We believe in the gospel message.
Mankind was created in God’s image with dignity, value, and purpose. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, this corrupted all aspects of mankind. Every person born still bears God’s image but are alienated from God and condemned to separation from God without intervention.
The only payment for sin and means for reconciliation with God was through shed blood from a sacrifice. Jesus Christ, who was fully man and fully God, was uniquely able to both make this sacrifice (through his death on the cross) and also to exercise authority over death (by raising from the dead).
All who trust in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection are welcomed into the family of God as sons and daughters. Scripture tells us that because Jesus’ work was sufficient, God now looks on all who have trusted in Jesus as bearing his righteousness.
Believing Christ-followers are no longer separated from God nor will they ever be again, despite ongoing struggles with sin as we continue to live in a fallen world.
We believe sexual addiction is real.
Ongoing research strengthens the acceptance of sexual addiction as a legitimate addiction.
Studies on the impact of trauma and adverse childhood experiences, combined with the neurological impact of repeated exposure to pornography and addictive sexual behavior give strong support to the existence of sexual addiction.
We believe sexual addiction impacts Christians.
The contributors to sexual addiction are present in the lives of both Christians and non-Christians.
Although we believe Christians have the power of God available to them, to help them reject addictive and sinful behavior and pursue holiness, many believers carry deep spiritual, emotional, and sexual wounds that make it difficult for them to experience the close connection they have with God.
We believe recovery is a long-term, complex process.
Any freedom from sexual addiction comes through a process, not quick or easy solutions. Addiction develops and strengthens over time, and recovery from addiction is experienced over time as well.
Christians recovering from sexual addiction need spiritual, emotional, psychological, and behavioral support to help them establish new, healthy patterns in life. This support must encourage the renewing of both our behaviors and our beliefs.
Behavior modification efforts fall short when not combined with an understanding of faulty core beliefs that drive those behaviors.
Expectations that recovery can be a short-term process will often result in discouragement, hopelessness, and despair.
Accepting recovery as a long-term process allows it to be experienced as biblical sanctification, which is a gradual process of surrender and becoming more like Jesus over time.
We believe people must recover in community.
Sexual addiction is clinically understood to be an intimacy disorder. Healthy, relational intimacy cannot be experienced in isolation. The absence of community will always heighten negative experiences that contribute to unhealthy, compulsive/addictive behavior. We believe safe, authentic, non-judgmental community provides some of what people have been looking for in their addictions and unhealthy patterns.
