Posted on 01/14/2002 2:14:57 PM PST by truthandlife
Two young ministers have taken a provocative approach to combating pornography.
Craig Gross and Mike Foster have launched what they bill as "the No. 1 Christian porn site," and taken their message to the heart of the adult-entertainment world.
The pair took a booth at the annual "Adult Video News" trade show in Las Vegas last week, the showcase for the multibillion-dollar porn industry that includes its own "Oscars" for categories such as "most outrageous sex scene."
"If Jesus were walking the earth today, we think that He'd be here, too," Gross told the Los Angeles Times. "After all, [He] hung out with prostitutes and stuff." Gross and Foster were there to talk about their new website, which aims to help people leave the porn industry and get free from Internet-porn addiction.
Gross said they did not go to judge. "What good would that do? We decided the best thing to do was to actually be in the show and try to talk to the people in the industry in a professional and respectful manner and not be confrontational."
Gross and Foster hope their XXXChurch.com site might draw cyberspace surfers looking for pornography. They say they recognize the name might offend some, but they chose it because "it's provocative and memorable. We have combined the seedy and the sacred for a purpose. We wanted the name to stick in the minds of millions."
The site includes a "prayer wall" where visitors can post appeals for prayer, free "accountability software" that tracks a computer's users' Internet travels, and a sign-up form on which supporters pledge to be accountable about their own struggles and be honest about "the dirty little secret."
The new ministry is backed by the pair's friends at Crossroads Christian Church in Fullerton, Calif., where Gross is on staff.
"As a church and a ministry, it is very near our hearts to help people overcome sexual addiction and to help them have healthy sexual boundaries with other people," senior associate pastor Jud Wilhite told the Times. "Obviously, this ministry is directed right at that and going right into the middle of that arena, trying to be a light."
At the AVN show, the XXXChurch booth was wedged between a company advertising explicit Japanese cartoons and another selling gay sex films, the Times reported. Some in the industry dismissed the ministry, said the newspaper – but it did find one actress who prayed the rosary each week and said, "I believe in prayer and God. It makes me a better person."
At their website, Gross and Foster say the church has "an incredible opportunity to be a place of true healing and restoration for hurting and broken people in regards to pornography. But it must first be bold enough and care enough to take on the dirty little secret."
They say they are trying to tackle Internet porn head-on: "We believe that if the pornographers are using the Net to promote their product, then we need to use the Internet to promote our message."
Charisma News Service is a division of Strang Communications.
I think I just got beamed up to Bizarro World...
This is they way it is supposed to work in our society.
Jesus most definitely WOULD NOT be there. He didn't "hang out" with prostitutes, he MINISTERED to them.
What happened to "do not set any evil thing before thine eyes"? Jesus tells us to avoid temptation and to not dine with (read "hang out with") adulterers, murderers,... or the sexually immoral.
I understand what these guys say they're trying to do, but they could have set up outside the convention (orgy) and not involved themselves at the level they did. They crossed the line.
I’m not sure what it is about human behavior but we think if we ignore a problem then it might just go away. The problem is that rarely happens. As we begin the new millenium we have an opportunity to address the internet porn problem in a real and authentic way. We can surf the tidal wave (no pun intended) instead of being destroyed by it. It’s going to take an effort by us all though and we must start now.
Here are some of the facts….
Pornography is a $13 billion industry…more than the combined annual revenues of the Coca-Cola and Mcdonnell Douglas Corporations. That’s a lot of money!!
In 1990 300,000,000 X-rated videos were distributed in our neighborhoods. Since then sales and rentals of adult videos have risen 75%.
At one Promise Keepers event, 50% of the attendees admitted to dabbling in porn during the previous week.
Those facts are startling though why is no one talking about that? Why have we ignored the fact that this is happening?
It would be truly naïve to think that only dirty old men have this problem. Christians and Non-Christians are dealing with this. This is something that faces us all. Christians buy the videos, Pastors log onto the websites, church leaders are buying the magazines. Now that may sound harsh but we have to get completely real and honest about what is going on for us to achieve real solutions. It’s our kids that are logging on and our families that are being affected. Don’t try to say it’s just the worlds problem. It’s our problem and so what are we going to do about it?
Here is our suggestion…
1. Talk about it.
Get the collective conversation started. If you’re waiting for someone else to bring it up you just might be waiting a long time.
2. Be accountable.
Join the X3 team and strive to live a pure life. Keep yourself away from the stuff. If you’re struggling with it get some help. Don’t go this alone.
3. Be open and aware.
Look for ways for you to help solve the problem. In your business, in your church, in your family, take initiative and get real. Be aware of what’s going on in society around you in regards to this issue and look for ways to bring solutions.
I can't figure these guys out...heck...They can't seem to figure themselves out either...check this quote:
We’re not sure why we are here but we are glad that the Lord has allowed us to use this vision to help people.
Didn't Christ go and eat with the tax collectors? If they had set up outside, then they would have been off the property and away from the people (the convention center wouldn't have let them set up right outside the door). By going inside, they were able to talk to people who otherwise might not have seen them.
You're probably right, but if it's entirely apocryphal, it's at least a story that's been around awhile. Ah, well...
Actually, there was a pope or two that probably could have melted out eyes - Alexander X (the Borgia feller) comes to mind - but I doubt if there's an archive of any such thing in the Vatican. (Sigh!) Some people have no respect for great litachoor...
No, I never went to her show. I saw her on "Real People," the 70's TV show about eccentrics and weirdos.
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