Webinar Set for Pastors and Ministers on ‘Reclaiming Wholeness’
The Church of God is sponsoring a free, one-hour webinar for pastors and ministry leaders designed to enhance ministry to those struggling with sexually addictive behavior.
“Reclaiming Wholeness: Ministry, Discipleship and Sexually Addictive Behavior” will take place on two occasions next month, September 10 and September 17.
“As the sexualization of American culture surges forward the need for a scientifically informed and spiritually sensitive voice has grown,” stated Church of God General Overseer Mark Williams, who will moderate the September 10 webinar. “This training will provide a basic introduction into wrestling with the issue of Internet pornography and will equip participants with a firm foundation to build upon in addressing the need for sexual purity within our communities of faith.”
The training will examine the impact of Internet pornography at the individual, family and community levels, as well as exploring a model for discipleship for those struggling with this problematic sexual behavior.
Presenter of the webinar will be Dr. Todd Bowman, an Associate Professor of Counseling at Indiana Wesleyan University and the director of the SATP (Sexual Addiction Treatment Provider) Institute, LLC, which offers training in sexual addiction treatment for therapists and pastors. He is the author of “Angry birds and killer bees: Talking to your kids about sex”, published in 2013 by Beacon Hill Press.
The need to address topics comes from research, such as from the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, which states that one in four (25%) divorces in a given year is due to pornography, cyber-sexual behaviors, or cyber-infidelity (“The Social Costs of Pornography: A Collection of Papers”, Stoner and Hughes, eds, 2014, The Witherspoon Institute, Washington, DC). This webinar will review elements that contribute to sexual addiction and examine causes of problematic sexual behavior, all within the context of hope for restoration and reconciliation through the redemptive power of discipleship.
On September 10 from 12:00 noon until 1:00 p.m. EST those wishing to participate in the webinar should visit the link http://bit.lyT-Bowman-9-10-15. A second opportunity will be offered on September 17 from 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST at the link http://bit.lyT-Bowman-9-17-15.
