Catalyst
This Sunday i will be speaking to a group of high school students about the dangers of pornography.
i get 30 minutes.
Thirty minutes are better than none, but the truth is, even 30 days wouldn’t be enough to talk about the prevalence, the power and the peril of pornography. And that is why i hope that my presentation — rather than being a one-time, guest speaker appearance — is a catalyst. A catalyst, in chemistry, is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change. In non-chemistry terms, a catalyst is a person or thing that precipitates an event.
i want both to apply on Sunday.
i want to increase the rate of reaction and change and i want to precipitate a larger event. The larger event, more precisely, is a new understanding among these teens regarding the harm of pornography. The larger event is a sea change in attitude about involvement with pornography. The larger event is nothing short of a movement of young men and women who will swim against the tide of a pornified culture.
And 30 minutes just doesn’t seem like enough time to capture their hearts.
As with so many things, ongoing conversations within the context of a healthy relationship are the best ways to capture a person’s heart. Those are the environments in which the process of change and the maturity of the journey take place. Just as “The Talk” a parent has with a child about sexuality really should be a series of conversations within the flow of life rather than a one-time explanation of the Birds and the Bees (does anybody even call it that anymore?), young men and young women need open an ongoing communication about pornography and our hypersexualized culture.
i just keep telling myself that 30 minutes are better than none.
Intentional Warriors 
2 Responses to “Catalyst”
James, wishing you the very best in your talk to high school students. May you share this message many more times to this age group. With the proliferation of social networking and the easy access to porn, you (sadly) may have to adjust this kind of talk to middle school/Junior High. Hope you write something about your speaking experience.
Maurita,
thanks for your support. sadly, middle school does need to hear this talk also. and since you asked, i will post something about the how the whole thing goes.