February 22, 2023

the saga begins

January of 2018 marked my first formal engagement with the ministry. I was a relatively new acquaintance to Shane O’Neill, host of Proven Ministries’ Naked Gospel Podcast. We were on the fast track to lasting friendship, but we didn’t quite know it at the time. My predecessor and (now) good friend, Marshall Shank, as well as the ministry’s Executive Director, Nick Liberto, were still largely unknown to me. That was when they collectively posted my first article on this very blog. When I was writing about the multi-generational legacy of my family, that inheritance for my children, how precious little did I know about the relationship between pornography and the sex trafficking of minors.

Fast forward 5 years, and I’ve been working for the ministry in a full-time capacity as the Director of Outreach for over six months. No one is more surprised by that turn of events than I am. And here I find myself assuming command of the blog-space! I’m not sure whether fate loves irony or if she kindly suffers fools on occasion. Maybe a bit of both.

In any event, no one could ever have prepared me for the severe shock of awareness that awaited me. During the first few weeks of my arrival here, several of our longtime group leaders called to congratulate me for the new hire. Then all of them, each in their own manner of expression, would commend me for, as they would say, “standing on the front lines of spiritual warfare.”

the rude awakening

I’ll be honest… at the time, I didn’t know what to make of that sentiment. It seemed grandiose if not altogether undeserved. Then the horror stories began to accrue. Suddenly those initial expressions made sense. They had been in this space longer than I had been, and they knew precisely the kinds of encounters with evil that were right around the corner.

It would be inappropriate in every way for me to disseminate those stories in this medium. At least that’s how it feels presently. Out of discretion, I’ve only told our Executive Director the worst of it. The magnitude and severity of degradation at work in the world is enough to consume your mind with an unrelenting cancer of demoralization. I do not wish that on anybody.

Without exaggeration, it is Holocaust-level horrific and literally worldwide industrial in scale. The southern border of the United States alone represents $13 billion dollars annually in sex trafficking, much of that in the sale and abuse of minors. Global profits are estimated at 150 billion dollars. No, there are no typos in the preceding. That is billions with a “B” and profits with a “P” respectively. Left to my own devices, I never would have imagined that pornography and the sex trafficking of minors were as pervasive and deranged as they are. Yet this is the world that we inhabit.

So, forgive me, please, if I ever come off as heavy handed from this point forward. My motivation has vitrified into a galvanized alloy of that which is adamant, aghast and audacious all at once. I will endeavor to keep the eruption of the volcano at bay. But let it be known: this magma is running virulent and fierce beneath the surface.

the eternal solution

So, what can you do about it? Well, if you have not already, the very first thing is to quit porn – forever. We have the means for you to accomplish that end. And what’s more is that you can walk in lasting freedom! We have helped thousands of men and women achieve it for themselves, all across the country and all around the world.

What you must know is that your soul is not the only one at stake. If you are interacting within the economy of pornography to any extent whatsoever, then you are necessarily contributing to this pandemic. The link between pornography and the sex trafficking of minors is direct and indisputable. I don’t say that to shame you, but I do hope to bring you to your senses if you are not already aware. The tributary of the global trafficking industry descends from the cultivation of sordid appetites via pornography upstream.

Please, by God, at the very least, remove yourself from any participation in the worst of all current evils. Our Encouragement Series has been such a helpful resource for countless individuals. Sign up today – it’s free! This simple next step could very well determine not only your freedom, but that of untold numbers of victims as well. Isn’t that worth a few minutes of your time?

– C. T. Giles

Get help and Free Encouragement Video Series

are You struggling or looking to lead? get Help from proven men