The Healing Church: What Churches Get Wrong about Pornography and How to Fix It

 Book Synopsis: Two-thirds of men and a third of women who attend church regularly say they struggle with pornography. Yet only 7% of churches offer specific resources and support to their congregations. Pastors and church leaders are well aware of the issue of pornography—thanks to decades of studies and Christian blog and magazine articles—however the local church is caught in a painful trap. When Christians are too ashamed to admit their struggle, church leaders aren’t able to directly support those who are actively struggling; when church attendees do find the courage to seek help, they often receive ineffective support from pastors and ministry leaders due to lack of proactive planning.

As a former journalist and current Director of Recovery Education for Covenant Eyes, Sam Black understands the stronghold pornography can have on an individual’s life. His writing in The Healing Church actively addresses these issues and provides clear guidance for ministry leaders as they support those who seek to live in freedom.

In The Healing Church, ministry leaders will discover how to create safe spaces and apply processes that restore those trapped in compulsive behaviors with pornography. Sam Black outlines the most successful examples from churches currently providing meaningful aid and includes stories of Christians who found healing from porn strongholds, as evidence of the type of healing that pastors and church leaders can provide. In researching this book, Sam Black conducted more than 70 interviews not only with pastors, counselors, and ministry leaders, but also with everyday people who recovered from a secret life of sin and are helping others who feel trapped by porn and unwanted sexual behaviors. The Healing Church affirms how those who experience true brokenness and surrender to discipleship and life change become strong servants to the Body of Christ and healthier as people overall. When the selfish become selfless, when the idolators learn to worship Christ, when the prideful become meek, they become more fulfilled as servants and filled with purpose.

Today, the local church has choices. It can largely ignore the problems of pornography because they are too unseemly. It can chastise, rebuke, and cast out, which sends more people into hiding. Or it can lead people through a grace-filled process to the foot of the Cross, where strongholds are crushed and where stronger servants arise.