This book, although dated (first published in 1999) has some relevant and important lessons for Christians as individuals and for the church as a whole.

Clay Crosse shot to musical fame in the 1990's with singles including I Surrender All. His life was surrendered, but not to God, despite being married to his high-school sweetheart Renee, he had a secret addiction to pornography. As his lusts threatened to consume him and destroy his marriage he made a decision--it was time to confess, repent and rebuild.

These circumstances may not seem interesting enough to have a whole book written about them. After all, many people struggle with lust, pornography and addiction. Pastors fall into sin and have affairs (although the author here did not go that far.) It's part of life in a fallen world, right? Here are a few reasons why this book stood out and is worth reading

-Both Clay and his wife made Christian commitments in their teens. They attended church on sundays. They believed in God. They called themselves Christians. Yet when they hit crisis point they realised they had been living a lie--their faith had been totally superficial and they had both been living for themselves. There was no foundation. They spent no time with God--no personal devotional times of reading the Bible or prayer. They had never prayed together. They only prayed when they were in crisis. They were using God as an insurance ticket to avoid going to hell.

-They lived life on their own terms. Clay was pursuing his musical career and wanted to be the best singer in the world. They were rich and materialistic. They bought whatever they wanted and lived in luxury. Yet they tithed part of their income and gave money to some in need.

-They had no filter in terms of entertainment. They watched whatever they liked. They went to R rated movies without a second thought. They swore and told crude jokes with their friends. They had subscriptions to worldly magazines. There was no visible difference between their lives and the lives of a non-believer, apart from sunday church attendance.

Why highlight these things? There are lessons here for all of us. We cannot claim to be Christians and act like the world. The Crosse's realised they were leaning far too much on the grace of God and freedom in Christ and that this is what had led to their downfall. The movies and things they had been filling their minds with were also fuelling Clay's addiction.

People often point to a ministry or a church and say that they must be doing it right because God is blessing them. This, either through church growth or apparent numbers of conversions. This book proves otherwise--Clay was rich, famous, successful in wordly terms and with an adoring wife. God must've been blessing him.......right? Clay and Renee both admit that this is what they thought. Yet, they had no relationship with God and no foundation despite Clay singing Christian songs from a stage in front of thousands of people on most nights. Numbers do not mean anything, it is the hearts of the people that are important and whether the ministry is biblical and seeking to glorify God.

This book is useful because it highlights the dangers not only of pornography addiction, but also entertainment choices and where they lead as well as materialism and a lack of spiritual foundation. Failing to have personal devotional times is a massive issue in the contemporary church.

There was a bit too much information from Clay about his lusts and addiction in the first half of the book. He didn't in any way glorify the sin but I felt it could've been less detailed and shorter. But he illustrates clearly how lust can take over a soul and how easily it can happen. I don't think this will deter teens from looking at porn because they will just tell themselves (like he did) that they will not allow it to get out of control.....

There was also no reference to pastoral support or marriage counseling although they do discuss accountability. I liked that they focused on rebuilding their marriage and that neither one of them saw divorce as an option.

I recommend this to those struggling with addictions or any of the issues mentioned above. ( )