Just Keeping It Real Dog!

We just completed a wonderful weekend at Dallas Bay. It was a weekend devoted to strengthen the family . We were honored to have great Christian artists like Rebecca St. James and Clay Crosse perform and share their own stories. Story Side B, a Christian band, did an awesome job of interacting with the kids and adults alike. A trio of guys from Florida have have begun a ministry called "Defender Ministries" and they were here and talked frankly to youth and adults about the dangers of pornography and the advantages of staying pure sexually. All in all it was great success. Still one thing puzzles me. Each of the artists and the speakers as well thanked me for allowing them to broach such a sensitive topic in our church. They all said that most churches were afraid to talk about these subjects. My response was always the same, "really?"
The thought had never crossed my mind that we were doing something that was, to use their word "risky". One speaker even apologized before he spoke. He was afraid that he might get the leadership at DBBC in trouble with his frank dialogue. I listened closely to hear what was so perilous in his presentation that it might get me or my associate pastor ( he was the scurrilous culprit who invited this guy in the first place) in hot water with the congregation. Each time I thought I had reason to wince, it didn't happen. Sure his words were frank and a great testimony to the grace and healing power of God, but risky? Never. That's about the time it hit me. Maybe churches don't talk about subjects like sex and purity. Maybe they think talking about pornography should be reserved for the classroom or even the locker room. (That's where I was first exposed to it) Maybe that's why many people think the church is irrelevant and out of touch. It seems to me if sexual impurity and pornography are major enemies of the home then it should be discussed in church. Just the week prior to this weekend I had discussed the stages of intimacy in front of all three services. I had used the word sex and even declared it wasn't a dirty word. Looking back, I wonder if I should have been worried about being so frank?
I wonder if the subject scared Jesus when he spoke? I remember Him telling the woman at the well that the man she was sleeping with was not her husband, so I doubt if much made Jesus fear the what others would think of His frank talk. So as Randy of American Idol fame would say, "I'm just keeping it real dog!" See ya around the throne.
Pastor Ken