Pastor Caught On Ashley Madison Commits Suicide

So often we hear comedians make light of adultery or pornography, but is it really just harmless fun?

For people around the world who struggle with pornography and sex addiction, it certainly is not! At some point the truth comes out, and their families feel torn apart and betrayed by the lies told to cover up their dark secret.

Ashley Madison

Hackers disclose the personal details of 32 million subscribers on Ashley Madison

This became all too real for users of Ashley Madison, a dating website for married individuals seeking partners for affairs. The details of 32 million subscribers were leaked by hackers, which included a number of church leaders.

The hackers posted a statement when they released the data which read:

“Find yourself on here? It was ALM that failed you and lied to you. Prosecute them and claim damages. Then move on with your life. Learn your lesson and make amends. Embarrassing now, but you’ll get over it.”

Related Article: 5 Celebrities Who Admitted To A Porn Problem

Tragedy

Unfortunately, the way that addiction sets itself in the brain, coupled with a deep, toxic shame cycle means that most people can’t just get over it. This was the case for John Gibson, a Pastor and seminary professor from New Orleans who tragically took his own life after his details were released as part of the Ashley Madison hack. John was a husband and father to a daughter and son.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Gibson family as they continue to work through the grief of John’s death.

John’s wife, Christi said, “I think what happens to someone who is a minister is that they start thinking of themselves as having to be perfect. They start believing that in order for them to help others, in order for them to lead others and minister to others, they have to be flawless themselves.”

Related Article: The Fallout of Porn: How the Church Can Help Hurting Wives

Dr Archibald Hart, author of Habits of the Mind confirms this, “Ministers don’t fall because they forget they are Christians, they fall because they forget they are men.”

Satan Came To Steal, Kill, & Destroy

You see, Satan has a plan in all things including adultery, and that is to “steal, kill and destroy.” He sells us the lie that we have to have it all together, then when we fail to live up to that impossible standard we begin to believe that we are worthless.

Related Article: What Keeps Men Trapped In Porn? 3 Steps Towards Freedom

But God has a bigger plan made available through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

You only need to take a look at our other blog post to see that God is in the business of taking the adulterer, sex addict or person struggling with porn and transforming them into a healer for others. God wants to take your trash and turn it into treasure!

Related Article: One Man’s Journey: How I Went From Addicted to Porn to Helping Others

“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

We don’t have to hide from the world the fact that we are just jars made from fragile, muddy clay!

Get Help

If you are dealing with the deep shame of sex or porn addiction in your life and feel like there is no way out, we want you to know that there is help! Men around the world have been able to start the journey towards freedom through the Conquer Series. Will you join us on that journey?

Many men are finding freedom from porn by following the strategies taught in the Conquer Series, a 10-week, video-based course that provides practical tools taught by Dr. Ted Roberts.

Dr. Ted has a 90% success rate in helping men find freedom. Millions of men have used the Conquer Series, including thousands of churches in over 100 countries.

There is hope for you. Sign up at SoulRefiner.com, and get started today!