The Need for Where Grace Abounds

 Editor’s Note: As we celebrate WGA’s 40 years of ministry, we will be revisiting some articles from past newsletters. This one comes from March 2007.

Where Grace Abounds is a ministry that exists to guide and support men and women who seek to understand sexuality and relationships… What do we see in our society, in our churches, or both, that points to a need for a ministry that specializes in these areas?

In preparation for writing this article, I did an internet search using two key words, “Sex,” and “News.” The search engine turned up 218 million sites. When I added another word, “Headlines,” the sites nar­rowed to just under 6 million. The first several sites on the list includ­ed clipping services that list articles about sex in the news. A quick look at those sites are enough to overwhelm one with the reality of sexuality gone awry in our society, and within the Church as well.

In just the past twenty-four hours, news stories were posted about:

• A sophisticated prostitution ring where teen girls were drugged and sold for sex

• A church’s financial problems in the aftermath of a lead pastor’s homosexual immorality

• An analysis of the problem of offenders not signing in on the sex offender registry

• A police officer who was accused of sexual impropriety with interns

• A church that was trying to develop guidelines for allowing convicted sex offenders to worship with them

• A book review, Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love, and Lose at Both

• A state’s Youth Commission riddled with scandal about leaders’ sexual misbehavior with its interns

• A drill sergeant who was accused again of sexual crimes against soldiers in his company

• The Worldwide Anglican Communion reporting a “lack of real theological discussion” about sexual issues like homosexuality

• An increase in sexual assaults on college campuses It doesn’t take much of a look to find an answer to the questions, “Is there a need for something different in our approach to human sexu­ality?” “Is illicit sexual behavior a problem in our society and within our churches?”

It is my firm conviction that the Church cannot fulfill its call to be salt and light in our world while so many brothers and sisters are en­tangled in sexual darkness themselves.

Few would deny that illegal sexual behavior is a problem. But in discussions about how to address it, there is often a tremendous resistance when it comes to moving beyond discussion of sexual abuse of children, prostitution, the containment of sex offenders, and other such illegal activity, to their pre-cursor —rampant expression of sexuality contrary to biblical standards.

The general public is outraged and demands more and more protec­tion against sexually motivated crimes, while at the same time viewing abstinence or biblical standards for morality as archaic, irrelevant, and oppressive. We see this dissonance all the time; in fact, we are often oblivious to it, because it is so common.

For example, a few months ago, the front-page article of the Glen­dale paper detailed the thorough and heroic efforts of its detectives in exposing a prostitution ring that was operating out of a high-end apartment building. The reporter told of how widespread the activity was and described how the Glendale detectives ran a sophisticated sting operation to bring it down. The message was clear; the entire tone was celebratory, “Wasn’t it great that Glendale had such a big part in ridding our region of such a heinous problem?”

But right next to this story, the paper ran an ad for a local club known for its “exotic dancers.” The ad copy was clearly intended to incite sexual interest.

In the Church the dissonance is different, but just as real. In the midst of the culture I have just described, and periodic eruptions in the media about sexual sin among Christian leaders, there seems to be a resistance to discussing sexuality in redemptive and constructive ways. There is great distress among believers over the sexual immoral­ity in our society, yet statistics show that sexual impropriety among believers is almost as prevalent as among the population at large. Josh McDowell has said that “Christian teenagers are sexually active in the same percentages as the national average.” Focus on the Family’s H.B. London’s poll of pastors a few years ago revealed that “Christian men, even pastors, are as likely as non-Christians to act out sexually against God’s directives.” It is well known among booksellers that ro­mance novels (the female’s sex-drug of choice) outsell almost all other genres by far.

The need is overwhelming. It is my firm conviction that the Church cannot fulfill its call to be salt and light in our world while so many brothers and sisters are entangled in sexual darkness. We need people who are called by His name to humble themselves, pray, and experi­ence healing in their sexuality and relationships. We need such people to bring a prophetic voice into the Church and into our culture with a call to repentance over sexual sin, a call to holiness, and to the restora­tion of God’s original intent for sexuality.

It is my hope and prayer that Where Grace Abounds is a rooting and grounding place for such people. Our goal is to offer a place first to heal, then to be sent by God to the Church and to our society as missionaries to the sexually broken. Our message is the good news of God’s grace and truth, His forgiveness and restoration, His peace.

There is great distress among believers over the sexual immorality in our society, yet statistics show that sexual impropriety among believers is almost as prevalent as among the population at large.

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