Pornography and the Church

As a young Christian legalist, I remember hearing of a group of believers who were well known for doing "beach evangelism" on the Florida coast during Spring break. At the time, I remember thinking to myself, "How in the world can you share the gospel with a teenage girl dressed in a bikini relaxing on the Florida beach and keep your mind pure?" Those were the kinds of questions a Christian legalist becomes enthralled with.

Last night, things went to a whole new level as I got the chance to hear Craig Gross share with a few of our men from our church. Craig is the founder of the #1 Christian Porn Site on the web: XXXChurch.com (don't worry--I promise it is ok to click on the link!). This ministry exists to reach out to those inside the porn industry. They also have a lot to offer for those outside the industry who are struggling with porn.

So how hard is it to keep yourself pure when you're reaching out to Porn stars and porn producers? Craig said that he does not struggle with porn, but I was impressed that he still has an accountability group that uses software he developed that tracks and reports to your accountability partners the websites you have visited.

A friend and I had a conversation afterward and decided we, too, would download the software (it is free) and keep each other accountable. My friend says he could not do ministry to the porn community as XXXChurch.com is able to do, but he and I both thank God that somebody does it, and does it with integrity.

By the way, Craig and a former Porn Producer debated 2 porn stars last week at Yale University. You can see the debate at ABCNews or this Thursday evening on Nightline.