Onbyour watch Craig Gross I have a bad habit of sometimes letting my mouth run ahead of my brain. Back in 2002 when we launched XXXchurch.com at the AVN Adult Expo in Las Vegas, we didn’t have a whole lot more than an idea, some stickers, and some t-shirts. Work had begun on the site, but it wasn’t ready yet—we still had the minor technological hurdle of actually having a site online. People at the convention were interested in what we had to say, and I loved meeting them and talking with them, rubbing elbows with people who needed Jesus and who would never darken the doors of a church. I told them our vision for the site, and that it was going to be amazing, and that they would all be welcome to visit it. And then I let my mouth take the lead once more, and I told everyone that one day we were going to have free software that would help people stay accountable while they went online. Like a little bird, watching over their shoulder. People loved it. I had no idea how to make it happen. XXXchurch.com launched to a big media fanfare, but I still had that promise sitting out there to
I halfway considered releasing a dummy version of the software—you know, just tell people that their accountability partner was watching them and hope for the placebo effect to kick in. In my naïveté, I thought this was a good idea that would work. But the more we kicked it around, the more we realized that was a spectacularly bad idea and we had to put our money where our mouth was. The problem was, my mouth was really big and our money supply was very small! I had to find someone who could make a good product with the monetary equivalent of a matchstick, a paper clip, some duct tape, and a magic marker. This is when a friend of mine introduced me to a developer named Chris Huff who believed in what we wanted to achieve. He rolled up his sleeves and delivered X3watch a few months later. I knew people would like it, but I had no idea we were creating a game-changer. I never imagined that, a few years later, over a million people would be using this thing that I spouted about in Las Vegas. Technology has come a long way since then, with iPods and smartphones and tablets like the iPad. Those have been game-changers, too, and we’ve adapted and developed our own little game-changer right along with them. And as technology’s reach grows, so does the demand for accountability. We will always offer the free version of X3watch, but for those who want to take their accountability—and overall internet safety—into the stratosphere, we will continue to develop profound, inexpensive solutions that grow and adapt right along with the way the rest of the world uses the internet. Accountability is one of the core missions of XXXchurch.com, and one of the foundations of faith. As long as we’re here, we want to help people get accountable and stay that way.
The Mission: Why Porn? Why pornography? Why did we choose to ruffle feathers and pull back the curtain on this industry? Why didn’t we focus on something a little more culturally tolerable, something that isn’t so much of a punch line?
Because people matter, that’s why. The numbers alone are staggering. Consider:
40 million Adults visit pornographic websites on a daily basis 25% Of all employees who use the internet look at porn
50% Of divorces in America list porn use as a contributing factor
11 million Americans battle sexual addiction $3 billion Is generated annually just by child pornography And that’s only the beginning. We could fill this entire magazine with numbers and statistics, but that would almost be a disservice to the people behind those numbers.
Every woman who poses for the camera? Every man who degrades himself on tape?
That’s a person Jesus loves. That’s a person Jesus loves.
Every child who has their innocence robbed?
That’s a person Jesus loves.
Every person chained to the addictive sin of pornography?
That’s a person Jesus loves.
Whether they’re making it or using it, porn is full of people, of precious, valuable people. People who are so valued that Jesus gave up his life for them. Because people matter to Jesus, they matter to us.
that’s why. Look for a brand new book in 2013 from Craig Gross on Accountability make accountability software, and to make it be free.
fireproof XXXchurch.com | 2002 - 2012
fireproof
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