Between 1996 and 2014, Mark Driscoll's Mars Hill Church multiplied from its base in Seattle into fifteen facilities spread across five states with 13,000 attendees. When it closed, the church was beset by scandal, with former attendees testifying to spiritual abuse, emotional manipulation, and financial exploitation. In Biblical Porn Jessica Johnson examines how Mars Hill's congregants became entangled in processes of religious conviction. Johnson shows how they were affectively recruited into sexualized and militarized dynamics of power through the mobilization of what she calls "biblical porn"—the affective labor of communicating, promoting, and embodying Driscoll's teaching on biblical masculinity, femininity, and sexuality, which simultaneously worked as a marketing strategy, social imaginary, and biopolitical instrument. Johnson theorizes religious conviction as a social process through which Mars Hill's congregants circulated and amplified feelings of hope, joy, shame, and paranoia as affective value that the church capitalized on to grow at all costs.

Explores how through Jesus, women can be free from the trap of sexual fantasy and guilt. One in five Christian women use pornography. One in three visitors to a porn site is a woman. Many, many more women read explicit books like Fifty Shades of Grey. Even more than that write their own pornography-not on paper for publication, but in their heads for their own use. Helen Thorne knows all this because she's done it. But no one talks about it. Our churches are silent on it. There are very few books about it. It is the unspoken struggle of thousands of Christian women-perhaps you, and probably someone you know. But no more. In this refreshingly honest, resolutely hope-filled and gospel-soaked book, Helen speaks the unspoken. In doing so, she shows how purity is better and more satisfying than fantasy-and that, whoever you are and whatever your struggles, purity is possible.

In a Culture of Distortions, Discover God-Defined Womanhood and Beauty In a culture where airbrushed models and career-driven women define beauty and success, it's no wonder we have a distorted view of femininity. Our impossible standards place an incredible burden of stress on the backs of women and girls of all ages, resulting in anxiety, eating disorders, and depression. One question we often forget to ask is this: What is God's design for womanhood? In Girl Defined, sisters and popular bloggers Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal offer women a countercultural view of beauty, femininity, and self-worth. Based firmly in God's design for their lives, this book helps women rethink what true success and beauty look like. It invites them on a liberating journey toward a radically better vision for femininity that ends with the discovery of the kind of hope, purpose, and fulfillment they've been yearning for. Girl Defined helps readers · discover God's design for femininity and his definition of a successful woman · uncover the secrets of lasting worth, purpose, and fulfillment · be equipped and empowered to live out a radically better vision for womanhood · gain personal insight through the chapter-by-chapter study guide

Eight gospel-centered strategies for overcoming the lure of pornography and finally breaking free. This book is not about pornography. You won't find graphic depictions about the porn industry, the catastrophic effects it has on individuals and relationships, or how to think differently about porn. If you're reading this book, you probably have some understanding of those things already—the last thing you need is to be subjected to that kind of detail...again. Finally Free is about hope. It's about discovering the freeing power available to those who trust in Jesus Christ, who can, will, and does set people free from the power of pornography. Dr. Heath Lambert, a leader in the biblical counseling movement, has organized this book around eight clear and practical tactics you can wield to make it easier to flee lust and temptation and shelter in the protection of God's grace. Each chapter: Clearly demonstrates how the gospel applies to the fight against sexual temptation. Lays out relevant methods for leaning on Christ's strength—both in advance of and in moments of temptation. Explains how Jesus can move readers from a life of struggle to a life of purity. If you've struggled personally against the powerful draw of pornography, or if you've ever tried to help someone fighting this battle, you know how hard it is to break its bonds. But there is good news: no matter how intense or long-standing the struggle, Jesus Christ has the power to free people from the enslaving power of pornography. The Gospel has a power that works practically in the lives of those who seek to imitate Christ—and you can learn how to live into that power.

Countless stories. One incredible ending. A major league baseball player. a Tennessee pastor. A reality TV star. a single mom. A multi-platinum rocker. What do these people have in common? They’ve all hit bottom. And none of them stayed there. Famous or unfamiliar, these are the stories of real people who reached the end of their strength, the end of their control, and found the most surprising truths. It taught them not to rely on self or substance but to lean on the only completely reliable source of love, hope, and freedom: the God who created them. Shocking in their honesty, inspiring in their courage, these testimonies are critical reminders that no one is too far from God to find him. Join these and thousands more who have discovered the lifechanging power in putting God first and proclaiming, “I am Second.”

This book is a resource created in response to numerous pleas for help from young girls and women alike regarding their struggle with sexual addictions. Although it is one of the largest issues facing today's Church, pornography addiction is also one of the largest secrets in the Church, especially among women. We aim to open the door to confession and conversation among women in the Body of Christ who feel as though they are alone in this struggle. Within its chapters you will find... * Relevant statistics that demonstrate the influence of pornography in modern media * Encouraging testimonies from women who have overcome their addiction by the unfailing grace and mighty power of Christ * And various strategies for resisting temptation in order to break free from pornography. Overcoming sexual addiction is not an overnight process, but one that requires a commitment to die to selfish desires each and every day, and take on the nature and purity of Christ. If you take the information presented in this book to heart, you will find yourself well equipped for the journey.

Porn has become so commonplace, even among Christians, that its use has woven itself into the daily lives of countless men and women, disrupting marriages and short-circuiting believers’ effectiveness for God. Users of pornography know their habit is wrong, but they ask, “What can I do to stop? How do I say no when porn tempts me?” Author Joe Dallas has worked for more than 25 years with Christian men caught in the porn trap and has developed a five-step plan for breaking the cycle and developing a practical structure anyone can implement to keep himself from the destructiveness of pornography. This concise and user-friendly manual is a must-have for the modern Christian man wanting to make a clean break from porn. With an emphasis on biblically-based principles, Five Steps to Breaking Free from Porn points the way to freedom and gives readers the tools they need to put the porn habit behind them forever.

In this helpful guide by Vicki Tiede, women are gently reminded to turn toward God and away from despair. When Your Husband Is Addicted to Pornography addresses the struggles women experience when they are shattered, betrayed, and alone. Writing from personal experience, Vicki Tiede offers daily readings and questions on six important topics: hope, surrender, trust, identity, brokenness, and forgiveness. She helps readers grow in healing and hope in the midst of marriage trials. By describing one of the "hidden sins" in our churches and culture that destroys marriages, the author offers biblical advice on a workable plan of action. She shares the stories of twenty-five women who have known this deep anguish, and she helps bridge the gap in the healing journey so many other materials leave out. She comforts readers and refreshingly points hurt women toward the one who calms the raging seas. Allowing God to meet your greatest needs is a long and learned process, but he promises to help you every step of the way. Questions and daily readings are suitable for both individuals and small groups.

Dove Award-winning artist Clay Crosse and his wife, Renee, share their personal story of his struggle with pornography and how they rebuilt their marriage.