On the second episode of XXXchurch Voices, we talked to Stephen Christian from the band Anberlin. Here is the video and the interview.
Temptations while on the road.
Stephen Christian: I think temptations on the road are universal. In the rock and roll world it seems like they’re granted a free pass to do whatever they want and part of that culture they give into it whether it’s offering the band drugs or willing to hang out with them, the temptation is always going to be there. I think the only remedy for that is knowing who you are before you even get into a band because all the band is going to do is just going to accentuate…I guess this is a warning to people to find out who they really are and have a firm foundation and a lot of that is faith, family and friends, I think those are the key components to keeping your composure on the road.
Consensus on pornography.
Stephen Christian: I think pornography is not exclusive to band members, I think it’s a multi multi-billion dollar industry per year. There’s the other extreme where you get into child slavery and sex slavery. I was in India and the guide that I was with asked if I wanted to see the Red Light District and I was like “I’m totally fine to do that but I can’t see a white person, I can’t see any American because I will beat them to a pulp.” They have trips that men take around the world to basically rape these women for money and I’m not saying all pornography is the cause, but I know pornography is the seed. I think its a progression, it’s a slope, I feel like it starts with pornography, the overflow of the heart so the mouth speaks and I feel like the same way, the overflow of your thoughts portray your actions and so I feel like when you plant those seeds and dwell on those things and you just ponder them, your actions show forth and I feel like again, pornography is the seed.
Accountability
Stephen Christian: …For me, I knew I was at that crossroads so I called my best friend Seth and said “Listen, you gotta come out on the road”. We weren’t making any money at the time but I was like “I’ll split per diems with you, if I make any money I’ll split it with you”. That’s my accountability partner and I’m so absolutely thankful that I did because I am so weak and I know that I am so the fact is that bringing someone like that out on the road while I adjust to a new way of life and a new way of thinking was really vital in my life, in my walk. A lot of people can’t do that, your friends can’t always take off work for you but there are things like this great organization called The Reversal and its basically an accountability group. They keep daily checkups on you so if you feel like there’s nobody out there that understands there’s absolutely people out there like The Reversal group that cares. I think it all boils down to honesty, if you’re not honest with your accountability partner, or yourself, or organizations out there that are trying to help…it starts with being honest and I think that’s absolutely valuable. Other people are struggling, other people are hurting. The person sitting next to you in the van is probably going through the same stuff but if you both are so prideful…then nothing is going to get solved and you’re going to live in a very lonely solitary confinement for the remainder of your band.
I hear that the average age of a kid being show pornography is 11. That’s just insane. It’s like we’re a grand lab experiment and we have no idea of the repercussions. I will say that it’s absolutely vile, there’s no good that can come out of it and for those that are listening, please from the bottom of my heart for your marriage’s sake, for your dating life’s sake, for your thought life sake, for your walk with God sake, please avoid pornography and please be honest with those around you because you’re not the only one struggling with this and you’re not the only one hurting.
If you’d like more information on child trafficking please visit facelessinternational.com.