By Anne RinaudoWednesday 7 Nov 2018Open House InterviewsFaithReading Time: 3 minutes
Listen: Philippa Lowe and Susan Sohn in conversation with Stephen O’Doherty.
Philippa Lowe and Susan Sohn think we need to talk about sex. Christian sex. They have developed a website called Ministry of Sex to challenge preconceptions about Christians and sex and to educate, inform and counsel people of all ages.
It’s ok to talk about this – really
The task Susan and Philippa have set themselves is “daunting”, “brave”, “challenging”. You name it, they have heard the descriptions – some of them very negative. These two Christians are not afraid to lead the charge and talk about what some still think about as unmentionable – S – E – X.
Moving from shame to pleasure
They see a real need to provide resources that are founded in Christian beliefs about sex and marriage and to move the conversation away from sexual shame to sexual pleasure.
The website wants Christians to have conversations about sex and sexuality, desire, consent, agency and mutual pleasure. Philippa and Susan say the website will be informed by a Christian perspective and cover issues like contraception, sexual difficulty and dysfunction and the impact of past sexual abuse.
Counselling services
There are also plans to have an online shop and bookstore as well as counselling services. They want to cover the whole spectrum of sex issues from porn, abuse and toxic sexuality to the challenges of waiting for marriage in a highly sexualised society.
Time for intimacy
Ministry of Sex will look at sexual problems and well as pleasures. For instance, many newlyweds find it hard to get advice about or even acknowledge the problems that can arise in learning how to ‘do’ sex. The site is for all ages and stages of life and will cover issues such sexual dysfunction, ageing and sexuality, learning to give and receive pleasure, finding time for intimacy when life is crazy
We should talk about sex
Philippa Lowe believes open, engaging dialogue about sex is part of God’s beautiful design. Theses days she is a blogger, writer, preacher and executive with an international Christian organisation. Before becoming a Christian as an adult, Philippa ran a sex toy business. She was shocked to discover that many Christians have an anxious relationship with sex and while they may have questions they are extremely reluctant to talk about it.
Susan Sohn is a speaker, author, and social media expert. Her passion is connecting people to each other, and to themselves, in authenticity and love. She says there is a real need for the Ministry of Sex because churches and pre-marital counselling are not addressing the huge gap between the Christian view on sex and society’s take on it.
Susan is particularly concerned to help young people navigate their growth to mature relationships amid a highly sexualised and often confusing culture.
Ministry of Sex founders Susan Sohn and Philippa Lowe.
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