In my forthcoming book, Captured By a Better Vision: Living Pom-Free , I describe the spread of pomography as an epidemic. Here are some stats that back up this claim …

• Every second, 28,258 Internet users are viewing pomography and $3,075.64 is being spent on pomography
• The pomography industry is larger than the revenues of the top technology companies combined: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix and EarthLink
• There are 4.2 million pomographic websites, which is 12% of all the websites on the internet
• Every day there are 68 million (25% of the total) search engine requests for pomographic terms
• 42.7% of internet users view pom
• The average age of first exposure to pomography is 11 years old and 80% of 15-17 year olds have had multiple hard-cor e exposure
• The 35-49 age group is the largest consumer of internet pomography
• 47% of Christians say that pomography is a major problem in the home
• 17% of women struggle with pomography addiction and 70% of women keep their cyber activities secret
• The USA produces 89% of all pomographic web pages (Germany are the next biggest producer, producing 4% of all pomographic web pages)

Captured by a Better Vision aims to offer hope for people struggling with pom and guidance for those trying to help them. It is published by IVP  in the UK on 19 March 2010. It will be published in the US by InterVaristy Press.

I received an advance copy of the US version of my book You Can Change: God’s Transforming Power for our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions today. It looks great – thank you Crossway! It’s published on 31 March. You can pre-order copies here from Amazon.com. I know of a number of churches in the States who are already using the UK version as part of their pastoral or discipleship program.

Here are some commendations …

A book about Christian growth that is neither quietistic nor moralistic is rare. A book that is truly practical is even rarer. Tim Chester’s new volume falls into both categories and therefore fills a gap.
Tim Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City

There are few books that are shockingly honest, carefully theological, and gloriously hopeful all at the same time. Tim Chester’s book, You Can Change, is all of these and more. He skilfully uses the deepest insights of the theology of the Word as a lens to help you understand yourself and the way of change, and, in so doing, helps you to experience practically what you thought you already knew. The carefully crafted personal ‘reflection’ and ‘change project’ sections are worth the price of the book by themselves. It is wonderful to be reminded that you and I are not stuck, and it’s comforting to be guided by someone who knows well the road from where we are to where we need to be.
Paul Tripp, President of Paul Tripp Ministries

A wonderful book for those who are serious about personal change. For so many Christians the gulf between our aspirations and the reality of our daily Christian walk is very large. Here is very helpful material to help us bridge this gap and become the whole people God intended us to be.
Stephen Gaukroger, Senior Minister at Gold Hill Baptist Church

We are called to be salt and light. Yet often the church fails to live differently. In our busy culture, we rarely spend time dealing with sinful areas of our lives; instead we try to sweep them under the carpet. Tim’s book is a biblical and practical challenge to the very root causes of ungodly patterns of behaviour. Read it and allow God to change you!
Andy Frost, Director, Share Jesus International

The book is structured around a series of question to help people work on issues in their lives:

1.   What would you like to change?
2.   Why would you like to change?
3.   How are you going to change?
4.   When do you struggle?
5.   What truths do you need to turn to?
6.   What desires do you need to turn from?
7.   What stops you changing?
8.   What strategies will reinforce your faith and repentance?
9.   How can we support one another in change?
10. Are you ready for a lifetime of daily change?

Here’s a sample chapter (from the UK edition): You Can Change – Chapter Five: What Truths Do You Need To Turn To?

And finally here’s a video introduction …

My new book, Captured by a Better Vision: Living Pom-Free , is due to be released in the UK on March 19.

Here are some commendations:

‘Fantastic practical and realistic help… I highly commend this timely book.’ Carl Beech

‘A lifeline for those who feel trapped… A message of grace, strength and hope.’ Ian Coffey

‘Will rescue many a marriage and restore many a man to a place where purity and passion coexist in biblical relationship.’ Steve Gaukroger

Here’s the table of contents:

Foreword by Lyndon Bowring

Introduction: Let’s talk about porn

1 Looking beyond the frame

2. Freed by the beauty of God

3. Freed by the grace of God

4. The fight of faith

5. Freed for the glory of God

6. Conclusion: Putting it all together

The chapter titles don’t give much away, but they do emphasise that this is not just a grim assessment of the grip that porn has on so many Christians. Instead, this is a book which brings a positive message of hope and freedom. I’ll post an excerpt in a future post to give you a flavour of the book.

You can see me talking about the book here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO3NktNg3qU

For many Christians church is an event. It is a meeting you attend or a place you enter. Churches may talk about being a family, but most of their resources go into the Sunday morning event. Acquiring a building. Preparing the sermon. Producing the bulletin. Equipping a venue with sound and light. Planning the show. Practicing the band. That’s were their money and their staff time go. We talk about being family and community, but when you look at how we spend our time and money it becomes clear that in practice we view church as an event.

People often ask me about our meetings. ‘When do you meet? Where? What do you do when you meet together?’ But if you ask those questions then you have completely missed the point! We’re not advocating a new way of doing meetings. Actually our meetings are not good! The music is poor and the teaching is nothing you’d go out of your way to hear. What matters to us is our shared life: sharing our lives, doing ordinary life with gospel intentionality.

The church will never out perform TV shows and music videos. But there is nothing like the community life of the church. There is nowhere else where diverse people come together. There is nowhere else were broken people find a home. There is nowhere else when grace is experienced. There is nowhere else where God is present by his Spirit.

Ordinary life

The context for church, mission, community, discipleship, pastoral care, training, growth is ordinary life. Shopping, chores, meals, sports, journeys. This is how Jesus did discipleship and community: walking along the road or around a meal. See also Deuteronomy 6:4-7 and 1 Thessalonians 2:8.

Shared life

It is also about doing ordinary life together – having our lives intersect. So we’re not talking about house groups or small groups. Home groups are usually a meeting. You have ‘home group night’. It’s an event. We’re talking about a community of people who share life together.

Gospel intentionality
Gospel intentionality is the mentality or habit or culture in which, as you share lives, you look for opportunities to talk about Jesus, to encourage, to challenge, to pray, to praise. Without this all you are doing is ordinary life and everyone does that!

2. Power to be weak

We not only follow the way of the cross, we also experience the power of the resurrection. We have the Spirit, the Spirit of the coming age, the empowering, liberating, life-giving Spirit. But it’s vital to see how the power of the resurrection and the way of the cross fit together.

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection … (Philippians 3:10)

[Christ] lives by God’s power … by God’s power we will live with him. (2 Corinthians 13:4)

We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way … being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might … (Colossians 1:10-11)

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline … (2 Timothy 1:7-8)

All these verses contain a wonderful truth. We have Christ’s resurrection power in us through the Holy Spirit. But the verses goes on:

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death … (Philippians 3:10)

For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you. (2 Corinthians 13:4)

We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way … being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience … (Colossians 1:10-11)

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God … (2 Timothy 1:7-8)

We have resurrection power so we can be like Christ in his death. Power to be weak. Power to endure. Power to suffer. That is true Christian experience. Power in weakness is our boast (2 Corinthians 12:9).

We are people of power. We have resurrection power coursing through our bodies. God’s mighty power, pulling Christ from the grave, is in your life. But we don’t have this power for victory over suffering, for an easy life, to lord it over others.

We have power to follow the way of the cross. To serve. To suffer. To love. To die.

It is in this way that we reveal Christ to people. ‘We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.’ (2 Corinthians 4:7)

One day the skies will be filled with the glory of God. One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of God. One day. But already his resurrection glory is being revealed. It is being revealed in your home. In your street. In your workplace. In your school. It is being revealed as you follow the way of the cross: as you deny yourself, as you serve others, as you love Jesus.

Here’s a movie introducing my next book, Captured by a Better Vision: Living Pom-Free . It’s due out in the UK from IVP on 19 March 2010 and will be published in the US by IVP.

This is the recording of the training I recently did for our Missional Community leaders on developing a culture of where people are becoming Gospel FluentThe notes for the training are:Gospel FluencyBy Jeff VandersteltGospel GrowthSpeaking the TRUTH in Love IN MinistryIn Ephesians 4:11-16, we are instructed about the means by which the Church grows up into maturity. God gives certain people to

Christians are united by faith with Christ in his death and resurrection. This is the basis of our salvation: his death is our death that he bears in our place and his new life is our new life. But this union with Christ in his death and resurrection is also the basis for the way we live our lives as Christians.

1. Suffering followed by glory

‘Then [Paul and Barnabas] returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.’ (Acts 14:21-22)

‘Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.’ (Romans 8:17-18)

In this present life we follow the way of the cross. Jesus said: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) Everywhere you look in the New Testament the cross of Jesus (more than the life of Jesus) defines what it means to live as Christ. It can be summarised with five Ss:

• sacrifice
• submission
• self-denial
• service
• suffering

Reflection The way of cross impacts both our big life choices and our small daily actions: from martyrdom to washing up. Identify what the way of the cross will mean for you in the next five minutes? Five hours? Five days? Five months? Five years?

We follow the way of the cross because it leads to resurrection glory. We live sacrificially because we are living for a glorious inheritance kept in heaven for us. (See Matthew 6:19-21 and Hebrews 11:24-26 and 12:1-3.)

In the meantime we cannot expect glory without the cross (see Mark 10:35-45).

Peter concludes his first letter by saying that he has written ‘encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God’ (5:12). What is this true grace of God? ‘And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Peter 5:10-11) The true grace of God, the grace that makes him ‘the God of all grace’, consists of this: he has called to eternal glory after we have suffered a little while. Suffering followed by glory. The pattern of suffering and glory in the experience of Christ (1:11) is the experience of all believers (1:6-7; 4:13; 5:1-6, 10).

Peter needs to write to confirm that this is the true grace of God, because there are false versions of grace. There are versions of grace that promise glory without suffering.

Christians are motivated by joy and the treasure that is ours in Christ (Mt 13:44). Our treasure is Christ himself – knowing Christ and being righteous in him. This joy leads to a willingness to suffer for Christ (Philippians 3:7-11). Our treasure is also eternal glory = being with Christ forever (Philippians 3:20-21). Other Christians are also our joy (Philippians 4:1). Because we treasure Christ, it is a joy for us to see other people worship him and to see Christ formed in them.

Joy is commanded of Christians (4:4). Joy is an antidote to disunity because I delight in Christ rather than being preoccupied with myself and how others treat me (4:2-3). Joy is an antidote to worry because what I treasure is Christ and my possession of him is secure (4:6-7). Joy in Christ creates contentment whatever the circumstances of my life (4:10-13). Loss becomes an opportunity to treasure in Christ.