Serious Question

[Nahum]

Would you feel comfortable knowing that a leader (not necessarily a preacher) in your church was struggling with his/her eye gate (internet sites or mags) and yet still in a place of heavy use in the church?

What if this man or woman had struggled for a while, perhaps even giving in to the temptation, asking forgiveness, only to return to the temptation, and still wanted to teach others or be used in a leadership role?

How does the church deal with this issue?

Originally Posted by Pastor Poster

Would you feel comfortable knowing that a leader (not necessarily a preacher) in your church was struggling with his eye gate (internet sites or mags) and yet still in a place of heavy use in the church?

What if this man or woman had struggled for a while, perhaps even giving in to the temptation, asking forgiveness, only to return to the temptation, and still wanted to teach others or be used in a leadership role?

How does the church deal with this issue?

No, I would not feel comfortable with this knowledge.

Deal with it carefully and scripturally! This and other similar issues are all too common in society in general and the church in particular. We certainly must deal with it but it must be dealt with in love according to Galatians 6:1.

A time of proving to one's self is always in order. Certainly having a trustworthy accountability partner who has integrity is a critical defense against the repetition of the specific sin!

[Rhoni]

Originally Posted by philjones

No, I would not feel comfortable with this knowledge.

Deal with it carefully and scripturally! This and other similar issues are all too common in society in general and the church in particular. We certainly must deal with it but it must be dealt with in love according to Galatians 6:1.

A time of proving to one's self is always in order. Certainly having a trustworthy accountability partner who has integrity is a critical defense against the repetition of the specific sin!

I agree. This is a great post. I would add that the first time it is confessed and dealt with that Christian Counseling should occur for at least 6 months to a year. With the counseling, like Bro. Phil stated, an accountability partner is very necessary. After a year then the Pastor, the counselor, the accountability person, and the person in question should get together to discuss progress and boundary setting before allowing the person back into leadership roles. The final authority should be the Pastor and what he feels is spiritually the right thing to do for the individual as well as for the church as a whole.

Just my opinion.

Blessings, Rhoni

[crakjak]

Originally Posted by philjones

No, I would not feel comfortable with this knowledge.

Deal with it carefully and scripturally! This and other similar issues are all too common in society in general and the church in particular. We certainly must deal with it but it must be dealt with in love according to Galatians 6:1.

A time of proving to one's self is always in order. Certainly having a trustworthy accountability partner who has integrity is a critical defense against the repetition of the specific sin!

I agree, and I believe Galatians 6.1 tells us that we must create a safe place for accountability and encouragement.

[ManOfWord]

Originally Posted by Pastor Poster

Would you feel comfortable knowing that a leader (not necessarily a preacher) in your church was struggling with his/her eye gate (internet sites or mags) and yet still in a place of heavy use in the church?

What if this man or woman had struggled for a while, perhaps even giving in to the temptation, asking forgiveness, only to return to the temptation, and still wanted to teach others or be used in a leadership role?

How does the church deal with this issue?

Not much different, IMO, than a man having an anger issue with his wife. I have a great amount of respect for someone who is fighting to over come and may stumble. Hopefully they are moving in the right direction and are having less and less falls. For every man who has the integrity and honesty to admit his struggle and trust someone to tell them when he falls for accountability there are a hundred or maybe even a thousand who are just "quietly" in bondage.

I have worked with men who have admitted addiction to porn. I have never judged them and have only had compassion and told them that they needed to fight the good fight to be free from domination. I have always encouraged them to know that they can be free and that I will be their chief "cheerleader" and supporter. I have rarely been let down.

[Nahum]

Originally Posted by ManOfWord

Not much different, IMO, than a man having an anger issue with his wife. I have a great amount of respect for someone who is fighting to over come and may stumble. Hopefully they are moving in the right direction and are having less and less falls. For every man who has the integrity and honesty to admit his struggle and trust someone to tell them when he falls for accountability there are a hundred or maybe even a thousand who are just "quietly" in bondage.

I have worked with men who have admitted addiction to porn. I have never judged them and have only had compassion and told them that they needed to fight the good fight to be free from domination. I have always encouraged them to know that they can be free and that I will be their chief "cheerleader" and supporter. I have rarely been let down.

What if it was a pastor or minister? Would that be different?

[ManOfWord]

Originally Posted by Pastor Poster

What if it was a pastor or minister? Would that be different?

Not to me. Being bound and not trying to get free is one thing. But being honest and fighting for freedom and yielding to the Lord is completely another. A person like that who makes it is an excellent help to someone else who may be fighting the same battle.

Dobson published a statstic a number of years back that stated the 40% of pastors struggle with porn!! That is an astounding figure. I'm sure it is skewed by many main line guys....at least I would hope so, but with so many moral failures, I wonder.

Once again, the person's honesty would be more valuable to me than their failure. I can get somewhere with someone who is not hiding or is in denial.

[Truly Blessed]

Originally Posted by ManOfWord

Not much different, IMO, than a man having an anger issue with his wife. I have a great amount of respect for someone who is fighting to over come and may stumble. Hopefully they are moving in the right direction and are having less and less falls. For every man who has the integrity and honesty to admit his struggle and trust someone to tell them when he falls for accountability there are a hundred or maybe even a thousand who are just "quietly" in bondage.

I have worked with men who have admitted addiction to porn. I have never judged them and have only had compassion and told them that they needed to fight the good fight to be free from domination. I have always encouraged them to know that they can be free and that I will be their chief "cheerleader" and supporter. I have rarely been let down.

I agree with what you have stated in the bolded statement above. When I was Regional Director for Promise Keepers I was involved in several men's meetings dealing with this issue. At first I was totally blown away by the number of men who struggle with this issue. I was especially taken back by those involved in ministry who needed deliverance.

One of the things I concluded is that there is a difference between those who are honestly seeking help with their addiction and those who would use these meetings only as a way of feeling less guilty about their addiction because others also struggled with porn.

As you have stated, it's the direction someone is moving in that makes the difference as to whether they actually make progress. Standing still is not progress. There are very specific precautions that those with porn addiction must take. If they don't commit to these precautions I tend to question their sincerity.

Accountability is vital in combating this addiction! Promise Keepers has been very good in providing support for this type of ministry.

[COOPER]

Originally Posted by ManOfWord

Not much different, IMO, than a man having an anger issue with his wife. I have a great amount of respect for someone who is fighting to over come and may stumble. Hopefully they are moving in the right direction and are having less and less falls. For every man who has the integrity and honesty to admit his struggle and trust someone to tell them when he falls for accountability there are a hundred or maybe even a thousand who are just "quietly" in bondage.

I have worked with men who have admitted addiction to porn. I have never judged them and have only had compassion and told them that they needed to fight the good fight to be free from domination. I have always encouraged them to know that they can be free and that I will be their chief "cheerleader" and supporter. I have rarely been let down.

You sound like my old Pastor,,, good man.

[Pressing-On]

Originally Posted by COOPER

You sound like my old Pastor,,, good man.

MOW is definitely a keeper! That's for sure!