Pastor to enlighten listeners on what Bible says on sex
By STACY SMITH SEGOVIA The Leaf-Chronicle
The Rev. John Renken, pastor of Xtreme Ministries on Fort Campbell Boulevard, leaps this morning into territory many Christian churches avoid.
Starting 11 a.m. today and running for five weeks, Renken's sermons will be about sex, in a series he calls "Sex in the City." Although he will illuminate what the Bible has to say on the topic, he's also interested in discussing the real struggles Clarksvillians are facing today — pornography addictions, infidelity, children exposed to sexual and violent images, unfulfilling sexual relationships.
"A complaint I hear about Christian churches is they don't talk about the issues, they cover them up," Renken says.
"If there is an issue, it needs to be discussed. It needs to be brought into the light. And I want to help."
Renken reveals the topic for each meeting:
· 11 a.m. today — The Sexual State of our City. "The first of five sermons, this one will lay the ground work for the rest of the series," Renken says. "I will be covering (recent) statistics in comparison to what the Bible has to say about how we should live."
· 8 a.m. Sept. 1 — Porn and Pancake Breakfast for men at Shoney's on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard. "In this breakfast guest speaker Matthew Starks from Pure Life Revolution will be discussing with men the adverse effects of pornography in their marriages, in their sexual life, and in their spiritual life," Renken says. "He will also be discussing how to break the bondage associated with pornography."
* 11 a.m. Sept. 2 — Porn Sunday. "I will share how our society has been attacked and is suffering from pornography," Renken says. "Once again we will be talking about how to break the addiction."
* 11 a.m. Sept. 9 — Sex According to the Bible ... a Look at the Book of Solomon. "In this sermon we will take a serious look at the Song of Solomon and what it has to say in regards to sex," Renken says.
* 11 a.m. Sept. 16 — Q&A. "This is where people can bring all their questions ... and I mean all," Renken says.
* 11 a.m. Sept. 23 — How to have the Best Sex Possible. Renken says he will reveal the keys to having the most fulfilling sex life possible.
The 34-year-old preacher and father of three says he hopes the "Sex in the City" series will help individuals, couples and Clarksville as a whole.
"I see what's going on in our community and I want to make a stand," Renken says. "We have hidden this stuff for far too long."
Stacy Smith Segovia can be reached at 245-0720 or by e-mail at stacysegovia@theleafchronicle.com.
The Rev. John Renken, pastor of Xtreme Ministries on Fort Campbell Boulevard, leaps this morning into territory many Christian churches avoid.
Starting 11 a.m. today and running for five weeks, Renken's sermons will be about sex, in a series he calls "Sex in the City." Although he will illuminate what the Bible has to say on the topic, he's also interested in discussing the real struggles Clarksvillians are facing today — pornography addictions, infidelity, children exposed to sexual and violent images, unfulfilling sexual relationships.
"A complaint I hear about Christian churches is they don't talk about the issues, they cover them up," Renken says.
"If there is an issue, it needs to be discussed. It needs to be brought into the light. And I want to help."
Renken reveals the topic for each meeting:
· 11 a.m. today — The Sexual State of our City. "The first of five sermons, this one will lay the ground work for the rest of the series," Renken says. "I will be covering (recent) statistics in comparison to what the Bible has to say about how we should live."
· 8 a.m. Sept. 1 — Porn and Pancake Breakfast for men at Shoney's on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard. "In this breakfast guest speaker Matthew Starks from Pure Life Revolution will be discussing with men the adverse effects of pornography in their marriages, in their sexual life, and in their spiritual life," Renken says. "He will also be discussing how to break the bondage associated with pornography."
* 11 a.m. Sept. 2 — Porn Sunday. "I will share how our society has been attacked and is suffering from pornography," Renken says. "Once again we will be talking about how to break the addiction."
* 11 a.m. Sept. 9 — Sex According to the Bible ... a Look at the Book of Solomon. "In this sermon we will take a serious look at the Song of Solomon and what it has to say in regards to sex," Renken says.
* 11 a.m. Sept. 16 — Q&A. "This is where people can bring all their questions ... and I mean all," Renken says.
* 11 a.m. Sept. 23 — How to have the Best Sex Possible. Renken says he will reveal the keys to having the most fulfilling sex life possible.
The 34-year-old preacher and father of three says he hopes the "Sex in the City" series will help individuals, couples and Clarksville as a whole.
"I see what's going on in our community and I want to make a stand," Renken says. "We have hidden this stuff for far too long."
Stacy Smith Segovia can be reached at 245-0720 or by e-mail at stacysegovia@theleafchronicle.com.
Taking a look at 'Sex in the City'Father of 3, fighter, former soldier says porn becoming more of a problem
By STACY SMITH SEGOVIA The Leaf-Chronicle
Sex. Without it, none of us would be here.
We do it in private, behind closed doors, but sex is in our faces everywhere we go — in advertising, movies, popular music, magazines and on the Internet. John Renken says with all these unrealistic images of sex swirling around us every day, there's a desperate need for real, honest discussion of sex and its meaning in the lives of Clarksvillians.
Starting today and continuing in September, Renken will lead a five-week series of discussions about sex, called "Sex in the City." He will discuss pornography and answer any and all sex-related questions posed to him, including how to have the best sex possible.
The twist?
Renken is a Christian minister, the leader of a local church, Xtreme Ministries. A 34-year-old father of three small children, Renken is also a former Fort Campbell soldier, a former Satanist, and a current ultimate fighter, competing in and training others for no-holds-barred fights.
Because of his work as owner of Clarksville Mixed Martial Arts Academy, his background in the military and the location of his church/gymnasium on Fort Campbell Boulevard, Renken meets hundreds of soldiers every year. He says he sees among them, as well as among the larger population, a frightening increase in the consumption of pornography.
"We spend more on pornography in a year than we spend on baseball, basketball or football. Americans rent upwards of 800 million pornographic videos in a year," Renken says. "And pornography is getting far more violent and nonconsensual."
"Nonconsensual" is a key differentiator for Renken. He says the men he brutalizes in the ring as an ultimate fighter are there completely by their own choice, and beating them to a pulp is an entirely different act from hitting a stranger on the street or forcing a woman to have sex against her will.
"To be violent meant to literally violate someone," Renken says. "In Ultimate Fighting Championships, you have two adults who are not violating one another. A lot of those guys I've shared blood with, then gone out and had a pizza."
People seek out violent pornography when nonviolent pornography no longer turns them on, just as drug addicts must escalate to higher doses and stronger drugs to attain the same high that initially enticed them.
"I've counseled people who are addicted to pornography, and now they're less able to perform (sexually). Pornography in a less aggressive form can regress into a violent form, and it makes sense that it can regress into child pornography," Renken says. "I watched a special with Diane Sawyer and a porn star. The porn star (said she) was in a scene, and the guy reached down and started beating her. This is what people are buying. We don't think that's damaging? We don't think that's damaging to our children?"
Renken says even much milder forms of pornography, such as Playboy magazine, cause problems in families and break up marriages.
"Let's be honest. Those women aren't natural. They're enhanced. They're spray-painted. I haven't seen that much plastic since I walked down the Tupperware aisle at Wal-Mart — lips, butts, boobs," Renken says. "No one can measure up to that. We're making our women into objects. People don't want to talk about the ramifications of this."
Even super-romantic love scenes in a PG-13 movie can make couples feel like failures, Renken says.
"Have you ever had a kiss or a sex scene like that? It makes the married couple feel unfulfilled, like their marriage doesn't live up," he says. "The garbage that's being put out — it's propaganda. What you see is not reality. The top two causes of divorce are sex and money. In pornography, the woman is always willing, always ready; she's a sex goddess. If you have to compete with a porno star, how are you gonna fare? Women get headaches, men get tired from work."
Renken isn't a total killjoy. He says rather than focus so much of their sexual energy on outside stimuli, people in committed, monogamous, married relationships need to focus that energy on accepting and loving each other.
"Is there anything wrong with me looking at a naked woman? No, not if that woman is my wife," Renken says.
It's possible to find guilt-free glory and great pleasure in a sexual relationship.
"If God made sex for procreation only, he wouldn't have made it so fun," Renken says. "Sex came before the fall. God says it's good. So why can't we talk about it in a pure, holy way? Why can't we be open about it?
Stacy Smith Segovia is a features writer for The Leaf-Chronicle. She can be reached at 245-0720 or by e-mail at stacysegovia@theleafchronicle.com.
