Newsletter

March 2008
Newsletter Edition 4

A monthly support and informational newsletter to strengthen laymen in the sexual addiction recovery ministry.

For more information
and tools, visit us at
www.puredesire.org

PURE DESIRE
MINISTRY TOOLS

Pure Desire Ministry Kit
The kit includes:

The newly revised full 11-hour Pure Desire seminar on DVD
The Seminar Training Manual
The For Men Only Workbook
All four teleconferences with experts Ted and Diane Roberts, Harry Flanagan, Kathy Rodriguez, and Ray Young
The Betrayed Heart Workbook, Leaders' Guide, and DVD for momen
The Accept No Substitutes Workbook and Leaders' Guide for women struggling with love addiction
Introductory price $240

Did Ted Say That?
Five teaching series by Pastor Ted Roberts on men and women, their sexuality, differences and what it's like to be free from the demons of the past and thoroughly enjoy sex with your spouse as God intended.

Aliens
3 teachings $15

Beyond Mars and Venus
4 teachings $20

Power and Purpose of Sex
4 teachings $20

Sex, Love and Intimacy
4 teachings $20

Sex by the Book
2 teachings $10
NEW workbook $5

Order on-line at
Pure Desire Online Store


Pure Desire Introduced in The Netherlands

There are amazing things happening in Holland (The Netherlands)! Ted and Diane have just returned from a trip to introduce Pure Desire and here is what Ted had to report: "I wasn't expecting much of an open door during this trip but I am so thankful that the Holy Spirit had totally different plans in mind. I was able to spend some time with the Foursquare National Board of Holland and they are committed to getting Pure Desire Ministries in every church in Holland! They have even set funds aside for five to six individuals to fly to the U.S. to be part of PDMI University. We plan to do PDMI University on the east coast in January 2009. Diane and I spoke at the Foursquare President's church about the issues of sexual bondage, and two-thirds of the church stood to their feet and declared they wanted to be part of the ministry. God gave us a stunning vision of a spark being lit in Holland that would become a flame of purity that would spread across Europe. Don't you just love God's sense of humor using Holland to speak to Europe about sexual purity? Amazing! Just before leaving for Holland, I was at the Executive Council of Foursquare in the United States. Every person I spoke with wanted to hear about Pure Desire-that has never happened before! They all wanted to make sure the ministry was launched in their District, so I am sending out a letter under Dr. Burris's signature (my boss) asking the interested Districts to put $5,000 up front if they want to start the process. I was told that if more than six Districts are interested (six was our initial funding level) the proposal will be forwarded to the International Board again asking for a higher level of funding. Thank you for your prayers and wisdom, because we definitely have a tiger by the tail! I sense we have only begun to see the incredible doors of opportunity God is opening up to us in this year ahead."

Inside The Pastor's Toolbox

Recently I had the privilege of writing several articles for Rick Warren's very popular monthly e-newsletter for pastors and leaders, called Ministry Toolbox. I was asked to address how to deal with sexual issues in the church. In one article, there was an electronic link to a diagnostic tool created by Dr. Patrick Carnes that assesses if an individual is struggling with sexual addiction. To my knowledge, there has never been a clinical study of the prevalence of sexual addiction among evangelical pastors and leaders. I guess the common assumption is that this particular population doesn't battle with sex addiction. From years of counseling church leaders, I knew that the battle with sexual addiction was huge-but even I was stunned with the results! I was initially surprised by the number of individuals who took the voluntary analysis. A total of 263 individuals managed to	take the test: 203 men and 60 women. It was interesting to note that the major reason people took the test. The test-takers most frequently reported curiosity as their main motivation for participating in the assessment, not concern about sexual addiction. Interestingly, 48.3% of the men reported taking the SAST out of curiosity and only 14.1% were self-reported sex addicts. In contrast only 28.3% of the women reported curiosity as the main motivation and 23.3% were self-reported sex addicts! That was just the tip of the iceberg. Over half of the total population admitted to seeing themselves as a sex addict. The mean score for the entire population was 13.05. A score of 13.00 or higher is evidence of sexual addiction. What was particularly troubling was the very high level of emotional distress among the female responders who were struggling sexually. In my	discussion with Dr. Carnes over the results, we were both struck by the deep need found in a community that is called of God to bring healing and hope to others. This analysis makes it glaringly obvious we have little hope of seeing genuine revival in the church without first addressing sexual addiction. That is why the Pure Desire team was formed-because someone has to help the church stand to her feet and truly be the Bride of Christ! - Dr. Ted Roberts

From a Woman's Viewpoint

In a recent interview with Diane Roberts, she spoke of the impact Pure Desire could have on women, their lives and their marriages. Women are afraid because they are heading into unknown territory as their husbands begin the process of breaking free from sexual addiction. They would much prefer for there to be an easier way for their husbands to deal with these problems. The truth is, most of them don't realize the depths of the problem and are unaware that most will have to make radical changes in order to get healed. One of Diane's goals is to train women leaders in large	churches or denominational districts so they can disperse Betrayed Heart groups (material for women whose husbands are dealing with sexual addiction) into the smaller churches. She hopes the groups will start by September and will take the resources available to them from Pure Desire Ministry, morphing them to meet their own needs. Giving women a support group while their husbands are going through the healing process is a necessity! When Diane was asked how she was keeping up with all the travel she and Ted have	done, she replied that it was indeed grueling but totally necessary to give the personal touch needed for the sensitive subjects of the Sexy Christian seminars. In those seminars the invisible barrier is broken and people begin to realize it's okay "not to be okay." Because Ted and Diane talk openly about those subjects, they make it okay for others to talk about them, as well. She is very anxious for their book, Sexy Christians, to be published because it has become obvious that people are screaming for help. Hopefully, it will be published before the year is over.

A Letter From Behind Prison Bars

I want to take this opportunity to thank God, you, Pastor Ted, Pure Desire and East Hill Foursquare Church for truly being God's hands extended to a hurting world! Through this ministry, I was able to realize that God had forgiven me and had already begun the process of renewing my mind. He knew I would need the five months of Pure Desire and For Men Only that I participated in to prepare me for the time that I'm sentenced to in prison. I've been here almost two weeks	and I have a peace with God that is hard to explain. God is good! I'm in a cell block with eight other guys and I've been reading a Bible verse to everyone when the lights go out at 10:30 p.m. Praise God! We had church tonight with 14 inmates and a local man who has no church affiliation at all. He came to speak about Romans 12:2-"renewing of your mind." I was "all over that" during the five months I spent in Pure Desire ministry. In a	jail situation, it is obvious we are all there due to our thought processes, because we become what we think! I have a friend who is ordering a Pure Desire book and workbook for me and having it sent here. I can't wait! And, when I leave, I'm going to leave them both in the jail library. Thanks again to Pastor Ted and the Pure Desire ministry!

Pure Desire Ministries International

Dr. Ted Roberts
President

Rev. Marc Gale
Executive Director
marcg@puredesire.org

Rev. Kathy Wigle
Assistant to Dr. Roberts
kathyw@puredesire.org

PO Box 650
Gresham, OR 97030

(503) 661-4444, ext. 301



Sexy Christians Seminar Participant Comments

These are the seminars Ted and Diane are conducting around the country dealing with intimacy and marriage. Here are what people have said about the seminars: "Every marriage needs to experience this seminar. It is real, refreshing and restorative!"	"I loved the honesty and openness of Ted and Diane as they covered the material." "This is very relevant, not only for married couples, but for mature teens and singles. It's lively, down-to-earth, funny and scripturally solid." "Raises the bar on your sex life."	"Helped me to understand how to improve and deepen my relationship with my wife." Check our web site under 'conference' to see when the next Sexy Christians seminar may be coming to your area.