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Jacque Reid talks to Cleveland Pastor Mike Scruggs who you may remember as the preacher who installed a stripper pole in the pulpit to encourage married congregants to have sex,  about  Help, I’m Holy But I’m Horny, his new book designed to explore sex and what it means to married couples, singles and homosexuals.

“I think it’s a matter of understanding how God designed. I think we’ve taken what he originally created and have kind of twisted and turned it and made more perverted than I think God created sex to be free, literally and figuratively,” Pastor Scruggs said.

In his ministry, he hears his fair share of a common complaint – that marriages have become sexless and that couples feel like roommates raising kids and paying bills.

“I think it’s an understanding knowing where each partner is at. We tell our married couples that we counsel that they should have as much sex as possible.  [The Bible] says each body belongs to the other person. My wife has all rights to my body and I have all rights to hers, so if she wants it, I’m literally not allowed to refuse her, except in sickness.”

Scruggs has been married to his wife for 13 years, so we can figure he’s practicing what he preaches and he obviously believes sex is an essential part of marriage for both the man and the woman. As far as single people, he says that celibacy can be a great choice but only if you find a partner who shares you commitment to it.

“If you’re trying to wait and your partner doesn’t want to wait, that’s not the right partner for you. They have to be able to respect and trust your decision and your reasons for doing it. If they don’t understand why you want to wait, you’re not on the same playing field. In terms of how to wait, it’s a number of things. In this world that we live in, obviously, sex is literally everywhere.

You can’t watch commercials without being taken to that place. You have to be careful with your gates – your ear gates, your eye gates, your mouth gates – in terms of what you watch, what  you hear, what you say, because all of that can become a trigger for you. It don’t take long for your memory to be jogged in those areas.”

For the congregants who are struggling with having sex outside of marriage, Scruggs says that he wants them to understand their choices come with consequences.

“If you want to live a life mired in heartache and heartbreak and dealing with all kinds of emotional issues, you are free to choose how you want to live. But if you want to operate in a manner where you want to live peaceably, we try to [encourage that.]”

Scruggs also says that while the Bible is absolute, he has a chapter in the book called ’50 Shades of Gray’ because he understands the Bible may not always have the answer for things that have come up in contemporary life.

“When you’re dealing with a divorced couple who has broken things off, because I trust you physically, if not emotionally…it becomes a tightrope on certain issues that we have to walk gingerly. If I have to make a random choice or go back to my ex that I used to be married to, if you’re not in those person’s shoes…Sex is physical but its also emotional, too. I’m still tied to them in a lot of different ways.”

As for single women, especially those who are grown women, Scruggs says that he can’t say the Bible encourages them to have sex outside of marriage.

“Sex is not food and water,” says Scruggs.

As for gay couples, Scruggs says that he prayed for God to send them gay and lesbians so that they know despite their orientation, they are still welcome in his church. Even though gay marriage is now the law, Scruggs says he believes God’s laws prevail.

“Holistically, I believe God designed marriage for a man and a woman. But that’s the way I’ve operated from day one. We love everybody whether you’re heterosexual sleeping with 100 people or homosexual sleeping with 100 people,” Scruggs says.

Click the link above to hear the entire interview.