Speaker: Sexual addiction a church-wide problem The Layman Online Friday, May 30, 2003 215th General Assembly Denver, Colo. May 24-31, 2003 General Assembly news index DENVER – Sexual addiction, especially to Internet pornography, is a massive problem not only in the nation, but in the church, Dr. Harry Schaumburg told the audience in attendance at the One-by-One dinner Tuesday night. After hearing from a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor who had found freedom from an entrenched pornography addiction, the gathering heard from Schaumburg, an expert in the field. He noted that sexual addiction is spiritually destructive, financially draining, and both relationally and socially disintegrating. Yet, such addictions as pornography remain largely "secretly hidden, grossly misunderstood, largely ignored and typically mishandled." The author of False Intimacy: Understanding the Struggle of Sexual Addiction and the director of Stone Gate Resources, a "ministry of reconciliation" and counseling in Larkspur, Colo., Schaumberg offered the gathering insights on how the church can better address this problem. The first step toward healing involves a deeper description of the problem. The "disease metaphor" offered by 12-step groups is helpful, but limited. Removing personal responsibility and the dynamics of sin actually handicaps the church's work in helping sexual addicts, he said. Schaumburg, however, was not calling for mere moralizing and condemnation as a solution. He said the church needs to understand that the sexual addict feels "trapped, out of control, hungry for acceptance, and in bondage to something that yields very little pleasure," but a great deal of pain. The addict lives "without hope for freedom." Underlying this cycle of bondage is the reality that "people sexually act out because sexual behavior does something for them." It provides a temporary illusion of acceptance and comfort for the pain of life, he said - yet, the false god of pornography ultimately fails to deliver the true intimacy and acceptance for which addicts yearn. The shame and self-loathing, Schaumburg said, simply continue. Healing, he said, comes through the power of Jesus Christ. Yet, mere asking for help may not end the addiction. Rather, Schaumburg suggested, addicts need to address the deeper Lordship problem underlying the behavior. Working with 2 Corinthians 11: 2, Schaumburg described the need for a "sincere and pure devotion to Christ." The loss of such devotion allows people to justify anything they do to meet their needs, he said, but a return to acknowledgement of the radical Lordship of Jesus Christ opens the addict to the transforming power of Christ's grace. The church, Schaumburg said, can provide clear teaching and supportive discipleship groups as effective means in helping to "gently restore" the sexually addicted. One by One is a renewal group in the Presbyterian Church (USA) whose purpose is to minister to the sexually broken, particularly to those in conflict with their sexuality. Stone Gate Resources is located in the Denver area. Their Web site is www.stonegateresources.org.

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