Q&A

Last night Mario decided to do a Question & Answer service where basically our students are allowed to ask him and selected staff members anything they want. If you are a youth pastor or a youth pastor's wife this is such an eye opener! If you want to know what your students are really struggling with and what their minds are really fighting against, do this! It will really give you direction in what you need to cover in small groups and give you sermon ideas.

This is the second time we have done one and we get some really serious and disturbing questions and then of course an occasional funny. I am sure you will get a kick out of the anonymous student who asked, "Does your wife smoke?" and "Do you and Pastor Megan fight a lot?" And then your heart is moved by the student who asked, "Why do people cut and how do they stop?" and "How do you treat your friends who are homosexual?" and "Are people involved in devil worship if they wear all black?"

Great questions, huh?! I wasn't on the panel this time just because we think it's important for our other staff members to have a voice as well. Any questions that came in about marriage and parenting I did help answer because Mario and I were the only two married and parents last night. One particular question came in that I answered and really have been thinking about since. The question was..."When I get married will I stop wanting to have sex with so many different people?"

There are always a lot of questions about sex. To be honest, I am glad they feel comfortable enough to ask us about such an "embarrassing" (not for me or my husband) topic. I am starting to realize how messed up some of the concepts are that the church teaches about sex and waiting.

God made us sexual beings with sexual desires and that is NORMAL but addictions to fornication, pornography, intercourse and like things is NOT. That is a STRONGHOLD. And I am sorry pastors but a chastity ring or true love waits t-shirt isn't going to stop these addictions. NEITHER WILL MARRIAGE. Marriage does not break strongholds, the blood of Jesus does. Therefore, "wait until your married", is not going to break the habitual sexual behaviors of our youth. Marriage does not need to occur, DELIVERANCE needs to occur.

So I answered the student, "No". It was a little disturbing to see that so many young people were surprised that I said no. That lets me know we have misled our young people into thinking that marriage fixes these addictions. It doesn't. We spent some time speaking about the difference between sexual temptations and sexual addictions but we also elaborated on the plans God has for marriage and how the enemy wants to destroy marriages because it's God's plan. You watch the expressions on their faces as your answers settle in and you feel an overwhelming weight of responsibility to answer correctly and of course our rule is, "If we don't know the answer, we will find out."