The church is facing a crisis of porn. Conservative estimates indicate that the crisis effects “70 percent of men, 50 percent of pastors, and 40 percent of women” within the church.  Countless marriages have been ended because of it, endless hours have been spent watching it, pastors have even theoretically declared war on it, but the problem that porn poses against the church has not lessened, in fact it has increased.

To some it seems obvious that the way the church has dealt with porn isn’t working. Some might even argue that a radically different approach needs to be taken, an approach that questions the very essence of pornography addiction and reviews the fundamental beliefs on the nature of humans.

One such approach comes from Seth Taylor. Taylor has experienced a drastic change in his life; he is no longer a porn addict. This change has led him to write a book called “Feel Like Redemption,” where he shares the story of how his paradigm of porn changed as he learned how to feel his repressed emotions, and how this helped him find freedom.

Taylor was a typical Evangelical Christian who was dealing with depression, anxiety, and was addicted to porn. “I was an addict. I was just about ready to die, suicide was a thought… I had tried everything, ‘Every Man’s Battle,’ everything. And I still didn’t feel free,” said Taylor.

Taylor desperately wanted to be free from this addiction, but what the church offered did not satisfy him. “Sobriety wasn’t an option. I wanted that sun shining on my face free,” said Taylor. According to Taylor what the church offers isn’t really freedom, but rather glorified sobriety. They typically suggest web blockers, prayer groups, or techniques such as “bouncing your eyes.”

He believes that this is not freedom. “A slave knows freedom,” said Taylor, “if you asked any one of them what it means like to be free, they would say ‘I can do what I want.’” Taylor said that if you do not want to look at porn, but can’t stop yourself, you are not free but rather an addict.

Taylor isn’t alone in his view that the church is failing to effectively deal with this issue. Craig Gross, the founder of XXXChurch, has a similar perspective. XXXChurch has been on the front lines of dealing with the porn crisis within the church for the last 12 years. They released “Every Man’s Battle” and rhave been receiving calls from people for over a decade.

However, they have come to realize that their approach is not working as expected. That’s why when Craig encountered Taylor and his ideas, he was more than ready to try something new and help release “Feel Like Redemption.”

Growing up in the church, Taylor had always heard ideas about what it means freedom and power, and knew he was not experiencing it when struggling with porn addiction. That is why in “Feel Like Redemption,” Taylor talks about moving from “a religious approach to a spiritual approach,” because in his words, “Jesus talked about actual power”.

People look around at church, religion, or even sacred books for the Kingdom of God, but Taylor would say that Jesus is pointing to it within people. This is where Taylor feels he started his journey to freedom and experiencing the power that Jesus talked about.

“Feels Like Redemption” is part of a larger package that XXXChurch has released called “My Pilgrimage.” In the series, Taylor seeks to help people start feeling again. He said that porn is not actually the problem, but rather a medication for something deeper. Taylor wants to help people ask questions based on the perspective of Imago Dei and help them to see themselves as spiritual beings created in the image of God instead of sinful and evil to the core.

Taylor said, “Porn is not the problem, porn is the medication for the problem. What are you medicating? The Spirit wants to show you.”