30 Days of Justice: XXXchurch

Pornography. It's a dirty word that nobody likes to talk about. Especially if you come from the church world. But with more and more pastors, church leadership, and ministers falling into the trap of sexual addiction, it became clear that someone needed to. That's exactly why XXXchurch was founded. XXXchurch is designed to bring awareness, openness and accountability to those affected by pornography. They are an online community that tours the world speaking at colleges, churches and community centers. XXXchurch.com exists to help those who are in over their heads with pornography, both consumers and those in the industry.

It's controversial for sure. XXXchurch sets up displays at porn expos around the country. They hand out Bibles with “Jesus Loves Porn Stars” printed on the cover. They publicly debate well-known porn filmmakers. Their own website claims “XXXchurch is provocative, memorable, and it combines the seedy and the sacred. XXXchurch is here to make you think, react, and to decide where you stand on the issues of porn. We're not here to sling mud, but to shove the envelope and try and do some good. It's hip, relevant, irreverent, honest, fun, and designed for people just like you.”

Based in the seediest cities of all, Las Vegas, XXXchurch recently started a physical church plant, called Strip Church. It's right on the strip of downtown Las Vegas. As founder Craig Gross says in the video, “They've got everything else, so why not a church?”. Another awesome aspect of this ministry is the accountability they provide. You can download X3 Watch, which is a plug-in for your browser that monitors which websites you visit. When you set it up, you include the email address of people you want to remain accountable to, like a wife, husband, or spiritual leader. That way as you surf the web, and may be tempted to visit some questionable sites, someone you trust and respect is going to be able to question you when needed. And that reminder itself may be enough to stop. All of us are targets of the porn industry. We are either baited [a pop-up on our screen, a sidebar ad], tempted [we've clicked through once or twice, curious], or trapped [actively using and viewing pornography]. And the largest age group viewing free porn online is 11-17 year olds. That is the youth and future of our country, those who's sexual identity is still being formed. Once they are hooked that young, the porn industry knows they have a lifetime customer. And it's all about the bottom line.

I think this issue is overlooked and swept under rugs too often in life, and it really causes a lot of damage. In my job, I work with high school students to educate about them about healthy choices [more on that in a later post!] and part of those healthy choices involves saving sex for marriage. And we spend time discussing the media, it's influence on our sexuality, and what we put into our brains. Pornography can have such a stronghold in a marriage! And as I recently discovered, there's a strong correlation between the porn industry and sex trafficking. I recently had the privilege of hearing Dee, a former Vegas porn actress, share her story about the ins and the outs of the industry. It was eye-opening! The Pink Cross in Vegas was essential in Dee's rehabilitation are doing some great work out there. Annie Lobert, former porn star, started her own organization for these girls seeking refuge from a life of porn called Hookers for Jesus. There are so many more organizations and examples of people fighting a fight that most people ignore. Encourage and support these crusaders today! And if you or someone you know is battling pornography, get help...before it's too late.