The Family Room (The Quest)

Join co-hosts Mari Cleveland from St. Jude the Apostle and John Gordon and Craig Wesemeyer from St. Peter Chanel as they speak with authors, theologians, and local priests and lay leaders to provide your family encouragement, resources, and hope. Enjoy heartfelt stories and engaging conversations with Catholics who are excited to share their life experiences and acquired wisdom to help your family continue to live out your faith with joy.

Jordan Burke, Content Coordinator with Avila Institute




Jordan Burke shares his powerful and personal story of overcoming a pornography addiction to bring truth and healing to others. Jordan shares how all kinds of addictions can result from using things to seek consolation and comfort instead of turning to God. He explains how an addiction is a type of self-medicating to overcome pain and inebriation to avoid a deep wound. As an adolescent, Jordan had a computer with unlimited Internet access and warns that pornography wasn’t something he sought out but happened to stumble upon and that’s when the hooks sunk in. Jordan also discusses in understandable terms the physiological and neurobiological components of addictions that can make them especially strong and addictive with just one encounter, impacting one’s reasoning and cognitive development. Jordan’s story of healing culminates in a beautiful moment of the right form of intimacy, leading to experiencing the deep love and touch of God Who wants to enter into our pain and order our relationships and lives correctly. Through his experience and research, Jordan shares five practical steps to help overcome an addiction.

After spending a little over half a decade protecting and serving Birmingham, Alabama, as a police officer, Jordan felt called to serve others in a different way by helping people avoid falling into pornography addiction and to free themselves from addictions. Through developing his own company, he found creating YouTube videos to be one of his many natural talents, ultimately leading him to discover his passion for all things digital media. Since 2014, he has continued to develop these passions and callings and now enjoys putting his talents to use serving others through the Avila Institute. He resides in South Alabama with his beautiful daughter.

Resources

  • Free digital downloads available on Jordan’s websites: www.DoTheHarderThing.com

  • Christian treatment and healing for those damaged by pornography and other forms of sexual addiction: Bethesda Workshops

  • Software accountability tools designed to help you and those you love live free from pornography: Covenant Eyes

  • Education, training, encouragement, and resources to break free from pornography, heal relationships, and to assist parents in preventing and responding to pornography exposure which is so devastating in the lives of our children: Integrity Restored

  • Blogs, podcasts, and videos for spiritual direction through an apostolate of the Avila Foundation.

  • Spiritual education and formation from the Avila Institute

Scripture References

  • Romans 1:28 - “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper.”

  • Luke 22:31-32 - “Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers.”

  • Luke 22:60-61 - “But Peter said, “My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.” Just as he was saying this, the cock crowed, and the Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.”

  • John 21:17 - “[Jesus] said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

  • Hebrews 12:4 - “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.”

  • 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 - “For, although we are in the flesh, we do not battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. We destroy arguments and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ…”

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