October 27, 2008
Pornography succeeds in luring about 40 million adults in the United States annually into its many traps. This includes untold numbers of Christian leaders and pastors who struggle against its daily attraction and stumble in the fight.
The September release of the DVD-CD set “Somebody’s Daughter: A Journey to Freedom from Pornography” focuses on this struggle of Christians in ministry. Oct. 26 through Nov. 2 is Pornography Awareness Week, and the makers “Somebody’s Daughter” hope the DVD will not only promote awareness but also help those facing the addiction.
“Somebody’s Daughter” is a multimedia release featuring a television documentary, which details the lives of three men and one couple active in Christian ministry, who struggled with and overcame addiction to pornography. It addresses the universal appeal of pornography, speaking to individuals, families and churches.
The Writing of “Somebody’s Daughter”
The concept for the project was born out of a song of the same name. Christian recording artist John Mandeville and Steve Siler, founder and director of Music for the Soul, wrote the song after Mandeville revealed to Siler that he struggled with pornography. After attending a meeting for sex addicts, the two men wrote the song to illustrate that women should be viewed as a creation of a Holy God. The song was also a starting point in Mandeville’s healing.
“I was deeply honored that John asked me to go with him to a meeting, because I knew it took a lot of courage for him to call me and share his secret with me,” recalled Siler. “I went with to him to the meeting, and after hearing several different stories, I came away wondering if this was happening to anyone else. So, I started talking to my friends within the Christian music industry, and within a few weeks, I realized I knew seven Christian songwriters or artists’ who were dealing with this.”
Later, Siler confirmed that the problem extended far beyond the Christian music industry. “I did even more research and found out it was a church-wide issue,” Siler said. “Even though this has not been a personal struggle for me at the level of addiction, I would say for every man that visual imagery in this culture is a struggle.”
Since then, Music for the Soul has produced 18 music and spoken word tracks, four music videos and a television documentary, all compiled on “Somebody’s Daughter.” A curriculum guide is also available to help churches and ministries implement the resources on the DVD and CD. Ten percent of sales of the project will be donated to Christian counseling centers to aid in counseling people with pornography addictions.
According to Siler, “Somebody’s Daughter” was produced to shed light on how the $13.3 billion pornography industry is plaguing those who profess Christianity, and to promote healing and deliverance from the growing epidemic.
“The latest statistics I’ve heard state that 70 percent of lay leaders are struggling, and 40 percent of pastors are struggling. The statistic that I feel is most important is that if you open your eyes and look at our culture, 100 percent of kids are going to be facing this stuff because it’s in our magazines, iPod’s, cell phones, Internet, cable television and billboards—it’s coming from everywhere,” Siler said.
“I really felt like we needed to do something that would help the church in particular to take on this issue, because it’s a difficult thing to talk about. So, we wanted to create ‘Somebody’s Daughter’ as an icebreaker and as something that the church could use to show videos, or personal testimonies. It gives them a way to start the conversation.”
“Somebody’s Daughter” is scheduled to air Nov. 30 and Dec. 7 on the ION Television Network (formerly PAX TV). The documentary also is slated to air on INSP, Faith TV and “It’s Time for Herman & Sharron.
What Feeds the Addiction
