Rethink Seminar

Corey and I will be featured speakers at the [Re]Think Seminar in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday, May 15. It’s a morning-only workshop with breakfast and lunch included, so it means free food at the very least. This is basically a by-invitation-only event for pastors (free by the way because it is sponsored by a local church) but if you are in the area, contact us for tickets. Space is limited, so if you are interested, give us a heads up soon. Stay tuned for lots of details in the coming days. We’ll also have a website link for you. It’s going to be very cool…not your garden-variety workshop. Think televangelist meets twilight zone. Or not.

Corey and I are going to speak at an upcoming seminar in Sugar Hill, Georgia. Anyone in the South, come and see us on May 15th! Go to the Rethink website, and sign up.

Rethink Seminar Interview: Corey Jamison from Mike on Vimeo.

Drumroll Please…

Tomorrow there will be a pretty cool announcement. We’re excited, so come back.

In the mean time a great ‘back of the napkin story’ presented by Chuck Colson at Q. Pointed at by Ben Arment pointing to Scott Hodge.

Big Questions Widget

Garrett Dimon’s blog is beautiful. The other day he pointed to The Big Questions widget. For all you Mac-ies out there, every time you hit F12 you’ll be asked a very thoughtful question. The past few days, I’ve had this in my Dashboard, and today I woke up, logged on, and found that they chose my question!

Motion Graphic Number Two

Drive 8 Motion Graphic from Mike on Vimeo.

Here is my second shot at motion graphics/ animation. It’s a promo for a Summer Adventure Camp for a great youth group, Area 32, in Lynden, WA. All of the churches that subscribe to our system get 6 custom series each year. I hope to share more of our work with y’all as we go.

Porn in the USA part 3

Luke Gilkerson, is the internet community manager at Covenant Eyes accountability software, a company that helps people overcome their addiction to online Porn. Over the next few days, Luke is going to be sharing with us a ton of information about how deep this sin problem is.

How much of the church is affected by porn?

Unfortunately the church is as affected as the rest of the population.

There’s a ministry called Freedom Begins Here that has started talking about the “20/50 Crisis.” A startling survey recently revealed that 20% of Christian women and 50% of Christian men admit they are addicted to pornography. Not just struggling . . . addicted. When we include the stats for those who are “struggling” but wouldn’t call themselves “addicts” we see that some 70% of Christian men are struggling with pornography on some level. In the younger generations, this stat is even higher.

Focus on the Family reports that of the 10,000 calls, emails and letters they receive every day, struggles with pornography represent their No. 1 incoming request for help overall.

Practically speaking, with stats like these this means that nearly every family and every church is affected by pornography. These men are our sons, our fathers, our brothers, and even our pastors. These women are our daughters, our mothers, and our sisters.

What kind of an effect do you think porn is having on church leadership?

According to a Leadership Journal survey, almost two-thirds of all pastors struggle with Internet pornography. Some stats show that 40% of pastors consider this a great struggle or an addiction. A recent book by Mark Laaser and Ralph H. Earle Jr. called “The Pornography Trap” deals with this issue head on.

I can speak very personally about this issue. Not too long ago I was a campus minister, discipling college students, dealing with my own personal addiction to pornography. Pastors and ministers are like all sinful men: they have a sinful nature that can be captured by lust. But on top of this, a pastor’s job can also be a breeding ground for this kind of sin. I’ll explain.

Many pastors hold flexible, irregular, and long hours. Their jobs can be emotionally draining. They are expected to be found in their offices and studies alone for long hours preparing for sermons or making calls. This can create more opportunities for tempting thoughts to fester and more opportunities for secret sins. In addition, many pastors do not have a system of open and honest accountability in their lives. They are lone-ranger pastors or feel like they are. Many feel like their church, elder board, or denomination does not emotionally support them. Confessing a struggle with pornography could mean the loss of their job, and so there is a hidden pressure to remain quiet about it or deal with it alone. This only accelerates the struggle.

One of the reasons why pornography is so enticing and addicting is because the woman on screen is flattering (Proverbs 6:24-28): she makes the man feel needed, wanted, attractive, desired—like a “real man.” Pornography is a way to medicate a brittle ego. It isn’t uncommon for pastors to come into the ministry struggling with a fragile ego. Some pastors go into vocational ministry with hidden motives—hidden even to them—expecting their ministry position to give them a sense of value and importance. Ministry then becomes a band-aid over the fragile ego. (I can sadly testify to this personally, even though it isn’t true of everyone.)

More and more seminaries and Bible colleges are recognizing the need to address this pornography issue among the future pastors and elders they are educating. Character training and building self-control are being highlighted more and more. Several colleges have started using accountability software for their dormitory computers to encourage conversations about temptations, confession of sin, and a deeper, more honest discipleship. Covenant Eyes Accountability software is currently used by Christ For the Nations in Texas, Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland, the Baptist College of Florida, Bethel University in Minnesota, Grace Baptist College in Michigan, Grace College and Theological Seminary in Indiana, Moore Theological Seminary in Sydney, Australia, and Toccoa Falls College in Georgia.

Porn in the USA part 2

Luke Gilkerson, is the internet community manager at Covenant Eyes accountability software, a company that helps people overcome their addiction to online Porn. Over the next few days, Luke is going to be sharing with us a ton of information about how deep this sin problem is.

PART 2: Porn Statistics

Do you have any statistics for us?

Good question. More and more research is being done today on the effects of pornography on the human brain and human psychology.

From the “Hearing on the Brain Science Behind Pornography Addiction and the Effects of Addiction on Families and Communities.”(1) Here are some quotes from the hearing:

• “. . . modern science allows us to understand that the underlying nature of an addiction to pornography is chemically nearly identical to a heroin addiction” (Satinover)
• “Pornography triggers a myriad of endogenous, internal, natural drugs that mimic the ‘high’ from a street drug. Addiction to pornography is addiction to what I dub erototoxins – mind altering drugs produced by the viewer’s own brain.” (Reisman)
• “Pornography, by its very nature, is an equal opportunity toxin. It damages the viewer, the performer, and the spouses and the children of the viewers and the performers. It is toxic mis-education about sex and relationships. It is more toxic the more you consume, the ‘harder’ the variety you consume and the younger and more vulnerable the consumer.” (Layden)
• “. . . the findings of numerous studies suggest that pornography consumption promotes sexual deviancy, sexual perpetration, and adverse sexual attitudes.” (Weaver)
• “Since the 50s, as pornography became mainstreamed and pushed the envelope of normal sexual conduct, law enforcement reported that sex crimes mimicking comparable acts were being inflicted on women and children. . . . Testimony from victims and police commonly finds pornography to be an on-site sex abuse manual.” (Reisman)
• “I have also seen in my clinical experience that pornography damages the sexual performance of the viewers. Pornography viewers tend to have problems with premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction. Having spent so much time in unnatural sexual experiences with paper, celluloid and cyberspace, they seem to find it difficult to have sex with a real human being. Pornography is raising their expectation and demand for types and amounts of sexual experiences at the same time it is reducing their ability to experience sex.” (Layden)
• “In men, prolonged exposure to pornography creates and enhances sexual callousness toward women. . . . Prolonged exposure to pornography, it must be remembered, results in both a “loss-of-respect” for female sexual autonomy and the disinhibition of men in the expression of aggression against women.” (Weaver)
• “Once [the pornography actresses] are in the industry they have high rates of substance abuse, typically alcohol and cocaine, depression, borderline personality disorder. . . . The experience I find most common among the performers is that they have to be drunk, high or dissociated in order to go to work. Their work environment is particularly toxic. . . . The terrible work life of the pornography performer is often followed by an equally terrible home life. They have an increased risk of sexually transmitted disease including HIV, domestic violence and have about a 25% chance of making a marriage that lasts as long as 3 years.” (Layden)
• “It has always seemed self-evident that pornography is nothing more than a form of ‘expression.’ . . . I respectfully submit to this committee that modern science allows us to see that this is an illusion: Pornography is mere ‘expression’ only in the trivial sense that a fall from the Empire State building is a mere stumble—since it’s hitting the ground that’s fatal.” (Satinover)
• “There are no studies and no data that indicate a benefit from pornography use. . . . The society is awash in pornography and so in fact the data are in. If pornography made us healthy, we would be healthy by now.” (Layden)

And these researchers are by no means alone in their observations. Viewing pornography affects both neurochemistry and beliefs about sexuality.

Another excellent resource is Gary R. Brooks’ book, The Centerfold Syndrome. He describes what he observes as a “pervasive disorder” linked to the consumption of soft-core pornography like Playboy.

He mentions five main symptoms of this disorder.

1. Voyeurism – An obsession with looking at women rather than interacting with them. This, of course, can apply to far more than pornography, but any consumption of the “sexuality-on-tap” culture in which we live. Media glorifies and objectifies women’s bodies thus promoting unreal images of women, feeding male obsession with visual stimulation, and trivializing other mature features of a healthy sexual relationship.
2. Objectification – An attitude in which women are objects rated by size, shape and harmony of body parts. Sexual fantasy leads to emotional unavailability and dissatisfaction.
3. Validation – The need to validate masculinity through beautiful women. Women who meet centerfold standards only retain their power as along as they maintain “perfect” bodies and the lure of unavailability. It is very common for a man’s fantasy sexual encounter to include a feeling of manly validation. It is also common for men to feel invalidated by their wives if they have trained their minds and bodies to respond only to the fantasy advances of their dream girl.
4. Trophyism – The idea that beautiful women are collectibles who show the world who a man is. Pornography reinforces the women’s-bodies-as-trophies mentality.
5. Fear of True Intimacy – Inability to relate to women in an honest and intimate way despite deep loneliness. Pornography exalts a man’s sexual needs over his need for sensuality and intimacy. Some men develop a preoccupation with sexuality, which powerfully handicaps their capacity for emotionally intimate relationships.

Who is looking at porn?

In short, nearly everyone. 72% of the visitors to pornographic sites are male, 28% are female. 70% of 18 to 24 year old men visit pornographic sites in a typical month. The majority of both adults (18+) and teenagers regularly view pornographic material.

In the Internet age, pornography has become accessible in ways it never was before. There’s no longer the need to drive to the seedy shop at the end of our town and risk being seen. Now, hours of pornography can stream into our private homes and offices, free of charge, and with much less risk of being caught

__________________________________________

(1) I typically refer people to the researchers such as Dr. Judith Reisman, Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, Dr. MaryAnne Layden, and Dr. James B. Weaver. On Nov. 18, 2004, these very qualified men and women were called to be witnesses before a U.S. Senate subcommittee:

Porn in the US of A

Luke Gilkerson, is the internet community manager at Covenant Eyes accountability software, a company that helps people overcome their addiction to online Porn. Over the next few days, Luke is going to be sharing with us a ton of information about how deep this sin problem is.

PART 1:  Is porn a problem in America?

In short, yes

There’s no debating the size of the pornography industry. Worldwide, porn brought in $97 billion in 2006. That year, people in the U.S. spent about $13.3 billion on porn (that’s more than the combined revenues of ABC, CBS, and NBC, by the way). No one debates the enormity of the industry.

Neither does anyone debate how widespread pornography is viewed.

• On average, there are 4.2 million pornographic web domains (12% of all websites).
• 25% of total search engine requests are pornography related.
• 42.7% of Internet users intentionally view pornography online.
• On average, every month there are 1.5 billion pornographic peer-to-peer downloads (this is 35% of all downloads online).
• The largest consumer of Internet pornography is the 35-49 age group.
• 90% of children from ages 8 to 16 have viewed porn online (most while doing homework)
• Average age for the first-time exposure to porn is 11.

  

So, the question isn’t how big the industry is or how much pornography is accessed by people in the U.S. The question is: Why is this a problem? Why is viewing pornography an issue that we should be concerned about?

Viewing pornography is a problem because of how it negatively affects those who view it. When it becomes so widely viewed (as in a sufficiently pornographized culture like ours) it negatively affects cultural mindsets. Lastly, viewing pornography endorses an industry that negatively affects those who work in it. Pornography, as an industry, creates problems psychologically and sociologically. Oprah calls pornography America’s #1 addiction.

It’s All About the Photos

Here are some cleaver ads courtesy of AdHunt. What I love about these is how the photos tell the story. The copy is the punch line, and the photo is telling the joke.

Tomorrow: Interview about Porn in America

Tomorrow morning (Pacific) we will post the first of three interviews with Luke Gilkerson, internet community manager at Covenant Eyes accountability software. People that work on their computers know that porn and more subtle sexual sin is all over the place. Luke has a ton to say about the state of America and porn, the state of the Church and porn, and what we can do about it. So make sure to check in, and if you have any additional questions be sure to ask

Plow Readers Using Gateway Drugs

This morning Seth Godin declared that Firefox is a Gateway drug.

I want to say to all the readers of The Plow, that you are a special breed. Seth Godin talks about how FF users are more likely to be power users and influencers and sneezers. Let me give you some stats about the readers of the Plow.

Of the last 2,775 unique visitors to the Plow:
43% run Firefox
42% are on Mac
1% are on iPhones
26% have monitors with greater than 1680 x 1050 resolutio
50% are regulars
61 people have logged onto the site from the same IP over 100 times. (I love you all)

These numbers are a statistical anomaly.

The people that read the Plow are the people that change things. I want all of you to become part of this community and help Corey and I give glory to God through design. Make comments, ask questions, suggest ideas, write an article, do something crazy—we’re in this thing together.