Jesus says, “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Transparency is living our lives reflecting Jesus’s light as we acknowledge our need for gospel reminders, accountability, and repentance.

“James, would you pray that our church would be willing to have awkward conversations with each other?”

“Huh?”

Seriously, that’s what my pastor asks members to pray almost every week at our Sunday evening gatherings . Together, we pray that our members would understand the need to make our relationships transparent—to share embarrassing things about ourselves, to speak honestly, and to ask one another careful, loving questions as a way to cultivate a genuine culture of discipling .

What is Transparency?

The word transparency isn’t found in the Bible, but numerous Scripture passages exhort Christians to live holy and blameless lives. [1] Jesus says, “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Transparency is living our lives reflecting Jesus’s light as we acknowledge our need for gospel reminders, accountability, and repentance.

The Porn Problem

Nevertheless, transparency is difficult because Christians still sin and feel shame. Pornography is but one significant example of humanity’s ongoing struggle with darkness. Sadly, countless Christians succumb to pornography on a regular basis—and pastors aren’t exempt. The consequences of this sin in the church are devastating: pastors disqualified, marriages destroyed, families divided, and missions deterred.

Toward a Solution

How can a local church guard those who are under her care from this grave epidemic? Let’s consider transparency as a posture, a practice, and a prevention against pornography.

Transparency: A Posture of Humility

When it comes to pornography, pride has a way of causing people to overestimate their strength. Pride makes you think you are in control. It keeps you from admitting your problem or installing internet filters. Pride is the reason you’re hesitant to confess your sins to God and others. Pride makes you stubborn. Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace…”

Hence, the Bible gives us an alternative, “…but with the humble is wisdom.” Transparency requires humility.

From the pulpit, our members are taught that biblical love involves confrontation. Just as Jesus in his humility confronted us in our sin ( Phil 2:5–8 ) we are taught of the benefits of formative and corrective church discipline . Additionally, our elders model giving and receiving godly criticism and encouragement, especially at our weeklyservice review . Put together, these disciplines cultivate a culture of inviting feedback and criticism for purpose of growth and godliness.

What a gift of God it is for us to have people in our lives who love us through teaching and correction. Is there a better way to wage war against pride and pornography in the local church than to foster Christian humility through biblical teaching and modeling? A posture of humility is the first step toward fighting the porn problem in the local church because humility leads us to confession ( Matthew 5:3–4 ).

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