Unplugging the addiction

“Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches.” This is what Liberty University Pastoral Counselor Dr. Arllen Ade tells people when they ask him why he should talk to them about pornography.

“So what gives me the right to talk to (men) about pornography addiction — I have also struggled with the problem,” Ade said.

Founder of the group Unplug at Liberty, a group designed to help men who are struggling with sexual sin and pornography addiction, Ade knows that all circumstances, whether good or bad, can be used to bring God glory.

The first session of Unplug took place Tuesday, Feb. 3, and the group will continue meeting once a week at 4-5:30 p.m. in Green Hall 1954 for 11 more sessions.

According to Ade, there will be a selection process prior to the start of the group in order to choose the men who are really struggling with pornography.

Ade’s struggle with pornography began in Cameroon, Africa, when he first heard about the Internet. Ade became excited when his high school friend told him all about the Internet.

“He explained it to me how it works, (that) you can see pictures (and) you can learn new information,” Ade said. “I was so excited until … I heard that this thing that my friend was introducing me to had viruses.”

Ade’s mother gave him strict warnings to stay away from the Internet so that he would not catch the virus that his friend had told him about. But when Ade went to college, he was obligated to go to cyber cafes where there was Internet access in order to get his papers typed.

It was then that Ade’s curiosity was piqued, as he discovered that the Internet provided personal pictures of people from all over the world that could be viewed.

After college, Ade traveled to the United States, where he was invited by a church in the D.C. area to be their singles’ pastor. During this time, Ade lived with family members who had Internet access.

“My curiosity got the better of me,” Ade said. “I looked at pornography and that behavior continued for several weeks. It felt like I could not stop visiting and revisiting those sites despite the guilt and shame it brought me.”

According to Ade, this made him feel like a hypocrite, because he was a Christian and a minster of the gospel. After a while, Ade realized he needed help. He read about what it means to be free in Christ and after much prayer, he was set free from his addiction.

That was more than 10 years ago. Now, Ade feels that the Lord has called him to help others who are struggling with the same problem.

According to Ade, he and others have been developing Unplug for two semesters. Ade and his colleagues worked with professional counselors, therapists and ordained pastors to build a strong team of leaders for this group.

“We’ve been talking about the high percentages of students we’re seeing here who are struggling with a problem for the past several semesters now,” Ade said. “We’re looking at something that properly integrates psychological methods and theological methods.”

The goal of Unplug is to help bring a renewing of the mind to the men in the group through God’s word.

“Christian counselors look for theories or research … in psychology (that is) somewhat in agreement with the scriptures before we can adopt it and use it in our practice,” Ade said. “(We) bring those ideas to a theological understanding and bring them to the issue at stake.”

According to Ade, men struggle with three different stages of pornography usage. The first is recreational viewers, second is at-risk viewers and the third is compulsive viewers.

Recreational viewers are those who look at pornography every once in a while and find that it relaxes them. At-risk viewers are those who find themselves turning to pornography more frequently.

Compulsive viewers are those who know they need help and are seeking it from Christian counseling.

“We need clinical methods to help people through cognitive restructuring (and) biblical principles,” Ade said.

In the future, Ade would like to create another project where women can participate in a group similar to Unplug.

For more information on Unplug and how to get involved, contact Ade by emailing abade@liberty.edu or calling 434-582-2237.

BUNNER is a feature reporter.