Bill and Susan—not their real names—are foreign missionaries out in the field. Prior to this, Bill ministered as a pastor in the US. Married for 12 years and with 4 children, their work has been thriving and included the planting of a new church. However…. Last year, things took a turn for the worse—both in their marriage and [...]
While many long time Christians are deeply mired in sexual sin and allow it to fester as a life-dominating part of their lives, many new believers find a way to break free. Kent Hekel’s story is an example of how Christians—whether newbies or old-timers—can gain freedom. Anyone who knows Kent is keenly aware of his [...]
Overcoming Lust When Gay How are Christians with same sex attraction supposed to deal with lust? This question is prompted by some videos recently made available from an evangelical pastor, Danny Cortez, and his teenage son, Drew (picture above), who has same sex attraction. Pastor Cortez and his church are stepping away from their denomination [...]
Overcoming Lust in Uganda Recently, I exchanged emails with Margaret Nelson. Margaret is a Shepherd’s Staff Mission Facilitators missionary who has served in Uganda for over fifteen years. SSFMI is a rapidly growing NPO presently helping 120 churches send out and care for over 210 missionaries in 54 countries. I have served on SSFMI’s board [...]
Chuck and Patti’s story is one of failure and wonderful redemption. Failure Chuck is a long time Christian and a part of Calvary Chapel Chino Valley (CCCV) who has travelled a road somewhat like the one I have travelled. Like me, he had a new Christian bride. Patti hoped and expected that together they could [...]
I love hearing stories about those who are in the trenches, overcoming lust. It seems like almost anyone at any stage of life is vulnerable to this sin. Lust is relentlessly “deceitful” (Ephesians 4:22). Today’s story takes the form of a short but thought-provoking email exchange I shared with Joe—75 years old—who lost his wife and is intent on “finishing strong.” To [...]
I love hearing from readers who are in the trenches successfully overcoming lust. Here is Matthew’s story: I grew up in a typical American Evangelical family. Flawed but good parents, church on Sundays and youth group on Wednesdays. During my childhood and adolescence, I was warned of the dangers and evils of pornography. I hardly [...]
Jared (not his real name) is a long-time Christian and pastor. He is also a regular reader of this blog. ….his occasional dabbling with pornography got out of hand. Last week Jared called me and shared a story from his life. It is a cautionary tale and he is hoping others will learn from his [...]
Emailing a Sexaholic—Part 2 Last week I shared about some emails between Matthew, who is a part of Sexaholics Anonymous, and me. Go here to read the earlier post and here for the email exchange. The Gospel message is one of transformation, not recovery. Here are some additional observations that relate to this dialogue: Defining [...]
Emailing a Sexaholic Over the last few months, I have been emailing Matthew, a self-identified sexaholic. He is also a committed Christian who is progressively gaining victory over lust. Lust is the problem—not the many harmful behaviors that it brings with it. Matthew is part of Sexaholics Anonymous (SA), a twelve step recovery program. Earlier [...]
