HOW COMMUNITY CAUSES BENEFIT THE CHURCH
E. Langston Haygood
October 1, 1991
Jerry, the pastor of another congregation in town, had asked me to lunch to discuss a problem that was growing like kudzu in our city: pornography.
"The convenience stores are the worst," he said. "Children go into these places, and there these magazines are!"
Jerry continued, "Did you know that one in four girls and one in seven boys will be sexually abused before they reach adulthood? It's that porno rot." Jerry stared out the window. "We've got to do something."
This last comment was just thrown into the air, addressed more to himself than to me.
Now, I'm no banner-waving social reformer. Maybe I should be. But I feel pastors are called to communicate the eternal good news first and not get sidetracked by seemingly lesser issues. Still, I was troubled by the problem.
"Okay," I said. "Let's get some pastors, church members, and community people involved, too." Dipping nachos in salsa, we started to brainstorm.
Eventually, we formed a group called Citizens Against Pornography (CAP). We advertised monthly meetings. We talked to pastors, civic leaders, and law-enforcement agencies. We even sponsored a city-wide awareness campaign and invited an expert on the effects of pornography. About 500 people attended.
But we fumbled a lot in those early stages. For example, we began our organizational meetings in a church. Attendance was sparse until we moved to a community center. And while our public awareness campaign gave us some visibility, it was more froth than pith.
The spark that eventually resulted in 80 percent of the stores in our city removing their pornographic magazines was one individual. Jean Faucett took on the project, and like a Joan of Arc, she charged into the mayor's office, police precincts, and convenience stores. ...
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