EROTICA LA RECAP

Erotica LA was this past weekend. We had two booths this year. Our
first booth featured Wally and we were asking people to give up porn
for 7 days by taking Wally’s 7-Day Porn Challenge. The second booth had
the” Jesus Loves Porn Stars” t-shirts and a huge display and cards
telling the public that Jesus loves them. We had three girls working
the “Jesus Loves” booth and JR from Gate Creative came along to help
Mike and myself out. My wife Jeanette and Nolan were along for the trip
as well although they hung back at the hotel and just helped with
errands and stuff. God worked in a huge way! This is our 3rd trip to
Erotica LA and I would say it was the best. We signed 213 people up for
the porn challenge and the girls gave away over 250 free T-shirts to
girls that work in the porn industry. The girls also made several
contacts with some of the porn stars and have been in touch with some
of them already this week. Thanks to Integrity Online who gave us 200
copies of their filter to give out to people at the porn show and to
www.flickerrecords.com for hooking us up with hundreds of CD’s and DVDS
to give away to those who took the challenge.

Here are some recaps told by the people who worked the show. READ THIS WHOLE THING.

From Kelsey

To be a light to this world is what we are called to be. Jesus
worked along the sides of prostitutes. I felt as though I was in his
place this weekend. The place where I felt Christ called me to be was
the porn convention. My heart broke to see how the girls had no respect
for there bodies. Or guys to that matter. Our body is a temple of
Christ and so many temples where exposed. I wanted to go cover everyone
up. I offered my jacket to a girl that said she was cold but I knew she
probably wouldn’t take it. The girls where like a machine. People can
come up and grab touch and take a picture with. Underneath that machine
is a person. I have so many thoughts on how this weekend went. I don’t
even know where to start. I guess I can say I left knowing that God
used me to touch a couple of girl’s lives. I know I will contact a
couple of them that I built relationships with and my hope is they will
respond. I trust God had me there for a purpose. I feel as though I was
called to let people know just how much Jesus loves them. I’m no better
then anyone I met there. We all fall short of the glory of GOD.HE IS
GOD THOUGH AND HIS GRACE IS AMAZING! From now I will pray that the
images I saw will erase from my mind. With going to this convention I
feel I did pay a price. The images I can picture in my mind now are
disturbing and sad. I know and trust that God can take them away. I’m
thankful I got to go and be apart of this. God can use us now to reach
people back at home.

From JR (My top 10 porn show moments)

It’s funny… I found myself answering the critics in my head before I
started writing this. Then it occurred to me. The critics of
XXXchurch.com were not at a porn show over the weekend. If you don’t
get that, You’re probably a critic.

1. Sonny, the 25 year old x-professional skater now porn star, who
told me “All I want is fame, money and God is ok with how I’m doing
it.“ 2. James, a paraplegic who said, “If you want to help me don’t
pray for me, give me money so I can buy a prostitute to touch me… no
one will touch me.“ 3. The hundreds of people who told me I can’t get
enough porn. 4. The guy in the red shirt who just got out of rehab for
booze and was filling his bag with porn until he came to our booth. We
talked and prayed, I’m pretty sure I ruined his porn show. 5. The guy
in the blue shirt who told me he’s so addicted to porn he has no
friends. 6. Donna who works for the LA convention center who thanks God
she is no longer in the porn business. 7. Craig and Mike’s push to see
healing and recovery in the name of Christ. 8. The 213 people who took
the Wally Porn Free Challenge. 9. The young porn producer who admitted
his industry is destroying people, after he told me XXXchurch is
stupid. 10. My walk back to the hotel on Saturday night… I took an 8
block look at my life given the days events. I felt remorse, joy,
disappointment, sorrow and peace. God wants us in the trenches. I will
no longer be comfortable sitting in a pew, and if you don’t get that…
your probably a critic. Thanks Craig, thanks Mike for getting it.

From Laci

This weekend was by far the best and most fulfilling thing I’ve ever
done in my entire life! It was weird because I’m the type of person
that worries about everything, but I was not worried or nervous at all
for this weekend; I was completely at peace… even excited. It was so
awesome to be able to share the Truth with all the people at the show,
and most of all the porn stars. They were all so sweet and so excited
about what our T-shirts had to say. It was weird because even though I
didn’t know any of these girls, I loved them all so much. It gave me so
much energy and excitement when the girls would come to our booth on
their breaks just to get the shirt. Then they would bring their friends
that were also involved in the business over to our booth. There were
definitely some times of frustration, but the girls’ grateful and
excited attitudes made it all worth it. By the end I felt completely
drained (emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually), but I
can’t wait until the next one! I am so anxious to get even one email. I
know at least that they were left with (even if it was just in the back
of their mind) “Jesus Loves Porn Stars” and they are porn stars,
therefore Jesus loves them. That’s all they need to know… at least
for now.

From Julia

I’m so sad right now, so broken, so burdened. The tears are flowing
inside me but I cannot let them out. Why do people want to do this? Why
do they think so little of themselves that they would take something so
precious, so special, something that God wants to save for one person
he has brought you. Why have I disrespected myself? How can God who
gives us our every breath love us after taking his very creation and
making it something so ugly and using it for only selfish gain. As I am
at this show I see all types of girls and guys that are full of
potential to grow as people and in future relationships with God. As I
sit in this room empty and quiet I think about going back in there, and
I can’t. I can’t go back yet. It’s just too hard to look at. The hurt I
have inside for these people is too great. While walking through the
show my soul is being suffocated slowly and the only way to breath is
to step away from the beautiful facade of the porn industry. A life of
complete emptiness and abandonment is awaiting these young girls. I
want to hold them and convince them somehow that they are so special
and precious and don’t need to be used. They don’t’ need to be grabbed
and disrespected by disgusting guys. They are amazing women that God
wants to love and hold close. You should see the hurt after some guy
puts his hands on them for a picture. They smile for the camera and cry
in their hearts. How can I, through my Jesus, help someone that has no
understanding of love. By example right? But I am only here three days.
All I can do is pray that God will become so real and His amazing grace
will heal their broken hearts and minds. As for the guys… pray
without ceasing. To talk to them as they look in my eyes is like
talking to a video camera with no sound. They memorize what I look like
and the way I move my lips, but hear nothing I am saying. Their
thoughts are wicked and it is obvious by their empty “compliments” that
hurt more than they feel good. I am the hundredth girl they have asked
out that day and yet they think I should feel special for giving me
attention. Their eyes only see what fulfills them physically and they
too are as empty as the girls. The thing that’s funny is both men and
women are here feeding off of each other. They are all here to satisfy
themselves financially and or sexually. No one here actually cares
about another person. They just want to take what each other offers.
Not one fulfilling, positive things comes from this industry… Not
one! The “porn stars” become so addicted to drugs that they cant feel
anything anymore. Their hearts are hardened and they don’t understand
the concept of love other than in the physical sense. But to sell
themselves, they act as if their world couldn’t be better. Lives and
relationships are ruined… Do we not know we only have one life? One
life, and we chose to degrade ourselves to a level of absolute
self-mutilation, physically, mentally and emotionally. But God is and
always will be Bigger. He will always give us grace if we run to him.
Seeking the Lord has been the most incredible and fulfilling experience
of my life. He has turned me into a woman that has been so hurt by past
relationships that have been destroyed by the porn industry to a woman
that has a love for these people and wants the very best for them. I
pray that soon I will see the loving eyes of my God and He will take
away the hurt of my heart and give unending grace to the people that
have undoubtedly mocked and shamed his name. One-day things will change
and we will stop destroying ourselves. In this moment of weakness I was
so so sad. My heart literally ached because of the sin and selfishness
that was going on. Thousands upon thousands of people lined up to pay
up to $30 for a weekend filled with lust and physical desires only to
go out of the show and think that what they saw is how sex and
relationships should be. God taught me that I need to love these people
even more, and that Sin is sin and I am no different than them. I too
have made compromises that have hurt me, and just like me, God can heal
them. Also I realized just how disrespectful we all are to each other.
How can we ever have true relationships with friends or significant
others if we only care about ourselves. Christ gave his everything for
us to the point of being beaten for hours and mocked and embarrassed
and yet we still live only for ourselves. Why? The only way to live is
for Christ and others. Then we will be fulfilled in a way that in
UN-explainable. My thoughts on going to this porn show are that I am so
glad I had the opportunity to be there and to hopefully touch someone’s
life. But they in turn touched mine and my thoughts and prayers are
with them in hopes for a better, fulfilling life without drugs or the
feeling of being used and disrespected.

Final words from Mike

It’s rare in life when you get to lay it all on the line. To find
out truly who you are, what you believe, and what is ultimately
important. Erotica LA is a refining fire. To be submersed in that type
of environment for 3 days and to come out the other side unscathed is a
miracle. It’s not something I want to do every week, but a very
important experience. I think about the radical things we do at
XXXchurch. Many of them controversial and over the top. People have
pointed their finger at Craig and myself and told us we have gone too
far. But I believe there isn’t a single person who would say that if
they stood beside us in a 10ft X 10ft booth at Erotica LA. You would
get it. You would see it. It would make perfect sense. We met a guy at
the show named Randal who told us that Jesus wants us moving. If were
moving forward we are pleasing God. XXXchurch is moving forward. No
doubt in my mind. I struggle to really convey all the stories, all the
revelations, all the moments. It’s still way too fresh and raw. Much of
it too disturbing to mention. I’m still processing and figuring it all
out. I promise I will tell more details as soon as it makes sense. I
just know that as I stood in that booth, I knew that God had our back
and I think he was smiling. You have just read everyone’s account of
the show; I now encourage you to move. Move forward. Get out of your
comfort zone. Stretch your faith muscle a little. It’s a beautiful
thing.