Posted on 02/27/2006 12:00:08 PM PST by klossg
While one convention promoting sex wrapped up a weekend at the Colorado Convention Center on Sunday, another gathering that promoted abstinence drew some 4,000 people to the Denver Coliseum. The coincidence was not lost on Bob Lemming, the executive director of Pure By Choice, which organized the one-day event that featured hip-hop music, prayer and literature urging teens not to engage in pre-marital sex.
Along Brighton Boulevard, within blocks of the Coliseum, a billboard advertised the "Sex and So Much More Show" at the Convention Center.
"We're both talking about sex, but from a totally different perspective," said Lemming, who chuckled at the timing of the two events.
"And here's the difference: From their point of view, they're talking about individual pleasure and the taking of pleasure," he added.
"From our point of view, we're talking about the fact that our sexuality is a gift from God. It's not that sex is bad, but we're in a giving posture. I'm going to give myself to my wife (after marriage)."
Sunday's gathering was the third annual event. This year's edition, titled "Ashamed No More," looked more like a concert than a conference, with a rap group called "A.G.E." blasting out a song with lyrics such as "Oh yeah! Jesus! Praise Him!"
Lemming said this year's event tried to target more urban youth by featuring rap and hip-hop groups.
The music is what attracted Katie Deuschle, a 14-year-old Westminster girl who came with her mom and a friend from a singing group called P'zazz. Deuschle likes a Christian music group called Tree63 that played at last year's event.
"They have a lot of good speakers," Deuschle said. "I think it (the message) is a good one. "They're telling kids what they can do and what to avoid. . . . They're giving you a way to stay pure."
The message also resonated with Jesse Kops, a West High School senior from Denver who came to the event at the invitation of his pastor at Praise Center Church in Denver.
"I think it's going to be cool," Kops said as he checked out literature on one of the tables. "I'm not ashamed anymore to say I'm a virgin."
At school, sometimes that's not an easy thing, Kops said.
"It's like, if you're a virgin, it's a bad thing almost," Kops said. "There's a lot of pressure to have sex. It's like to be cool, you have to have sex."
As he spoke, Destiny Romero, a friend and junior at West, came up to say hello.
"What are you doing?"
"Chillin'," he said.
They both laughed, hugged and gave each other a high-five hand slap, each wearing a ring that signifies that they will abstain from sex.
"I love it," Romero said of the event. "I like the people. I like learning about God. I like getting involved," she said.
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