Luce has observed that a growing number of kids in school now believe it is a taboo to have a boyfriend or girlfriend. The norm seems to be that “you just have lots of friends and have lots of sex with them,” he said.

For one of the top youth ministry leaders in the nation, “Friends With Benefits” isn’t just a movie about adult sexual fantasy, it’s a cultural phenomenon he’s been warning young people and parents about for the last three years.

Ron Luce, founder and president of Teen Mania Ministries, has been so entrenched in the battle for sexual purity before marriage that he wrote a book countering the growing acceptance of casual sex titled Friends Without Benefits.

The book, released last year, chronicles the stories of young people who became caught up in sexual trysts and suffered the consequences of unwanted pregnancies, damaged lives, and diseases.

Luce told The Christian Post that unfortunately, the concept of having sex with friends and intentionally choosing not to be emotionally engaged has now permeated the youth culture in the U.S.

“At first it was just 20-somethings to 30-somethings, but now we have kids in junior high and high school participating. We have stories about kids as young as 12 years old,” Luce said.

“This has been a rage for the last two or three years,” he said. He also pointed to the fact that another movie out recently, “No Strings Attached,” has the same theme.

The widely played General Audiences approved trailer for the R-rated “Friends With Benefits,” which releases Friday, includes clips of the main characters, played by Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, agreeing to have sex without any emotional commitment.

The movie’s website includes a Facebook campaign with a video of the two actors promoting the addition of a “Friends With Benefits” relationship status on the social media site.

“This movie is just another picture of what the media industry does,” Luce said. “Honestly, they don’t give a rip about any morals or values that they are projecting and who is watching. It’s about whatever pushes the envelope in movies like this one. The people who pay the price are kids and parents, and our culture overall.”

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