Recommended Reading - WSJ

Churches Changed During the Pandemic and Many Aren’t Going Back - WSJ 

Recommended Reading - The Gospel Coalition

 What Skills Do You Need to Help Someone Defeat Porn? (thegospelcoalition.org)

Recommended Reading - Desiring God Post

 Take the Hill: How Mission Brings Men Together | Desiring God

Samson Society - The No Bull Briefing - November 2021

 

THE NO BULL BRIEFING - November 2021

We all know that successful recovery requires community. We can't do this alone. We need people to support us. Listen to us. Challenge us. We've helped simply this process with our new "Find a Brother" feature! Watch this video to learn how. HOT DAMME! BE A PART OF THIS HUGE OPPORTUNITY! For the second year in a row, Samson Society has received a year-end matching gift: every new contribution (excluding current monthly gifts)  between now and Dec. 31 will be matched dollar for dollar, capped at $65,000.  Remember, Samson Society doesn't have any dues or fees, but we do have expenses. Your contribution is an investment that pays dividends in your recovery and that of many others. We rescue families by helping men live in the freedom of authenticity. DONATE TODAY We are currently approximately 11% of the way to our end goal of $65,000.  Back story: It’s a funny thing how in recovery once the dormant parts of my brain started to heal, parts of my heart began to stir. A sponsor or Silas (I can’t recall who) advised me about 3 years ago to “get out of my own analytical brain a bit” and start to explore my right (creative) side of my brain. Poetry started to bubble up and this is one of the byproducts of my recovery that I just do for myself.   “That angels are with us is very sure, and no one should ever have doubted it,” and “Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me,” Martin Luther states matter-of-factly that angels are near and with us and listen. (Luther’s Morning Prayer) “The room” references what many in Recovering call their meeting – in strictest confidence seeking community and understanding and lasting change  Shared Secrets – Angels Listening By L Bailey I could feel your hidden places In the room I felt affinity, aligning with your inner pain You dropped your self-protective shield for a sacred moment Decades of stories-being-told poured into my lap Feeling victory, pain, agony Your body’s muscles holding your past protecting you so long A cry came from you to speak With angels present I could feel the melting of walls in your body You flowed into a new safe space It was my eyes that were awakened, listening Watching the shifts in your head and shoulders It wasn’t dandruff being shed But the stuff hidden from others For protection For safety For shame For deception of self and others Then the opening presented itself We were Present, Witnesses No grandiosity No bold pronouncements That place became a “Listening” Finally came “Understanding” In its good time, “Healing” When angels listened in the room Spread the word to family and friends, and if your company shops on Amazon consider using Amazon Smile and designating Samson House.

"Recovery": Parts 10-Conclusion - Authored by Mr. Max Morton

 

1.  Restoration

Restoration is the action of returning something (me) to a former owner (God), place or condition. When we speak of restoring a classic car we are talking about returning it to its original condition. As I write these words Hurricane Ida is bearing down on the coast of Louisiana and where I live is right in its inland path. I just received a text message from the power company about power outages and when the power might possibly be restored. This is the restoration of place; putting something back in its proper place.

When we think of restoration in recovery we need to understand that restoration is the return to proper ownership, proper place and proper condition. My group uses the verbiage of acknowledging the fact that despite my sin, I am a restored son of the sovereign Lord. God has restored me to my proper owner, Himself. In my sin, I was seeking to call my own shots, live as if I am the master of my own destiny and live only to please myself. If He indeed is my Lord, then He is my owner. My life is owned by Him. I am restored to my proper place; I am seated at His family table where I can eat in peace even in the presence of my enemies. I am restored to my proper condition. God has an original intent that was circumvented when sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden. That intent was that my condition was to be in unhindered fellowship with Him, where I enjoy His presence and His goodness and as I do this, I bring Him glory.

2.  Repurposed

As I walk through this journey of recovery I feel as if I am being repurposed, that is to say, adapted for use in a different purpose. I once sold an antique dining room hutch that I purchased when I lived in England. The neighbor I sold it to at a garage sale told me she was going to “repurpose” it. Instead of using it as a dining room piece, she planned to paint it, cut a hole in the top and use it as a bathroom vanity. What was originally used for one purpose had changed and it was now serving another purpose.

One of the major questions Christians ask themselves is “What is God’s will for my life?” Even non-Christians wrestle with their meaning and purpose in life. When one finds his why he finds his way. At one time in my life I felt like I had a firm grasp of this. I knew that God intended for me to be a minister who served him in pastoral ministry. 

My sin prevented me from completing this purpose for my life. As I have recovered I have come to understand that much of the purpose and intent that I understood God to have for me was my own invention and the expectations others communicated to me as it related to my vocation. He lovingly showed me that the plans that I had for my life in ministry were not the plans he had for me. I expected to “do great exploits” for His kingdom. He simply wanted my obedience. My refusal to obey caused him to have to repurpose his original intention. As I have humbled myself before Him I have been met with (to my great surprise and relief) loving correction rather than judgmental condemnation and punishment. 

God’s repurposing is not through a lens of disappointment, but infinite creativity. He is not disappointed in me for having to go to plan B, he is excited to find another use for this vessel. I now find that as I am transparently myself and walk in humility God is glorifying himself as I interact with my brothers on this common journey. I find that having repurposed me, He is getting more glory from my life now than if I had “done the great exploits” I thought I was supposed to do.

3. Re-engaged

My purpose in writing this is to re engage in a purpose I have always known God had for me. I’ve always known God wanted me to write. I never thought I would write about something like this. But a writer has to write about what he knows. My name is Max, and I’m a recovering sex-addict. I like to say I am a porn survivor. But that diagnosis does not define me. Despite my brokenness I am a redeemed, restored, completely forgiven, beloved son of the Sovereign Lord. My recovery journey continues. I have learned to embrace the idea of “progress, not perfection.” I am free, but sin continues to crouch at the door and temptation never rests. Knowing this, and staying aware of it, helps me to be humble and sober minded. 

I wish this were not my story, but it is. It is the truth. My ability to re engage in God’s repurposing of my life involves not trying to hide the fact that this is my story. It involves my willingness to be vulnerable and transparent as I glory in my weaknesses, knowing that is where God shows Himself strong. Now that is something I can really engage in!

Conclusion

I hope you have been blessed and encouraged by the sharing of my story. I don’t share it for any acclaim or affirmation, only because I was seeking to obey what God was showing me to do. That is ALL any of us can ever really do that will be of any eternal value. As I seek to re engage my life in His purposes for me I do so living in the humility of forgiveness and the awareness that temptation is ever present. I acknowledge I am on a path to healing, victory and freedom but on either side of this path is “the ditch.” I could veer into the “ditch of sin” and repeat the cycle of shame, guilt and bondage, or I could fall into the “ditch of self-righteousness” on the other side and enter into sin of a different kind altogether. My desire is to stay balanced and walk humbly with one hand in the hand of the One leading and the other hand reaching out to help others learn to follow Him in this path to freedom.

If I can be of any help to you please reach out to me. 

You are loved.

You CAN be free.

It is never too late.

Max Morton

September 2021

maxlmorton24@gmail.com

Recommended Viewing - Removing The Void With A Brother

Recommended Reading - Desiring God Post

 Kindness in a World Gone Mad | Desiring God