P-rn

I'm sure that right now internet filters are keeping loyal blog readers trying to access this site from doing so because of the title of my post. I hope that by breaking up the word it'll be viewable to most.

This morning I met with my coach and friend Patrick and during the conversation he said something related to the teaching he's doing this week at the Lifehouse. It turns out that he and I are both speaking about purity issues in everyone's life and relationships. I was so relieved, because I needed to talk with someone about my study this week. I gotta be honest and say that there is a ton of p-rn available everywhere, and I've been a little nervous this week as I've studied. (Before I started search for information I made checked my online filter to make sure it was operating well.)

Increasingly in our society the lines and boundaries of purity are pushed beyond previous guidelines until the point that we deem "acceptable" all kinds of stuff on tv, magazines (and I'm not talking about p-rn mags), and websites. It can be quite appalling. For instance, some of you know about my myspace page (which is horribly not updated properly). If you look at my profile you'll see that I list myself as a woman. The reason is because the advertisements went from skimpily clad girls (targeting a 20-something male audience) to spa products and handbags. (That I can handle at the expense of my virtual gender.)

This week exploring online research of the topic made me very nervous though. Sure I was reading an article from Forbes, a site by Frontline on PBS, and a couple Christian sites dedicated to information on the p-rn industry , but still I just wanted to tell someone for the sake of my own purity. Today I got that chance. Patrick noted, that he didn't think it coincidence that we were both speaking and studying the same thing at the same time. I think he's probably right.

Beyond that realization though we spent an hour talking about what an accountability relationship might look like. We as younger leaders don't have anyone asking us about critical areas of our sexuality, finances, marriages, leadership, etc. Who's asking these questions? So we gave each other homework to find out more about leaders we respect and finding out what system of accountability they have in place. We're gonna hammer it out more next month.

Obviously accountable relationships are only as strong as the integrity of the people in them, but If we're gonna be at this for a while, we'd better do our best to build honest and accountable relationships. The key illustration of this comes out of the life of Billy Graham who made a covenant with several of his ministry friends to the extent that when they checked-into hotels they would take out the televisions and stuff. I'd rather finish my career without a failure than go through what a ton of other pastors have gone through. Anyway, the issue of purity is not just a sermon on Sunday. It's real life struggles in the life of the preacher and people. Obviously the topic of purity is bigger than a discussion of p-rn, the point is whatever area we discuss Sunday that hits a nerve in your life is one that we need to work through together as the family of God.

See You Sunday!
--Ben