Interview: The Battle With Porn with Dr. Wyatt Fisher

This interview discloses one of the most important things singles need to guard against (or overcome) in order to have a thriving single life and marriage. Dr. Wyatt Fisher is a licensed psychologist in Colorado and a professor at Liberty University. He’s on the Focus and the Family referral list. He’s also the founder of ChristianCrush, the Colorado Marriage Refresh, and Fisher Christian Counseling. He and his wife created a new program to fight sexual addiction resulting from pornography. In my recent interview with Dr. Fisher, he helps us understand the culture we live in today and what we can do to protect ourselves and those we love.

Jill Monaco: Why do you think more people are falling prey to sexual addiction? 

Dr. Fisher: Sexual integrity is getting tougher every day. We’ve gone from a culture where we had to seek out sexually explicit material to now, it is seeking us out. Gone are the days where all media is wholesome and family friendly. Now, the majority is not, and we experience a continual barrage of sexually inappropriate content in music, TV, movies, billboards, websites, online pop-up ads, magazine covers, etc. Without intentional effort and strategy, we will easily be swept away with the strong sexual current coming at us continually. Because of this, more and more men, and even some women, are falling into a trap of pornography addiction.

JM: How do you think our culture today is ignorant of the ramifications of watching porn?

DF: Pornography has become so normalized in our culture that many young people don’t even see anything wrong with it. Unfortunately, those using it often don’t understand the devastating effects it can have on the viewer, including increased risk of infidelity, increased risk of craving deviant sex, decreased commitment to raising children, and a decreased ability to have sex with a real person.¹  No wonder God warns us of the dangers of sexual immorality repeatedly in Scripture. “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality” (1 Thessalonians 4:3 NIV).

JM: Some people would say that watching porn is OK in marriage, and that what they do in private doesn’t affect anyone else. What are the effects you are seeing in the Church?

DF: As men become addicted to porn, their effectiveness as Christian leaders becomes severely compromised, damaging their marriage, their children and the Church. First, it damages marriages because men viewing porn often start preferring porn over intimacy with their spouses. In addition, even when they are intimate with their spouses, they tend to be very body-part focused rather than heart-to-heart focused. Furthermore, porn viewing breaks trust within the marital bond, often causing significant trauma for the wife. Second, porn addiction can damage children as fathers become more disengaged from child rearing because of their preoccupation with porn. Further, as marriages crumble, the safe world of the children crumbles with it. Third, it damages the Church because as marriages break apart, the unity of the Church is strained. Christian men who are addicted to porn are often consumed with guilt and shame, rather than feeling powerful and victorious for making a difference for Christ.

JM: How widespread is this problem in the Church? 

DF: Current research shows that roughly 64 percent of Christian men are viewing porn at least once a month.² This is a massive problem that needs massive help!

JM: This battle can be a place of shame for a lot of people in the Church, so they don’t reach out for help. But you’ve created a program that can help them in the privacy of their own homes. Tell us more about that.

DF: Because of this, my wife and I have recently developed a free online pornography addiction seminar called PornBattle, so people can access it from the privacy of their own homes. Part one explains why porn can be so powerful, the myths it portrays about women, and the devastating impact it has on those viewing it regularly. Part two reviews the top 18 strategies for overcoming the power of pornography.

JM: This program is not just for men?

DF: Correct. The seminar is important for married women to understand why porn can be so powerful, and it provides helpful tips on how wives can respond to their husband’s porn problem to build a unified front. It’s also good for single women to go through, so they can be prepared to help the man they marry if porn was hidden from them while dating, or if it becomes an issue in their marriage.

JM: How can we pray for you?

DF: Our heart and prayer is that God would use this seminar to help men start winning the war on pornography in their lives in order to protect their marriages, invest in their children and bolster the Church. Please pray with us that God would use it in mighty ways!

2-Barna.org, “Porn in the Digital Age: New Research Reveals 10 Trends.” Culture and Media Research, April 6, 2016,