Volume 25, Issue 8
WisconsinChristianNews.com
Page 31
A Deadly Predator Roams the Church
By Lynn Fredrick January 2025
meeting, on the same subject, in the past 9 months? Probably some of both. This time I had all their attention, they even asked some very pertinent questions. The result? The leadership board of eld- ers is compiling a local resource guide for help with all addictions. The guide will be made available to the church atten- dees after one of the elders presents a message on addiction the end of March. I say “great start guys!” Like our chicken coop ordeal, the church needs to open its eyes to the fact that over 50% of the church is under at- tack by the predator, pornography, put up strong boundaries to protect its mem- bers against the destructive schemes of Satan. Shine the light of God into every darkness that Satan brings and fill every mind with the protective and transform-
This past fall, something ap- peared to be wrong as I looked out, in the morning, at the chicken coop
and the enclosure around it. Upon close up physical examination, two chickens lay dead from broken necks or suffocation and two more were miss- ing. I found a breach in the fencing, re- paired it and reinforced the fence around the whole chicken yard. All went good for several days and then the same event repeated itself. Two chickens left dead and two missing. Eight of the 18 chickens we raise for
low self-esteem develop. The person will begin to distance them- selves from God and the church community. Their spiritual life, their connection with God and Jesus become filled with shame and the repeated requests increase, that God would take away their secret desire to spend time with the predator. When over 50% of the church goers are befriending the predator the church’s ability to function as the New Testament body of Christ is severely crippled. The goal of the predator is to destroy as many individuals as it can and eventually destroy the church. What is this deadly predator? The disguise is pornography and the one inside the costume is Satan. For nearly eight years I have been writing and speaking about the dangers of pornography and its ties to sex trafficking. If you follow me at all, you know I ask you to go to your pastor and church leaders to encourage them to address the issue of pornog- raphy in their and your church. Literally, dozens of people have taken literature from my booth at conferences, and told me that they were going to have me come to their church and community to have me speak out about the destructive power of pornography. Do you know how many times that has happened? Once. I understand. I have gone to my own pastor and elders and have asked them to address this issue. Several times. They politely did nothing other than bring it up in a small group or two, once or twice. Until now. The last time I went to our church elders meeting, I went armed with a new report, not much different than the sta- tistical information I have been using for many years, but it is a new source, one that seems to have clout with church leaders. The Barna Group.
food were lost to predators, we suspect were bobcats. We put up all metal fencing, put a flood light on the chicken yard and played a loud Christian radio station 24/7. Putting up the strongest boundary we could, shining light into the darkness and flooding the area with God’s Word brought an end to the predation. Had we not done anything, most likely we would have lost the whole flock of chickens. There is also a deadly predator, wearing a costume, on the loose among Christians today, but you will be hard pressed to get church leadership to do anything about it. They too, as does the church goer, have a fear of even talking about the predator, let alone publicly confronting it. In a new study, 54% of self-identified practicing Christians have willingly encountered this deadly pred- ator and rather than run away, 62% do all they can and feel com- fortable, secretly, trying to make friends with the predator. The predator will undoubtably destroy a person’s ability to have rela- tionships and is convincing that people are mere objects to be used for self-gratification. When let into a person’s mind, 50% of the time the predator de- stroys marriages and they end in divorce. The more time a person tries to make friends with the predator, the more the brain of the person will be rewired away from healthy relationships and the road back to normal will be as difficult as a cocaine addict learning to live without cocaine. The predator is cunning and baffling. It lurks in the shadows; darkness and secrecy are its method of op- eration. It convinces a person to keep their affair secret, that no one else is befriending the predator and if that truth came out the person would be abandoned by the other church goers. Most often the person, secretly, wants to spend more time with the predator and the mental health consequences of anxiety, depression and
ing power of God’s Word.
My mind swims over the damage that has been done over the past decades of silence concerning the dysfunctional and destruc- tive education that pornography has smothered our society with concerning relationship and sexuality. It’s infected nearly every media source, television, movies, music, social media and even education in schools. Traditional sex education in the church ba- sically teaches, “save it until marriage,” but no information as to what “it” is. In the public school it is how to prevent disease, preg- nancy or how to terminate pregnancy. Where are the practical instructions to guide people to have successful relationships and heathy sexuality? No matter your age, ask yourself this question: “What is a healthy relationship and what would that look like?” After that, ask yourself this question: “What is healthy sexuality and what would that look like?” After my own 28 years of porn education, its influ- ence in society and that self-education, several years into my re- covery from porn and sexual addiction, these questions where asked of me by my counselor, the late Dr. Mark Laaser. The word “healthy” threw me. I had ideas about relationships and sexuality, but were any of them healthy? I think most were not. Honestly, I was stumped, I had very little clue what “healthy” was or what it would look like. It began a journey for me. I had to unlearn a lot of dysfunctional thoughts, ideas and behaviors and reeducate myself in this new realm of “healthy” and what that would look like. I won- der how my pastor and elders will respond to this next step? How will you? Next month, I will write about some of my journey in discovering what healthy intimacy is and how that will bring about healthy re- lationships and in turn will form the foundation to healthy sexuality. Of course, the preliminary discussion will be to identify some of the unhealthy aspects of relationship and sexuality. I don’t have all the answers, after 31 years into my recovery journey, I am still learning, but I hope to help you onto a good path and an exciting journey. Lynn Fredrick authored “Stand Firm,” a program of recovery from addiction, using the divine power of God. LynnFredrick.com
Look up the “Beyond the Porn Phenomenon” report on their web site. Specifically, “The Church’s Silent Struggle: New Study Exposes Porn Use Among Christians.” Try sharing this report with your church leaders. I went to my church’s elders meeting armed with the Barna report and a hand out from The Na- tional Center on Sexual Exploitation called “Five Ways to Start talking about Pornography in your Church.”
Faith Baptist Church Evangelical, Reformed
‘Contendin g for the faith once delivered unto the saints.’
Was it the new report or was it because it was the third time the board has seen me in their monthly
Free d Free om om From Pornogr Pornography & Sexual Sin www .LynnFre d rick.com
Faith Baptist Church is dedicated to pro- claiming the whole counsel of God (Acts 2:27) and UNAPOLOGETICALLY UPHOLDS the 5 solas:
Watch the online video and then share it with your friends. (Self publishing needs help). If you decide to read my book, please give it a 15+ word review on Amazon.com
• Sinners are justified by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone, by the Holy Scriptures alone, to the glory of God alone.
2003 10th St. • Monroe, WI Pastor Bob Leverton • (815) 541-6773 We would identify with those who preached the “old time” gospel. Our confession of faith is found in the old “London Confession of 1689.” We hope you will join us in worship to our Triune God. It is so needful in these last days that we are a Church Family! You are very welcome to join us! Sunday, 9:30 am • Prayer Meeting Wednesday 7:00 pm
STAND FIRM is the story of my journey as God led me out of addiction into the freedom found only in His grace. STAND FIRM is my story, but also a Bible- based guide of how to use the divine power of God to transform a person’s life.
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