Pure Desire Ministries – Hope for the Porn Addict

When it comes to the world of porn addiction, there are several different levels of experience.

• Level 1: Individuals who can break free from their addictions by devoting themselves to meditating on Scripture, joining small groups, and becoming accountable to others.

• Level 2: Individuals who cannot seem to break free despite all attempts in Level 1.

• Level 3: Individuals who have gone beyond Level 2 and has watched their habit begin to destroy their lives, reputations, families, health, and faith.

For people in levels 2 and 3, there is the ministry of Pure Desire. For those who have felt the frustration of “try harder, pray harder” approach to freedom, Pure Desire will be a breath of fresh air.

Pure Desire Small Groups

Pure Desire is about equipping the local church to create the kind of communities needed to help those caught in the grip of sexual addictions.

Pastor Ted Roberts, founder of Pure Desire, writes,

“Based on nearly three decades of local church ministry, I have come to truly believe the church is the hope of the world. I also know that the majority of men and many of the women sitting in the pews, on the platform and at the pulpit are losing the battle of sexual purity.”

Roberts’ ministry to local churches is one that flows from his experiences as a pastor of East Hill Foursquare Church in Gresham, Oregon. He watched the church grow considerably, particularly their small groups for people with counseling needs—drug and alcohol addiction, divorce recovery, marriage enrichment, sexual addiction, etc. Pure Desire continues this valuable ministry of developing healing communities to churches around the globe.

What makes Pure Desire unique?

Much of what Roberts teaches extends not just from his knowledge of the Bible, but he has also adapted material from the research of Michael Dye, a certified addictions counselor and founder of The Genesis Process. Roberts writes,

“The ‘Genesis Process’ is a gift from God. It’s relevant, biblically balanced, and profoundly practical. It is able to help folks who may have lost hope not only find it again, but also to help them experience the Grace of God. Michael Dye has caught the heart of God in a marvelous way.”

What is the Genesis Process? For Michael Dye, the process of preventing relapse—the process of quitting our addictive habits—has to do with understanding how the human brain was built. People are not merely “taught” their way out of an addiction: more raw information will not help. Foundational to the recovery process is fresh experiences of intimacy with other people.

Michael Dye trains those in the church to create gracious and competent communities where addicts can change:

“It takes two things to make the church safe for people who are hurting: grace and competency. Grace makes it safe to share our secrets and our struggles because we won’t be preached to, judged or condemned. In a practical sense, Grace is when people see our hearts rather than our behaviors. Competency makes it safe to reveal our problems because we can see that they have experience, understanding, and they plan to help us change and to become successful.”

Pure Desire teaches that we are wounded in community, and we are healed in community. In community we learn the lies and fears that lead to our addictive sins. But in the healing community of the church, we unlearn those lies and experience the truth.

What does Pure Desire teach?

The foundational material for Roberts’ ministry comes from his book, Pure Desire: Helping People Break Free Form Sexual Struggles, what he calls an “effective battle plan and strategy for dealing with sexual addiction.” In connection to this book there is also:

• Pure Desire Workbook (for small groups, but also good for individuals)

• Pure Desire Leadership Training Seminar (a 12-hour DVD training for lay leaders in the church to learn about helping those with sexual addiction)

Pure Desire also has small group guides for women who feel sexually betrayed in marriage, women who have struggled with sexual and relational sin, and a variety of teachings on sex, gender, and marriage.

Accountability is Foundational

For many, the Internet has been the medium for their sexual addictions. Pornography is everywhere online. This is why Pure Desire encourages every person in their small groups to get Covenant Eyes accountability software. This helps  compulsive porn viewers to change the way they use the Internet, and offers a  foundational tool for building trust in small groups.