This post is mostly going to be about giving kudos to a group of young men in our church who decided that it was time to have a conversation about one of our biggest taboos: sexual immorality among men in the church. Over our LT program last summer, they were involved in a workshop that covered the topic and closely followed the book, Every Man's Battle.
About a month ago, I was approached by John, the student who would lead the effort, to see if I would like to be part of a Friday night event that would bring sexual immorality to light. I said I would love to. Thus began a crafting of what became "Time to Decide", an event that we pulled off last Friday.
Here is a description of the purpose we crafted:
"The Rock will be hosting an event specifically for guys to encourage open conversation on the issue of lust, to become more unified as a church against the issue, and to give us hope in our fight for purity. We want to bring the issue into the light and create an atmosphere of vulnerability and give people other men to talk to about the subject in the church."
As we crowded into the Fellowship Hall at a local church building and finished pizza, there was a feeling of nervousness yet a sense of comfort that I think was a testimony to the safe place for honesty that we try to push in The Rock. The topic of the night was on lust as it relates to pornography and masturbation. We had a series of brief presentations covering: God's standard of sexual purity, motivations for pursuing purity, personal testimonies and practical strategies for fleeing from sexual immorality. We had a time to break into smaller groups and share our personal battles for purity. Finally, I lead a group discussion on placing concrete safeguards to avoid vulnerable situations. I loved it.
Joining these four guys in an effort to begin this conversation in the church was something pretty special to be a part of. Please pray that it does not end there. Lust is the unspoken epidemic among men in the church and it has taken out so many. Pray that our guys would step up and put this sin to death. Pray that they would flee sexual immortality and pursue righteousness.
