In this episode we talk again with Nathan Stob. Nathan is the Director of ATLAS Ministries in Orange City, IA where they work with people who have been sidetracked or sidelined, and help them to get back on the road of life.
In our conversation, two important and essential practices were revealed that will help pastors rid themselves of the scourge of pornography addiction. The first practice is to make yourself accountable to another. That sounds simple enough, but in the podcast, we break that down and explain what that really looks like. This is not simply a matter of an accountability partner who will ask you the tough questions. It is actually much different than that. The second practice is that of Scripture meditation. This addresses the need to renew your mind. If you've been viewing pornography for a long time, your mind is warped, and your attitude toward the opposite sex is completely skewed. You need to heal, to become whole and holy in your thinking about sex, love, intimacy, and purity. Meditation is one of the answers. As you meditate on God's Word and his truth, your mind becomes aligned with the heart of God, and your heart follows. We will definitely have a part 3 on this issue of pornography addiction in an upcoming episode. There is so much that we did not talk about, and would like to share with you in the future! We hope you are encouraged as you listen to this episode! Here are two other posts that will be helpful on this topic: Small Church Pastors and Porn – Some Ugly Stuff Episode 43 - Small Church Pastors & Pornography Addiction Do You Carry Pastor Porn Insurance? **We will do another episode on the practice and benefits of meditation for renewing your mind. We would suggest starting in Paul's epistles... Pornography. The word causes us to lower our heads, dim our eyes, and feel the communal weight it brings on our society. It’s a great money-maker for some people, a source of shame for others, and at the same time it is ravaging people’s hearts without them even knowing it. Here’s the tough question: Do YOU struggle with it? Is it something that, if you were to be honest, crosses your path all too often?
Are you ready to rid yourself of it? You can. You really can. Are you ready? Are you willing to do what it takes to walk away from porn? On Wednesday, on episode 83, we share with you two essential steps you must take to rid yourself of pornography. Without these two steps, you will likely continue to struggle, alone. Step one will help you turn your back on it, and step two will allow your brain and your heart to begin to heal. You can heal, you know. You really can. There is a path to healing and wholeness and we are going to share it with you. Now, there are A LOT of things you could do, and likely need to do, in your flight from porn, but we are going to share two things that are absolutely essential, and are foundational to winning the battle, and healing your heart and mind. In the meantime, we encourage you to go back, all the way back to Episode 43, where we talk with Nathan Stob about this very subject. CLICK HERE to find Episode 43 – Small Church Pastors & Pornography Addiction. There are some things on that page that will get you started. But to finish the process, you’ll need to listen to this week’s episode, #83, to really ramp up your flight from porn, and fight against porn. Remember, jeff@200churches.com, jonny@200churches.com, and dave@smallchurchpastor.com are always available to you, to help you and encourage you in your ministry struggles. Don’t drown in the tumultuous sea of pornography. There is a way to safety; you can reach the shore. Have hope. Find Episode 43 – Small Church Pastors & Pornography Addiction right here, and then stay tuned this week for Episode 83 – Two Crucial Steps To Breaking Your Pornography Addiction. We love you! May God bless you, the men and women who serve as shepherds of God’s sheep, and may you find HOPE in the Gospel you so often preach to others! Do you know if there is such a thing as Pastor Porn Insurance? I mean, like stuff to protect you on the far off chance that you get addicted to pornography and have to quit the ministry – is there insurance for something like that? I've not heard of it, but then again, I (Jeff) wouldn't get it anyway. In fact, I decided to activate my faith and drop all of my insurance. I don’t believe that insurance allows us to live by faith. I dropped the insurance policy that protected everything I own in the parsonage I live in. If there is a fire, God will provide. I also dropped my life insurance policy. I believe that the church will care for my wife and family in the unfortunate instance of an early death. God provides through his people. We say that all the time, but do we really mean it? Activate your faith and drop your life insurance policy. Give the premium to missions and the credit to God.
I also dropped other insurance that I can’t admit to publicly, because legally I am supposed to have it. But the state does not rule me, and to have those policies does not allow me to live by faith. God will provide – how many times do we preach that?! We need to start living by it. Want to join me? Want to be a faith-filled pastor who practices what he or she preaches?! Yeah, I didn't think so. But that’s good. Because it would be crazy and irresponsible of me to do those things, right? It would be simply reckless for me to drop all my insurance. Because my premiums not only guarantee I have coverage, but Lord willing I will never have to collect, and those premiums will pay for the calamity in others’ lives. For the record, I did not drop all of my insurance. I was "telling a story". :) I am properly insured, and still live by faith! If it is so crazy for us to not have life, auto, homeowner’s, and health insurance – then why in the world would you live as though porn would never affect you? Why do you think porn won’t come and visit you like a heart attack in the night, or cancer at an early age? Why do you think illicit images won’t come crashing on to your computer screen after a careless click? You need porn insurance! Go ahead, make our day, do something! It’s called a router, properly set up. It’s called Internet service that is filtered at the company (demand that your Internet Service Provider provide this!) before it ever gets to your home. It’s called accountability software and teen level smartphone data settings. For the sake of your soul, your church, and your family… and the reputation of Christ in your community – activate your porn insurance! Netgear Routers have filtering protection on them – they are the only kind I buy. (No, I am not an affiliate marketer - Jonny and I get nothing if you by one, except happiness!) Do others have it too? I don’t know, because I always buy Netgear. I found a good thing and I’m sticking with it. Here is the router I bought for our church and my home, and right now I found it at 43% off at Amazon! Again, we don't get anything for this, it just works well for us. I’m not Superman, so I need to guard against the kryptonite that is pornography. When us pastors look at porn, we are not in our right minds, as Nathan Stob suggested in this week’s podcast. He said that “when we are sane” we should be setting up filtering and protection, aka porn insurance, and thereby be proactive. As pastors of 200churches, we have to do everything we can to protect ourselves from the myriad ways that the world, the flesh, and the Devil can take us down. Our leadership, shepherding of the church, and influence in peoples' lives depends on it. My leadership and your leadership in our 200churches matters huge in God's Kingdom! Hey you pastors – you men and women who have zero accountability and 90% isolation – change that! Get some insurance coverage to protect you from the ravages of pornography. Do it TODAY. Finally, if you've never subscribed to the 200churches Podcast on iTunes, you can do it here, and leave us a rating & review!
In this episode Jonny and Jeff are joined by their friend Nathan Stob, the Director of Atlas Ministries in their town. Nathan counsels and helps men in their community with all kinds of life issues, including porn addiction. This is a serious discussion of the spiritual silent killer: porn. If you struggle with this, or if you need to help others who struggle, we know this episode will help and encourage you. Maybe you are literally drowning in porn addiction – this episode is for you!
Jeff and Nathan have been friends for about seven years, serving together in non-profit organizations in the same town. They get together for lunch frequently just to talk life and help each other stay on track. In this episode, along with Jonny, they talk about the very sensitive issue of pornography. This is a serious scourge on our society that we are all potentially affected by in one way or another.
Here are some links to places where you can get help. This sin is no respecter of persons or callings. If you are struggling with this, congratulations, you’re human! We know that this podcast episode will help you, and encourage you as you lead in your 200church! Contacts for the three guys on the podcast:
Links to help you:
Whenever we partner with others, we get help and encouragement to get through our stuff, so, find another pastor, counselor, or close friend whom you trust – and confide in them. Bringing our sin into the light of day drains its power over us! Confess your sins to one another, James says, and you will be healed. At the end of the podcast, Jeff makes a very heartfelt appeal to you, if you are struggling with pornography and have NO ONE to talk to – call Nathan, Jeff, or Jonny. These guys are all at different stages in life, so call the one closest to your stage. They care and will be glad to talk with you, pray with you, and help you to not journey through this alone. Jeff is 50 with adult kids, Nathan is 37 with grade school kids, and Jonny is 27 with preschool kids. Email them, get in touch, and begin the process of coming clean! They love pastors of small churches, so remember, if you’re alone – not any more, you have someone to talk to. Once again, here are their email addresses:
This week we are dealing with an issue that brings us grief and pain. Too many 200church pastors, let alone church leaders and members, are embroiled in this every week, some every day. It is a subject that we approach reluctantly, but out of necessity. You want to wear gloves to type about it and take a brain bath after thinking about it. The issue is pornography addiction, and, porn addiction in the church. Any pastor, male or female, who has spent any amount of time online, has at least accidently crossed paths with online pornography. It might be soft porn, but it’s porn. Too many have viewed site after site, and still others are all-out addicted to it. It is heartbreaking because of the pain, loss, and suffering it causes in too many lives. This week we are going to talk about this topic, and we hope that it is encouraging to you if you 1) struggle in this area yourself. If you do, welcome to humanity! We hope we can help you find hope, or, 2) have a close friend or family members who struggles with porn. There is an entire industry committed to your potential, current, or ongoing addiction! Here are some interesting statistics, and again, they are heartbreaking:
Only you can answer the question: “What part does porn play in your life?” This week on the 200churches Podcast, episode 43, we are going to have a conversation with Nathan Stob, the Director of Atlas Ministries, about pornography and pastors. Nathan is involved in the Sexual Wholeness Task Force, a group of professionals in Sioux County, IA who are committed to working together to reduce the instances of addiction to online pornography in their county. The Sexual Wholeness Task Force recently gathered community leaders in the areas of counseling, education, law enforcement, and church leadership. They shared their vision of making a difference and discussed the challenges of addressing this pervasive cultural problem in our communities. We have asked Nathan to talk with us about the problems of porn, the secrets in our society, the dangers to pastors and their families, and the potential hope of overcoming the addiction. This is a really sad podcast for us, around a troubling subject. But it is absolutely necessary for us to talk about this if we are going to move forward in this area of our spiritual commitment. **The above stats come from this site |
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