Discussion Questions

Arthur quotes Josh McDowell saying pornography may be “the greatest threat to the cause of Christ in the history of the world”; what specific spiritual and church-level consequences did Arthur name that make that claim feel plausible (or implausible) in your setting? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Arthur says porn could be a huge threat to Christianity. What spiritual harm and church-wide damage did he name that makes that feel true (or not) in your church?

Arthur says sexual addiction is like a “tsunami” and like “internal bleeding”—overwhelming, invasive, silent, and hidden; where do you see churches acting as if the wave is small or distant, and what would it look like to prepare *before* it crashes into families? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Arthur says sexual addiction is like a tsunami and like hidden internal bleeding. Where do you see churches acting like it’s not a big or close problem, and what would it look like to prepare before families get hit?

Arthur contrasts the difficulty of accessing porn in the 1970s (public purchase, physical hiding, embarrassment) with today’s smartphone/broadband reality and younger ages of exposure; how should that change what we assume about “personal responsibility,” temptation, and how early Christians might have built protective community practices if they faced the same technology? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Since porn is now easy to get on phones and kids see it younger, how should that change what we expect about self-control and temptation? If early Christians had this same tech, what kinds of protective community habits might they have built?

Arthur challenges the “faulty belief” that if men keep failing they “aren’t really serious”; what parts of his explanation (“avoiding hard things,” shame cycles, “almost never can you get well by yourself”) confront the way your church tends to interpret repeated sin? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Arthur says repeated failure doesn’t always mean a man “isn’t serious.” How do his points about avoiding hard things, shame cycles, and needing help challenge how your church views people who keep falling into the same sin?

Arthur’s “Anabaptist addiction equivalence” compares sexual bondage to more socially acceptable escapes (overworking, overeating, shopping, time-consuming hobbies, tech projects); which of his examples landed uncomfortably close to home, and how does that change the tone you bring when confronting sexual sin? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Arthur compares sexual bondage to “acceptable” escapes like overworking, overeating, shopping, hobbies, or tech projects. Which example felt uncomfortably close to you, and how does that change how you talk to others about sexual sin?

Dr. Samuel Perry’s study was cited: increasing porn use correlates with decreased church service, prayer, attendance, and increased doubts; how should leaders respond if porn use is quietly hollowing out the church’s volunteer core—without merely pressuring people to “serve more”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: The study said more porn use often means less prayer, less church attendance, and more doubts. If porn is quietly draining the church’s volunteers, how should leaders respond without just guilting people to serve more?

Arthur asks, “How much loss is permissible loss?” and compares tolerating 1-in-10 struggling to a hospital where 1-in-10 dies; what does that analogy accuse church leadership of *accepting*, and what would “going after the one” (Good Shepherd language) require that we may not want to pay? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Arthur asks how much loss is “okay,” like a hospital where 1 out of 10 patients die. What does that comparison say church leaders are settling for, and what would it really cost to “go after the one”?

Arthur describes a man who sought help, was “marked as a problem person,” and later discovered many others were struggling but stayed silent after seeing how he was treated; what church processes (assigning shepherds, public discipline patterns, gossip, “gasping”) unintentionally train people to hide, and what would have to change to make confession genuinely safe? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Arthur tells about a man who asked for help but got labeled as a “problem,” so others stayed quiet. What church habits (like gossip, public shame, or harsh discipline) teach people to hide, and what needs to change so confession feels safe?

Arthur insists USB (lust, masturbation, pornography, acting out) is sin while also warning against shame/humiliation as the main tool; what does it look like in practice to hold a high bar (“freedom will require attention and resolute commitment”) while offering the kind of grace that actually helps someone become clean? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Arthur says lust, porn, and acting out are sin, but shame shouldn’t be the main tool. How can a church keep a high standard and real commitment while giving grace that truly helps someone change?

Arthur uses Luke 7 (Jesus and the “sinful woman”) to confront fear of “contamination,” and he cites 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians about pride, restoration, and not letting Satan gain advantage; where do you see modern evangelical instincts (private faith, quick assurance, “just accept grace”) or Anabaptist instincts (image, severity, silence) distorting God’s heart for restoration, and what concrete next step could your group take to become a “safe place to heal” without lowering God’s standard? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Using Luke 7 and Paul’s letters, Arthur talks about pride, restoration, and not giving Satan an advantage. Where do your church instincts—either “keep it private and move on” or “be severe and stay silent”—get in the way of restoration, and what one next step could your group take to become a safe place to heal without lowering God’s standard?