guys to struggle with without making it sound like I was saying it was "no big deal."
I walked away from the conversation kind of thinking that most women have trouble seeing porn in the same context that men do - so I was surprised to hear the statistics about how many women are becoming porn users. Interesting information and implications.
I don't think the church can ever be criticized for preaching on sin and if they need to target specific ones, that's ok by me.
I was familiar with XXXChurch and
I thought bringing Craig to Crossroads was a great idea. I liked the community publicity that was done. I think the difference in messages in the Porn and Pancakes where he was more specific to the guys and concentrated more on his ministry in the services was a good mix. I also appreciated the points that were made that this was an 'in your face' type of thing going on and so it is appropriate for the church to put the topic on the table. I hope this means that other topics that are also 'in our face' but have never been put on the table will begin to come up now and then.
I'm not sure I agreed with the decision to have the whole campaign on Father's Day weekend. I thought it was a little like preaching against gossip on Mother's Day. On the other hand, I always expect to be bashed on Father's Day anyway and so this just kind of gave us a 'twofer' and got it out of the way!. (Good natured ribbing.)
btw, when it comes to women and porn, I've always thought that the Danielle Steele-type romance novels were the female equivalent to men's porn. I know this is not what Craig was talking about, but IMHO think it's far more prevalent (and damaging).
Well we didn't get to come Sunday, but I wish we would have, I just got a phone call this morning from my sister saying she had filed for divorce because her husband is addicted to porn (among other things). I'm totally blown away by this and I feel like I missed out on God trying to prepare me for this specific thing...maybe I would have had some words of wisdom or been able to console her, but because I was focused on my own enjoyment over the weekend I wasn't prepared.
I'm a schmuck! But I'm going to listen to the webcast and hopefully be able to go back to her with some encouraging words. Talk about a timely teaching.
I'm thankful that Xroads is bold enough to deal with difficult subjects that affect so many of us. This is the very reason why I come to Xroads. Keep up the good work.
I found that this was the most widely discussed topic in the shop last week. I have a lot of clients that attend Crossroads and we discussed the pancakes and porn weekend. I found that others were listening and perked up (non crossroaders) and joined in the conversation. They mostly wanted to know what kind of church would tackle a subject like that. I prayed that God would use me to give these men the words they needed to hear to understand the message properly. They were impressed that there were people and a church out there that were willing to get real and face something that is not much talked about and that other men and women struggle with similiar issues. It was fascinating to hear that they all agreed that it needed to be more in the open and men need a place to be able to find help and acceptace with such an issue. I encouraged them to look at the xxxchurch website and to come on out to crossroads and see what else we discuss on a regular basis.
On a more personal note, the weekend's sermon made me think a lot more about the magazines, tv and other media that we are exposed to on a regular basis. It made me more apt to sensor what is filtered through my shop and home. Kudos to you all for being so bold. It is great to feel challenged in my actions and with those I come in contact with. I find that it helps me grow in my own faith. Another reason that I love being a part of Crossroads Church.
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