While one post remains in this series, we now arrive at the final global issue that I address in Pressure Points: Twelve Global Issues Shaping the Face of the Church. And with today’s Supreme Court’s decision, we see just one more example of this pressure.
Sexual immorality is one of the major issues influencing the church and mission today. While few discussions link this matter to the challenge of making disciples of all nations, this is a topic that needed to be included as a pressure point. The pornification of societies refers to the grip of sexual immorality on people both within the kingdom and outside the kingdom.
While the pornification of societies extends beyond pornography, we must recognize that the business of pornography is big business and it is fueling immorality. The reach of such evil is significant, both far and wide. Pornography is a satanic creature that also has extensive tentacles which creep into a multitude of areas of life, often slowly weaving their way in to the point of taking people captive. Pornography leads to the development of a worldview, an ideology, that shapes the way people understand themselves, other men and women, children, God, relationships, masculinity and femininity, and obviously sexual relations. Sexual immorality is sin.
It was estimated that in 2006 the revenues from the sex and pornography industry in the United States were larger than those of the NFL, NBA, and MLB combined. In the following year, it was estimated that Americans spent $10 billion on pornography. California employed over 12,000 people in the porn industry, with that industry paying over $36 million in taxes that year. Commonly cited stats include:
- $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography every second.
- 28,258 users are viewing pornography every second.
- Every 39 minutes a new pornographic video is being produced in the United States.
- Global pornography revenues equal $97 billion, with the industry being larger than the combined revenues of Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix, and EarthLink.
Global Reach
While the United States sadly boasts of producing 90% of such material, there is a demand for pornography across the globe, with other countries developing their own industries. In 2006, $27 billion was spent in China on pornography and $25 billion in Korea.
Pornography knows no geographical, ethnic, gender, or even religious boundaries. Japanese pornography is popular in Indonesia. Two developing enterprises are found in Ghana and in Nairobi, Kenya. African and Uzbek leaders are upset over the development of pornography in their areas. And pornography is popular in Afghanistan as leaders attempt to prevent it from being accessible at Internet cafes. In 2012 the Muslim world was humiliated when the numbers revealed that pornographic sites were among the most visited sites in Egypt, Tunisia, and Lebanon. News from Pakistan was not encouraging either when in 2010 Google ranked the country number one in the world in searches for pornographic terms.
Internal and External Pressure
If the influence of pornography is as strong within the church as some have claimed it to be, then not only is this a major problem that must be addressed in relation to one’s daily walk with the Lord, but it will hinder many from taking the gospel to the nations. The quenching of the Spirit of mission is the worst thing a believer can do if he or she is to be on mission.
The external pressure on the church of the pornification of societies abound. Therefore, as unbelievers come into the kingdom, the church is going to have to care for, teach, and equip those who are likely to come with much history of sexual immorality. Life in a pornified society will have affected the way the person thinks about manhood, womanhood, and sex—and the way that person lives as a sexual being created in the image of God. Grace, patience, and humility will be necessary in assisting new brothers and sisters as they move beyond the wickedness of the age to flee sexual immorality (1 Cor 6:18).
Postscript
My original proposal for Pressure Points did not include a chapter related to the pornification of societies. Two months before my writing deadline, I felt the Lord wanted me to include such a chapter. After talking with pastors and mission agency leaders, I started doing research on this matter. I quickly came to understand the global influence of pornography in particular and its effect on the mission. With two months remaining, I set to work and–by the Lord’s grace–finished on time. Therefore, if you come across early advertisements for the book you will not find this topic listed in the contents.
I just wanted to share with you this extra bit of the story behind the music.
Pressure Points: Twelve Global Issues Shaping the Face of the Church is scheduled for release July 16. You may pre-order it here in paperback, Kindle, or audio versions.
Previous posts in this series:
Pressure Point #11 Oral Learners
Pressure Point #10 Health Care
Pressure Point #9 Children and Youth
Pressure Point #8 Growth of Cities
Pressure Point #6 Globalization
Pressure Point #5 International Migration
Pressure Point #4 Pluralism and the Plurality of Faiths
Pressure Point #3 Growth of the Majority World Church
Pressure Point #2 The West as a Mission Field
Pressure Point #1 Unreached Peoples
(Image credit Microsoft Office)
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Hi JD, Just happened upon your book on Amazon as I was doing a random search of “Missionary pornography”. My wife Kay and I were missionaries with Wycliffe for 20 years and did a Bible translation in the Solomon Islands. AT the same time I was also hooked on porn. Kay just released her memoir which includes some chapters about how we dealt with this issue. Anyway, just thought you might find it interesting.
http://www.amazon.com/As-Soon-Fell-Memoir-ebook/dp/B00MS8IKSG
I 100% agree that pornography is having an enormous affect on the church so one of our reasons for releasing this book is to provide some hope for men, especially in ministry, that God can redeem anything. Blessings on your ministry,
Andy Bruner
Thank you, Andy, for sharing a bit of your story. I pray that the Lord will use your testimony and Kay’s book to strengthen the Church! Thanks for sharing the link!