following jesus into haiti [an interview with @kentannan]

Have you ever read a book that just rocked you to your core? I have. I recently finished a great new book called Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle: Living Fully, Loving Dangerously by Kent Annan (IVP).

Loved it!

After writing my review of the book, I have to say that I was pretty geeked about having the opportunity to actually interview Kent! The book challenged me in many ways, so I wanted to ask him about what motivated him to move to Haiti and how people can apply that same motivation to making a difference even in their own backyards.

What I found was a man who is a humble servant with a big heart to live for God in the best way that he can.

Check out that interview right here…

Note: This video was recorded using VodBurner for Skype.

@theideacamp porn week wrap-up [#ICSEX]

I don’t know if I really knew what to expect when I agreed to lead a blogging series on sex for The Idea Camp. But I know that anytime you get a bunch of bloggers together to talk with a single focus, the result is usually something pretty special.

This week was PORN WEEK, the first of the six-week series of discussions on various sex-related topics. The result was (I believe) nothing short of amazing!

Here’s a quick recap of the posts that we saw come in this week:

• Infographic: Stats on Internet Pornography [ICSEX]
  Jesse Giglio helps us start the week by sharing some pretty overwhelming statistics on how widespread of an issue this really is.
• Twilight and Porn (a.k.a. Unrealistic Expectations?)
  Carole Smith Turner challenges us to not soften the real impact (and damage) caused by porn by putting it and teen heartthrob movies on the same level.
• My Story for Porn Week
  Cheryl Smith gets vulnerable and shares her story about how porn has affected her life, and how she found God’s redemption and grace in the midst of pain.
• #ICSEX: Pornography
  Seiji Yamashita goes back to where an addiction to porn started for him, and what it took to wake him up to the reality of his addiction.
• 10 things i learned from joey and chandler about porn [#ICSEX]
  Dan King (um… that’s me) shares a list of observations on the affects of porn as portrayed by a couple of guys who got it for free on one of America’s favorite TV shows.
• Men and Sexual Addiction – Part VI
  Chris Goforth finishes a series that he was already working on with his list of resources related to porn addiction.
• The Redeeming Quality of Pornography
  Kyle Reed learned something about sin and redemption through his struggles with porn and its anonymous nature.
• Let’s Talk About Sex: Pornography
  Amber Haines has guest blogger Sarah Markley share her story. Sarah reveals the damage that pornography did when her and her new husband brought it into their bedroom to watch together.

Let’s keep this conversation going… Which of these posts impacted you the most? Why? What other perspectives on porn do you think are important to share/consider?

Coming up next: Sexual Abuse – Week beginning Sunday, July 25
It usually leaves invisible scars that never go away. And it can be root of other issues not only sexually, but relationally. This discussion will focus on not only the damage that is caused by sex abuse, but with special consideration of how to help those hurt by it with immediate and long-term healing. If you’re interested in participating in this conversation, then let us know in the comments or contact @bibledude on Twitter.

Are you enjoying this conversation? Then consider coming to !C//SEX Las Vegas on 9.27.10. Register now!

10 things i learned from joey and chandler about porn [#ICSEX]

It’s ‘porn week‘ with @theideacamp. This means that several of us are talking about an issue that is often very uncomfortable for the church to discuss. When we do talk about it, all we usually have to say is, “porn bad” or, “porn is the devil”. And that doesn’t paint a clear picture of what the problem of porn really is or the damage that it can cause.

I believe that much of what we see on TV reflects life. So, I thought it would be cool to check out what our friends from Hollywood have to say about this issue. These clips are from a Friends episode, The One with the Free Porn, where Joey and Chandler experience the effects of an overdose on porn.

Note: Because embedding has been disabled for this video, when you click play you’ll be prompted to go to YouTube to watch. Because I cannot control things like ‘related videos’ there, I wanted to warn you of the potential of questionable content appearing on the page. I just want to make sure that I’m not causing a brother to stumble…

Here are a few lessons about porn that I see in this clip. Let me know if you have more…

1. It doesn’t take long to get excited when unexpected sexual images suddenly appear.
2. Exposure may cause you to ponder additional ways of accessing more.
3. The thought of getting rid of it may seem ridiculous to those engrossed in it.
4. Those addicted to it will try to protect its presence.
5. Porn can subconsciously affect the thinking of those who are casually exposed to it.
6. Many will lie about their attraction to porn.
7. Over-exposure can lead to sexual fatigue.
8. Joey has an unhealthy obsession with Toblerone bars.
9. Porn blurs the line with reality in the brain and creates unrealistic expectations.
10. It may take an extreme reality check to make one realize that they need to do something about their addiction.

Do you think that Hollywood’s interpretation of the porn issue is accurate? What observations do you have that I may have missed? Please feel free to add to my list in the comments below…

why i’m going to #haiti [a personal testimony]

I can’t wait to get down to Haiti! And I’m praying that this is just the first of many trips to a place that I’ve been wanting to get to for a really long time.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. The average person in that country lives in such extreme poverty that it absolutely turns my stomach. When 80% of the people there live on $400 per year (or less), then we’re talking about people who cannot afford even the most basic of necessities.

Of course there are lots of reasons that the situation is so bad down there. Part of it was the cost of purchasing their independence from the French. Part of it has been corrupt leadership that has refused to invest in a proper infrastructure.

But regardless of the underlying causes, the truth is that the church is called to minister to the poor. And if the nation of Haiti doesn’t fit the heart of that call, then I don’t know what does.

The team that I’m going with is a youth group team from my church. There are about 50 of us that’ll be making the trip. It’s the largest missions team of any kind that our church has ever sent out, and people are getting behind it like few things that I’ve ever seen.

In usual youth group fashion, we held a dinner theater and silent auction fundraiser. During this event, I had the opportunity to share my heart and a testimony about why I’m going. Check out the video of that testimony here…

I’d love to ask you to join me in prayer over this trip. I’ll be sharing more updates and reports throughout this experience, and your prayer support is one of the most important things that I could ask for. Let me know if you’d like to be a part of this incredible mission in some way…

Check out more from this mission in the haiti diaries.

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