The church has been called by Christ to be the salt and light. By default, our silence has allowed America to deteriorate to such an extent that it makes Sodom and Gomorrah look like a Sunday School picnic. We are handing our children a culture that is morally ravaged beyond anything we received from our parents.

During the past few months, Miranda and I have been very concerned how the cancer of pornography is infecting individual lives and destroying our nation as a whole. We have been sickened by the lust-laden character of this evil.

After much prayer, we have decided to put feet to our prayers and fight this satanic filth once again. Many of our friends will remember that we were very successful in cleaning up Joplin, Missouri. We closed down six massage (prostitute) parlors, two adult book stores and were successful in getting 52 quick stop stores to stop selling their pornographic magazines.

Now, we will still be fully engaged in fighting the occult but more of our efforts will be directed in encouraging Christians to join us and clean up our cities from the ugly, sick, maniacal, savage, lust-addicted nature of pornography.

Dr. Jerry Kirk, in his book wrote the following: "We must enter this area with a battlefield mentality. The struggle against pornography is not only difficult, but dangerous and anybody who approaches obscenity must be equipped like a soldier approaching a battlefield. We must identify the enemy, our methods of fighting, and our resources for offense and defense. In every battle, it's deadly to go wandering around in enemy territory unarmed and unprepared."

Several years ago, the mayor of a major southern city was concerned about the quality of motion pictures showing in his community. He appointed a task force of five widely known, highly respected professional persons to view the "adult" films and make recommendations as far as content and quality. Within one year, four of the five members of the task force had themselves become involved in adultery and scandal. Doubly disappointing, all were professing followers of Jesus Christ. It would seem apparent that constant exposure to pornographic material, even with the purest intentions, is dangerous.

The Book of Proverbs has some words of wisdom for any of us who would approach the Playboy bunny and her associates:

The Mind Polluters

Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; for a harlot may be hired for a loaf of bread, but an adulteress stalks a man's very life ... for many a victim has she laid low; yea, all her slain are a mighty host. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death (Proverbs 6:25,26; 7:26,27)

Notice this doesn't say the victim will lose his virginity, but his life. We are talking about something that cannot only affect the body, but also deaden the soul. For Solomon warns, "He does not know that it will cost I his life." (Proverbs 7:23)

Maybe you are the one who, like myself, has not looked to see what the magazines, movies or peep shows are really like. Maybe you have seen them five or ten twenty years ago, but have kept away from them since. If that's the case, you need know exactly what you are up against.

Today, these magazines not only display total nudity but focus on the genitals, they are promoting and displaying sexual intercourse with penetration; homosexual intercourse; oral, anal and group sex. Bestiality --copulation with animals -- is right the in living color: men with pigs, women with dogs or horses. And specialty publications cater to every imaginable perversion, from foot fetishists to sadists to transvestites.

Ed. Note: They are called adult bookstore but don't kid yourself -- our children read them. They see the videos. We have millions of latch-key kids whose fathers buy the stuff. The little boy is alone in the house; he knows how to work the video player and your child is invited to watch with him. The child's mind is perverted. Period. Never ever to regain or retain the innocence that in children from the beginning.

Dr. Kirk makes the point that if we had gotten together sooner to battle against this pornography, thousands of children would still be alive, millions of women would not have been raped, an entire generation of young people would not have been ravage through drugs and twisted death dealing sex.

Friends, please help Miranda and I stop this cancer of filth. Last week, a federal judge here in St. Petersburg, Florida, has given adult bookstores and clubs a big victor, ruling that St. Petersburg's ordinance regulating adult businesses was overly restrictive and unconstitutional. We will fight this ruling.

Your prayers and faithful support are very important to the success of our efforts. Please remember E.S.P. Ministries in your outreach to ministries. Let's remember Dr. Kirk's last few words in his book.

Let's take hands and walk together. We have the people necessary. We have the financial resources to do the job, but we have not had the commitment. Pastors, layperson, let's take hands and unite the entire Christian community across the nation and within each community, to say NO to the kingdom of darkness.

God Bless,

Ben