Ashamed No More: A Pastor's Journey Through Sex Addiction

T. C. Ryan

InterVarsity Press, Jun 28, 2012 - Religion - 237 pages

There are some things we just don't talk about.Things like sex, particularly when our sexuality is a matter of personal struggle.Things like the vulnerabilities of our pastors, who must maintain a façade not merely of respectability but of moral and psychological superiority.We don't talk about things that make us feel insecure, that make us feel unsettled. But the nature of spiritual growth, even the story of Christian faith, is a matter of being unsettled from the comfortable compromises we've made and set on a course together toward wholeness and mutually supportive community.Pastor T. C. Ryan takes us on an unsettling journey through his lifelong struggle with sexual addiction, one that predated and pervaded his pastoral ministry—onewhich for far too long he faced in secrecy and isolation, separated from the brothers and sisters in Christ who were called to bear one another's burdens.Ashamed No More doesn't cast blame or argue for looser moral standards. It does, however, call us to the unsettling ministry that a God who is love calls us to—the unsettling grace that is the audacious gospel of Christ.

Contents

• Foreword by Walter Wangerin Jr: 9
• the Recovery Movement: 101
• Transformation Struggle and What I Learned: 120
• In the Darkness He Is There: 137
• God Brokenness and Life in the Mindful Calm: 150
• Brokenness and Healthy Spiritual Community: 173
• Biblical Ethics and Sexual Behavior: 190
• Broken Leaders and Spiritual Rehab: 203
• Appendix: 221
• Acknowledgments: 228
• Bibliography: 236

About the author

T. C. Ryan was founding and senior pastor of a large church for nearly twenty years. He now provides counseling and spiritual direction for pastors and ministry leaders.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Ashamed No More: A Pastor's Journey Through Sex Addiction
• Author: T. C. Ryan
• Contributor: Walter Wangerin
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press, 2012
• ISBN: 0830866787, 9780830866786
• Length: 237 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Christian Ministry / Counseling & Recovery