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Missouri convention targets pornography
Baptist Press
July 28, 2011
3 MIN READ TIME

Missouri convention targets pornography

Missouri convention targets pornography
Baptist Press
July 28, 2011

LINN, Mo. — “There

is an 800-pound gorilla in the church auditorium that most congregations seem

to be ignoring,” pastor David Krueger said.

“That gorilla is pornography.”

The Missouri Baptist Convention’s (MBC) Christian Life Commission, with Krueger

as chairman, plans to tackle the problem head-on through two upcoming

workshops.

“Last year when we were discussing our priorities for 2011, pornography and the

sexualizing of our culture was a top issue,” said Krueger, pastor of First

Baptist Church

in Linn. “We committed ourselves and our resources to attempting to raise

awareness of the problem in our churches and to provide them with resources to

combat this scourge.”

Titled “Providing Moral Leadership in a Sexualized Culture,” the workshops will

train pastors, church staff, and congregations for helping people trapped in

the web of pornography. The first workshop will be Aug. 27 at Canaan Baptist

Church in St. Louis; the second, Sept. 17 at Sycamore Hills Baptist Church in

Independence, Mo. Each workshop runs from 8:30

a.m. through 12:30 p.m.

John Splinter, executive director of Pure

Hope Ministries

in St. Louis, will be the keynote

speaker. Attendees will be able to choose from eight different topics during

two break-out sessions.

“We’re targeting Missouri Baptists through our mailings, but the conference is

open to pastors, staff and church members of all faith groups,” Krueger said. “This

is not just a Baptist problem.”

The Internet has been a game-changer in porn delivery, Krueger stated. Previous

generations had to seek out illicit magazines or movies in retail stores, but

now hardcore content is available anytime free of charge to anyone with

Internet access.

“When you had to go into a drug store or video rental place to purchase porn,

that kept a lot of Christian men from yielding to the temptation because of the

public shame of being seen acquiring such material,” Krueger said. “But the

anonymity of the Internet has been too big a temptation for many Christian men

and women to resist.”

Among the findings Krueger cites from various surveys about the nation’s

pornography plague:

  • 12 percent of all web content is pornographic in nature.
  • 35 percent of all Internet downloads contain pornographic material.
  • Porn revenue is larger than the combined revenues of all professional

    football, baseball and basketball franchises — $12 billion a year in the United

    States and $57 billion worldwide.

  • The largest consumers of Internet pornography are teenage boys age 12-17.
  • 57 percent of pastors say addiction to pornography is the most sexually

    damaging issue to their congregation.

  • More than 50 percent of evangelical pastors admit to having viewed pornography

    in the last year.

  • 34 percent of readers of a Christian women’s online newsletter admitted to

    intentionally accessing Internet porn.

    Krueger said the workshops reflect the Christian Life Commission’s mission to

    educate and to encourage Missouri Baptist churches to challenge their members

    toward Christ-like living and the development of a biblical worldview in such

    matters as family life and current moral issues.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Reported by The Pathway, newsjournal of the Missouri Baptist

Convention. For more information on the “Providing Moral Leadership in a

Sexualized Culture” workshops of Missouri Baptists’ Christian Life Commission,

visit “Christian Life Commission Workshop” at www.mobaptist.org/moral_issues

or email David Krueger at [email protected].)

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