I told you this one was coming, and I’m not going to let this slip away. I went to South-Hills this morning and listened to Porn Pastor Craig Gross about porn, love, and Jesus. When I get a chance, that is if they post today’s talk on the South-Hills website, I’ll post the MP3 so you can hear it first-hand (MP3 Here). Craig was interviewed just this past week for an article that ran in this morning’s Las Vegas Sun. Check out the article here.
I’ll try not to make this a boring reiteration of Mike’s article from this morning. Instead, I’m going to take this chance to talk about Craig’s talk, his vision, and why South-Hills supports XXXChurch.com.
Craig’s talk this morning opened with a montage of news clips from ABC, CNN, and other news reports. Since it’s start in 2002, XXXChurch has been receiving mixed reviews across the country. In case their message hasn’t gone far enough, they travel the world, accepting invitations to setup booths and pass-out Bibles at porn conventions. Craig and the rest of the XXXChurch want to the world to know that God loves everybody, and He will fill the desires of those who seek Him.
Craig’s talk today centered around this theme. He suggested that porn isn’t the only thing that can trap us in addiction, but it’s one that influences a large portion of our society. He used a combination of anecdotes and statistics to show that the appeal of the industry is growing. Through the Internet, kids and seniors are finding easier access than ever before to vicariously feed their sex drives, and Craig expressed implicit concern that these are these segments of our population also tend to be the loneliest. Instead of finding consolation in the love of family and friends around them, they fill their needs through strangers who can’t talk back.
The undercurrent of Craig’s talk brought the driving message that real relationships still matter. Husbands can talk to their wives, wives can talk to their husbands, children can talk with their parents, and friends can talk to to each other to share the depths of their spiritual and sexual desires in ways that are healthy and liberating.
Craig knows that pornography isn’t the only habit that people dabble in and quickly find overwhelming. We often pursue products, relationships, and habits that promise to fill our longings, but in the end leave us feeling trapped and wanting. “Porn Sunday” at South-Hills wasn’t only about porn — it was an encouragement to reach out to others in authentic relationship.
XXXChurch.com offers free internet accountability software that is fundamentally relational. Instead of blocking websites, the program sends a weekly e-mail to a friend or family member of choice. if questionable websites were visited, the e-mails will detail the site URLs and when they were visited. During his talk, Craig said, “If you want to stop looking at porn, have the e-mail sent to your mom.” His treatment of the subject showed a lightheartedness and still an awareness and sensitivity to the strain that pornography can place on our everyday relationships.
The vision of XXXChurch is to bring people together in relationship, so they can understand the unconditional relational love that God has for his people. Men and women, boys and girls who are embarrassed to speak with their spouses or parents are liable to feel similar shame in their relationship with God. If God is real and He truly does love as the Bible describes, then people should know by the way Christians act and love. XXXChurch wants to raise up Christians who love like that.
South-Hill’s vision is similar. Their motto is “Making Jesus Famous in Las Vegas and to the Nations.” They strive to make him famous for his love, and they know they can only do that if they love too. This makes the friendship between XXXChurch and South-Hills a natural fit. Their fundamental ends and means are very similar, even though they typically reach out to people from different starting points. South-Hills thrives in getting people together. Their attempts to connect people and share love can sometimes feel like a “community social” or “mixer”, but their hope is to use those times to show everybody love in community — a love that is inspired and empowered by Christ. South-Hills invites others into their community. XXXChurch has stepped out to become a part of their community. Both are working to raise up a people that loves like Jesus. I can only imagine what it would look like if they begin gain significant traction, but it’s obvious that both churches are beginning and will continue to have an impact on the Vegas valley.
(MP3 of talk found here.)
