A Call to Courage

I don't make resolutions at the beginning of the year. Maybe it's my rebellious tendencies, or maybe I just got tired of making them and breaking them all the time. Whatever the case, I don't make them. However, I am going to challenge you (and, I suppose, myself) to do something this year that has the potential to change the world - literally.

But before I issue this challenge I want to look back over the past year and take a peek at what was, or wasn't, happening in the church in regards to sexual purity. As I reflect on the church's response to sexually broken people I find stories that are both encouraging and deeply disturbing. For instance, I listened to a man tell me his story of how he finally mustered enough courage to share with his pastor his struggle with pornography. He desperately wanted help and thought his pastor would offer him guidance and support. Unfortunately, this man was handed the phone number of a counselor on the opposite side of town and rarely spoken to again by the pastor. Eventually, this man left the church because he couldn't carry the burden of shame associated with his membership there.

On the flip side, there have also been stories of great hope this past year in the church. I heard of a pastor who preached a multi-part series on pornography, lust, and the need for purity. He wasn't afraid to share his own struggles with temptation and the mighty battle he fought each day to walk in purity. He took a great "career risk" in sharing so openly, but he also opened many doors for the hurting, silent men (and women) in his church who quietly wondered if they could ever find a way out of their sexual sin.

So, you might be wondering what this challenge is that will supposedly "change the world." It is actually pretty simpe, yet rarely undertaken. If you would take this challenge you would become a beacon of hope on a hilltop and lead countless people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Here is the challenge:

Be a consistent, persistent voice for purity in your local church.

Not rocket science, is it? Yet, how many churches in this world have a champion for purity? How many churches could you walk into next Sunday morning looking for help with a pornography problem and be given clear direction on how to find help in that church? Too often I see churches turning away their own members, sending them to a "professional" who has no connection with their church at all, and refusing to continue to check in on how the individual is doing. This is not God's intention for His church.

The church is God's instrument for healing, hope, and growth for believers. His church is the "hospital" for the soul. There are countless men and women each week filing into churches around the world who are ensnared in the ugliness and pain of sexual sin, yet are finding no real hope for freedom from their bondage. This must not be. You can help restore the mission of the church in your local congregation.

The good news is that you need no special training or skill to accept this challenge. The only "qualifier" is whether you have a desire to see people live in freedom and wholeness. If so, you can carry this mantle. It isn't easy. It takes courage and surrender. Even Jesus fought and struggled with the idea of bearing the pain of the cross. For us to follow Him and "share in His sufferings" requires sacrifice, trusting that He will accomplish through us what we are unable to accomplish on our own.

There is a world out there full of lost, crippled brothers and sisters. And this dark world is setting up camp in the church. The light of hope in God's church has grown dim in recent years. Will you help stoke the fires of freedom, redemption, purity, and peace? You could be the spark in your local body that could light your city on fire with a message that God's church is still the place to come when life threatens to overwhelm you.

If you would like to learn more about our 40-Day Challenge (a good way to get motivated for becoming a voice for purity), visit www.menofpurity.com.