Wednesday, September 22, 2010

From Kevin: Want to know what TMM is all about---read below. I pulled from:
http://renewal-journal.com/blog/2010/06/13/a-story-of-confession-as-a-healing-ministry-in-a-young-christian-life/

Read it (I only pulled a small section off the referring web site) and if it describes you in any way and you desire to be free of this sexual sin while traveling, reach out -->kevin@travelingmanministry.com.
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Several years ago I sat down to pray with a small group of Christian men on a wintry Tuesday morning. This was a regular meeting unimaginatively called “the Tuesday morning men’s prayer group.” We met from seven to 8:00 AM in a small room at the church many of us attended.




It was our usual practice to share our experiences of the previous week, along with our needs and concerns. Then we closed with about 30 minutes of prayer for one another. On this particular morning the men were taking turns talking about various matters. The turn passed to a young husband and father who, in recent months, had become active in working with children and youth in the church. As we turned our attention to him, it became clear that he was quite agitated and struggling for words.



Sobbing, he finally said, “I know that this is going to destroy any chance I have of working with kids in the church, and will probably ruin my reputation as a Christian, but I have to get something off of my chest. I have to go out of town on business in a couple of days, and I am terrified. When I graduated from high school I joined the Navy. I traveled a lot in the military and joined in all of the typical off-duty activities that sailors do with their buddies. I have always been shy with girls but when I was in the Navy I became fascinated with pornography. All of the other guys took it for granted so it was no problem for me to indulge myself with it.



“When I was discharged from the service I met my future wife right away. We were so much in love my interest in pornography faded into the background. I got a good job, we got married and found out we were going to have a baby. We found this church and became active members. It was the happiest time of my life. Then, I got a promotion at work and started traveling alone. On my first business trip I got off of the airplane at my destination airport and headed to the rental car counter. I suddenly realized that I was very lonely. I decided to stop in to the news stand to get something to read. As soon as I stepped in front of the magazine racks I saw the row of Playboy magazines and about a dozen other books and magazines of the same type. I ended up in my hotel room with a briefcase full of porn and a heart and mind full of shame. I threw it out as I was leaving the hotel to go back to the airport.



“When I got back home I felt so terrible that my wife could tell something was wrong. She asked me about it and I lied. I was sure that I felt so bad that I would never fall into that temptation again, but I think it is getting worse. Now, whenever I find out that I am going to be traveling, I start thinking about the magazines. A few times I have been able to avoid actually buying them, but the temptation is almost an obsession. I am afraid that I am demon possessed or mentally ill. I think about losing my family, my church and my reputation. It seems like a simple thing but I feel that it is controlling me. There, now I’ve said it. If you are as disgusted with me as I am with myself, just give it to me straight and I’ll get out of here and never come back.”



This confession was followed by a period of awkward silence. Finally one of the other men spoke quietly.



I need to pause to tell you that the man who spoke was a lay leader in the church. He was a solid family man who held an executive position with a large, well-known and reputable technology company. He was a mature man whose wisdom, kindness and maturity were respected by everyone who knew him. He wasn’t a person who talked loudly or often but, when he did speak, people listened and valued his words highly.



When this “elder” began to respond to the younger man’s admission, I rather expected him to offer some advice about how to deal with the temptation of pornography, or perhaps to moralize a bit. However, he said simply: ”I have that problem.”



This statement was followed by an even longer and more awkward silence that, at least for me, begged someone to bring some control to the situation or, even better, change the subject. The quiet was finally interrupted again when a third man who was, again, a “pillar” in the church, stated: ”I have that problem, too.” Soon a fourth man in the group said, “I don’t have a problem with pornography when I travel alone.” ( I felt a palpable sense of relief for a moment.) …”I am tempted to drink.” (So much for the relief!)



After some more discussion about the power of temptation to attack us when we are in our weakest moments, the lay leader said, “Here’s what I think we need to do. I think we need to take note of the situations in which each of us feels most vulnerable to the temptation to sin. Then, every week when we meet we can each mention any impending situations. We will pray for one another about those specific occasions. The following week we will relate what happened, good or bad. Nothing disempowers temptation like bringing it into the light.”



We all agreed to participate in this idea and followed it faithfully. Everyone in the group agreed that the practice significantly reduced the power of the temptations and the actual occasions of yielding to them. The young man who began the original dialogue was able to resist his attraction to pornography and continued to grow spiritually and in his ministries

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Kevin@travelingmanministry.com. How can I help you?

Lonely

It is so lonely in a hotel room. Is anyone surprised how many men fail every night? porn, infidelity, alcoholism, it is all so easy to fall victim to. And it all starts innocent enough...

Have you called home tonight to check on your family?