We just returned from five weeks in the UK and Europe. It was a blessing to be a part of God’s work to move in the hearts of His people.
We now have an office in the United Kingdom.
On Friday, June 2, I met with Arwel Jones in North Wales, the day before we held the From Porn to Grace conference there. Arwel leads our office in the UK; he currently facilitates a Blazing Grace men’s support group and a prayer group for us by zoom and will be helping us set up meetings and events in the UK. We also have inventory of my books there and can ship them anywhere.
The day before we met, as Arwel was driving he was sideswiped by another car and crashed into a pole:
His car was totaled. I told Arwel that the timing was no coincidence; this was an attack of the enemy meant to discourage him. During my time in the UK I heard repeatedly that people do not hear sexual issues or pornography discussed from the pulpit, in spite of the fact that Great Britain is the second largest consumer of porn in the world. A 70-year-old elder of one church told me he’d never heard a message on sex, and another man told me he’d heard one message on sex – 30 years ago. There are spiritual walls and strongholds built up around these issues that hold many in bondage.
The porn epidemic continues to explode. On June 4 The Sun published an article titled Urgent Warning as Porn Addiction Cases Double in a Year regarding porn use in the UK.
But this isn’t a UK only problem, not by a long shot. The US, the undisputed worldwide King of Porn consumption and production, continues to implode from sexual sin. On June 1, Fox News published an article named Marriage collapse, absent fathers, unraveling Christianity in growing US Crisis. Here’s an excerpt:
“…most churches are not doing enough to address the marital and relational crisis afflicting younger people… the study also found that 85% of all churches in the U.S. report spending nothing each year on marriage and relationship ministry. He also pinpointed the effects of many churches failing to address the effects of widespread premarital sex and rampant pornography addiction.”
When secular news sources preach more about sexual issues than the church, we’re in serious trouble.
With upwards of 70% of Christian men and at least one third of Christian women involved in sexual sin at some level, whether in pornography, sexting, or promiscuity (the numbers peg the high 90’s in youth) you’d think that churches would be pulling out the stops to help and equip their people in these areas.
You would think.
Most modern churches don’t do urgent… “My church doesn’t have a problem with porn,” they say, as Screwtape nods in hearty agreement.
I had 5 weeks of spiritual warfare during this last trip that included being attacked emotionally, physically, and spiritually. We are a church at war, but don’t act like it. We’d see churches holding prayer meetings 7 days a week and spending time in prayer during their weekend services if they were engaged on the front lines. Many churches are cooperating with Satan’s ploy to shut down any mention of sex from the pulpit; we raise the white flag before the battle begins. We hear from Christians from other countries and our home turf here in the States all the time that their church won’t touch the topic of sex.
Then there is the problem where many believers haven’t been equipped on how to fight spiritual warfare. Talk about demons on Sunday morning? Shudder. Which is why some professing Christians question if there is spiritual warfare, in spite of the raging evil all around us.
So we continue to press forward, acting as the tip of the spear as God allows. We must talk about sexual issues openly and often from the pulpit, we must equip our people to be spiritual warriors, and we must challenge them to turn off their video screens and spend more time in heaven-rending prayer.
We’re going back to the UK and Europe in October in November and already have events scheduled in the UK and Finland (see the events calendar below). If you live in the UK and Europe, please consider helping us set up a From Porn to Grace conference or speaking event at your church or organization. Reply to this email to start the conversation.
I hope some of you are sick of watching lives being destroyed (as spectator-Christians watch from the sidelines) and are willing to put it on the line and make a difference. There will be some spiritual shots fired in your direction, but so what. A life lived for that which counts for eternity is worth the price. Just ask Arwel.
Please pray for us as we move forward, for open doors, and for churches everywhere to equip their people to be overcomers.
Here’s a picture of Arwel. The man is a fellow warrior.
