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Guard Your Heart Training
Highest Rated
Rating: 4.6 out of 5(144 ratings)
227 students

Guard Your Heart Training

Preventing Misconduct in Ministry
Highest Rated
Created byThe Rev. Dr. Martin K. O'Rourke
Last updated 11/2022
English

What you'll learn

  • GUARD YOUR HEART is a training program to prevent sexual misconduct among Christian leaders.
  • Leaders will become convinced of how susceptible they are to sexual misconduct
  • Leaders will understand why they are susceptible to sexual misconduct
  • Leaders will gain awareness of the serious consequenes of sexual misconduct
  • Leaders will be equipped with practical ways to avoid sexual misconduct
  • Leaders will learn ten heart conditions they must monitor to walk in purity and intregrity.

Course content

4 sections • 17 lectures • 5h 11m total length

  • Session 1: Guarding Our Sacred Trust7:22

    Goal 1: Convince You of Your Vulnerability to Sexual Misconduct

    Guarding Our Sacred Trust

    Sexual Harassment

    It is unlawful to harass a person because of that person’s sex. Harassment can include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Also it includes offensive remarks about a person’s sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making offensive comments about women in general. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

    Sexual Misconduct

    Sexual misconduct occurs whenever a person in a position of trust/power engages in a sexual act or sexual contact with another person to whom he or she owes a professional responsibility. Distinctions as to who touched whom, in what way, or on what part of the body are irrelevant where any touching with erotic interest, including touching oneself, is considered sexual contact.

    I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)

    Remember how great is this treasure committed to your charge. They are the sheep of Christ for whom He shed his blood. The Church and Congregation whom you will serve is His bride, His body. If the Church, or any of her members, is hurt or hindered by your negligence, you must know both the gravity of your fault, and the grievous judgment that will result. The Ordinal from Anglican Church in North American

    Resources:

    Betrayal of Trust: Confronting and Preventing Clergy Sexual Misconduct by Stanley J. Grenz and Roy D. Bell

  • Guarding Our Sacred Trust
  • Session 2: The Purpose of the Guard Your Heart Training10:32

    The Purpose of the Guard Your Heart Training —

    It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6a)

    Have you considered that you will be personally vulnerable to sexual temptation on the field? The person most susceptible to sexual temptation is the one who thinks that it could never happen to him or her. The possibility is unthinkable. In counseling many missionaries who have committed adultery or fornication, I found that not one had considered himself or herself vulnerable to immorality.

    Purity on the Mission Field by Ken Williams, InterVarsity Handbook

    Resources:

    Preventing Ministry Failure: A Shepherd Care Guide for Pastors, Ministers and Other Caregivers

    by Michael Todd Wilson and Brad Hoffmann

    — DISCUSSION—

    The phrase “sacred trust” has been used a number of times in this first session. What is it describing? Why is this training important? What is your response to the extent of the problem?

    Additional Questions:

    How could the Guard Your Heart training enable us to be “salt and light” in our culture where many lives are being destroyed by sexual lust?

  • The Purpose of Guard Your Heart
  • Session 3: The Extent of the Problem9:27

    The Extent of the Problem —

    But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. (Ephesians 5:3)

    In 2004/5, the Francis Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development reported that a full 30% of clergy surveyed reported that they were either presently engaged in a sexual affair or had had one while in ordained ministry.

    Resources:

    Before the Fall: Preventing Pastoral Sexual Abuse by Nils Friberg, Mark R. Laaser

  • The Extent of the Problem
  • Session 4: Acknowledging Our Vulnerability17:44

    Acknowledging Our Vulnerability —

    When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2)

    Christians remain woefully naïve about themselves as sexual beings, unaware of the forces in human nature which can bring them down, and consequently ignorant of the ways the powers of darkness can manipulate situations and sexual drives to plunge them into trouble.

    John L. Sanford, Why Some Christians Commit Adultery: Causes and Cures

    Resources:

    Why Some Christians Commit Adultery: Causes and Cures by John L. Sanford

    3 Temptations of Leadership by Marlena Graves

    When Men Think Private Thoughts: Exploring The Issues That Captivate The Minds Of Men
    by Gordon MacDonald

  • Acknowledging Our Vulnerabilities
  • Session 5: Overcoming Pornography20:39

    Overcoming Pornography —

    With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.
    (Proverbs 7:21-23)

    Our desires aren’t too strong. They’re too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us--like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.

    C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

    Resources:

    180 Recovery exists to help people who struggle with sexual addictions find healing through Jesus and His Holy Spirit and grow in a healthy relationship with God our Father. https://180recover.com/

    Clergy Recovery Network: Where ministry professionals find grace and hope, a porn recovery ministry specifically for clergy which offers mentoring. http://www.clergyrecovery.com/

    Setting Captives Free: If you sign up for their “Way of Purity” free course you will be assigned an accountability partner who will work with you. www.settingcaptivesfree.com

    Covenant Eyes: Internet filtering and accountability and many other resources http://www.covenanteyes.com/

    Celebrate Recovery, a nationwide, Scripture-based 12-step ministry of Saddleback Church http://www.celebraterecovery.com/

    New Life Ministries, an online and nationwide counseling ministry dealing with addiction issues, started by Steve Arterburn, author of the Every Man book series. https://newlife.com/

    Living Waters provides a thoughtful and safe place to look at the ways we’ve become ensnared. http://desertstream.org/living-waters/

    XXX Church – Accountability software and online workshops are designed to help you take control of your life and put you on a path to healthier living. http://www.xxxchurch.com/

    Pure Desire is devoted to healing men and women who have become addicted to sexual behaviors harmful to their social, family, and spiritual well-being. https://puredesire.org/

    Path through the Wilderness by Bob Ragan. Regeneration helps those seeking wholeness in the areas of intimacy, identity, and desire. http://regenerationministries.org/

    The Rest of God: Finding Freedom from Lust in the Internet Age by Jay Haug, an Anglican Priest, http://www.livingwithoutlust.com/jon-krug-the-best-kept-secret-about-porn/

    Research local ministries and accountability groups in your area. If there are none nearby, consider starting one.

    — DISCUSSION —

    What did you find helpful in these last last presentations?

    If someone is struggling with porn, what steps might we recommend to them?

    How can we, as leaders, enable our churches to be communities where people can seek help, especially for their addictions?

    Additional Questions:

    Extent of the Problem:

    Why do you believe—or why not—that there is a problem with Christian leaders yielding to sexual temptation in our culture?

    Why is even a hint of sexual immorality, impurity and greed “improper” for God’s holy people?

    Acknowledging Our Vulnerability:

    Why do Christian leaders generally underestimate the power of sexual temptation?

    Why is being relationally disconnected one of the deepest pains we can experience as human beings?

    What are we called to “flee”? What are we called to “pursue”?

    Overcoming Pornography:

    How can we, as the church, enable people struggling with porn to get the help they need?

    Can you describe the difference between a defensive strategy and an offensive strategy in overcoming porn?

  • Overcoming Porn

Requirements

  • No prerequisite requirements.
  • None

Description

Guard Your Heart Course Description:

GUARD YOUR HEART is an online training program designed to prevent sexual misconduct among Christian leaders. Developed by the Rev. Dr. Marty O’Rourke, the training is used by the Anglican Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic. Its primary purpose is to empower clergy and leaders to finish their race well by understanding the unique problems that they and their families face in a culture where sexual temptation abounds.

Guard Your Heart effectively accomplishes three primary goals: 1) Convincing people that they are vulnerable to sexual misconduct; 2) Considering the potential consequences of yielding to sexual temptation; and 3) Understanding the 10 conditions that must be monitored in order to Guard Your Heart. The training involves watching 14 videos (a total of five hours).

Introduction to Guard Your Heart:

You may find it disappointing that there are not many resources to prevent a leader from yielding to sexual temptation—more resources exist for leaders who have already fallen. I read a great metaphor about this. There are two ways to address the danger of falling off a cliff. One is to position ambulances and paramedics at the bottom. Another is to post warning signs and build a railing at the top. GYH is intended as a warning sign and a railing, then fewer ambulances will be needed at the bottom. I appreciate Archbishop Foley Beach, Bishop John, and Rick Wright who see the need to put up warning signs and guard rails to prevent leaders from going off the cliff.

The Rev. Dr. Marty O'Rourke has served as a local church pastor for over 35 years in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Medina, Ohio; and Chesapeake,Virginia. He is passionate about equipping Christian leaders to finish well. While researching sexual misconduct in the church for his Doctor of Ministry dissertation, he discovered that prevention training of leaders reduces the likelihood of moral failure. Most prevention training has primarily a psychological approach, whereas the "Guard Your Heart" prevention training that Pastor Marty developed is grounded in the Scriptures and the social sciences.

Many Christian leaders do not finish well. Paul, who finished well, writes to his spiritual son, Timothy: "Set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity" (1Timothy 4:12). The primary purpose of this training is to empower pastors and Christian leaders to finish their race well, by understanding the unique temptations leaders and their families face in a culture where temptation, especially sexual, abounds.

Marty has presented the Guard Your Heart training numerous times to the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA); M.Div and D.Min. classes at Regent University; chaplains at Portsmouth Naval Hospital; the Falls Church staff in Falls Church, VA; Mid-Atlantic Christian University, and hundreds of pastors ahd church planters in Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Who this course is for:

  • Christian Leaders: Pastors, School Teachers, Youth Workers, Ministers, Counselors, Deacons, Volunteers -Anyone in a leadership position

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