"Open" by Craig Gross

Craig Gross is a bit of a controversial figure. He is the brain behind the creation of X3Watch accountability software (which I am a fan of, and have used it for years). His ministry has done a lot to help men overcome struggles with pornography and sex addiction. They also do outreaches to adult film stars, and other "professionals" of that industry.

I read this book hoping that he would have some great insights on accountability that I could use for myself and the young adults at my church. To be perfectly honest, I could not recommend this book at all.

This issue is so very important - and many churches are silent about it when they should face it aggressively. It is by far the #1 hidden struggle of Christian men. There is no stigma attached to alcohol, tobacco, or even gambling like there is to pornography. Because it is never addressed in a pro-active way in church, most men have felt as though they should deal with this issue privately without the aid of the church. This is a recipe for spiritual (and marital) disaster.... Brothers and sisters, let us minister love and grace to the men (AND women) who are trapped in the deadly and isolated world of sex addiction and pornography. I'm glad men like Craig Gross are addressing the problem in effective ways.

However, I believe this book missed the mark badly in a few points. To the best of my memory, there were NO Bible verses used in this book. And God MAY HAVE been mentioned maybe once? "Faith" was mentioned a few times, as was "spiritual growth." But there was no meat (nor milk) behind these words. This is unforgivable coming from the pen of a "pastor". He could argue that he was attempting to reach a wider audience - but there are secular avenues of help for the non-religious. The church, however, is STARVING for help in this area. Why not focus on the needs of your brethren in the church? Not to mention that the Bible has so much to say about it!

In the second place, apart from Gross' own story of one of his accountability groups, and some inspirational examples - as well as some tragic bad examples from our culture - there was not much practical use of it. The few principles that he gives for accountability are fairly obvious, and anyone who might be seeking such a relationship for accountability would probably find them intuitive (things like total honesty, confidentiality, consistent dialogue with the accountability partner, etc).

I breezed through the book quickly, but felt like there was not much substance here.

For a more "Christ-and-church-focused" approach to accountability, I can suggest "Iron Sharpens Iron" by Howard and Bill Hendricks. And, for pornography specifically, it is hard to improve upon "Every Man's Battle" by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker (they also have books for women, married couples, young men, and young ladies).