I just saw a story on these guys...

[jjvw1jjvw1]

Any thoughts on www.xxxchurch.com? Part of what they do is go to porn conventions and set up an information booth. They have flyers that say things like "Jesus loves porn stars." Is this a risque--I mean risky ministerial endevour?

[derwen]

Hm. I tend to grow wary around people who try to "spruce up" the Gospel or make it more applicable to a certain group of people-- It should be able to speak for itself. However, I don't deny that porn stars need Jesus as much as you or I. I just don't know if having a Web site and info booth at porn conventions is the same thing as using a "gimmick" to get people to look at the Gospel...?

[Rrose Selavy]

My apologees for the name change.

This is an issue the church does not like to address. It might not be the best way, but these tactics might be a way to get the church involved in this area of ministry. There is no place the Gospel can't go.

I am unsure how they can go to porn conventions and not trip up a few times. They must be more (maybe less) manly than I. I am also unsure about paying money for a booth at these functions which goes right back into supporting the very thing we hope to put an end to. Then there is the whole gimmick aspect to it. We have enough of that out there already.

I do pray for their success, though. One soul makes it worth it.

[chasingsophia]

Yeah, I've seen that site too. It seems they do quite a lot to help people overcome sexual sin in their lives, and I do think there's a need for "sanctification ministries," if you will. I don't know much about their thinking behind what they're doing... going to porn conventions might lean toward blurring the lines between right & wrong, at least initially. "Cool man, a new porn agency that films it in CHURCHES!!! What? Oh, they aren't really a porn agency?..."

I'm a bit wary of gimmicky evangelism, too, but I think that it's *possible* to not lose the true content of the Gospel, even when presenting it in different ways to different audiences.

[jdbancks]

You think a porn ministry is bad, check this out!

[chasingsophia]

"We don't want them to feel like targets," says Wheeler. "You have to be elliptical about it."

Heh. It's funny because it's true.

New Pedro the Lion album out today. Has a song about just such "evangelism."

[Rrose Selavy]

I smell an Onion.

[hjael79]

Ministry to porn conventions. I remember a patch that a friend of mine once wore. "Pornography rapes the mind," it said. (I also currently have it sown to my camera bag.) Gimic or not, there is definitely an untapped field of ministy there. I am concerned for the people involved in attending the conventions, however. Even as a female, I'm not sure I would be able to handle attending such events without risking some major purity-of-the-mind issues.

I also recall a story of an evangelist whose field was in the red light district of New Orleans. When the time came for him to take a sabbatical, he chose to stay. The result of this constant exposure to temptation and sin eventually led to his fall. I worked at a night club in Mpls for almost 2 years. When I started to notice a change in myself whenever I would be at work, I knew that it was time to quit. That would be my encouragement to anyone involved in such a ministry - take breaks, leave if/when it starts to effect you and your spiritual life.

The ponytail evangelism thing is hilarious! I think I'm feeling led to begin a ministry to mullet bearers.

oh, and st. paul bible college was renamed Crown College at least 8 years ago (kinda how NWC dropped the "Bible" part of thier name around the same time).

[chasingsophia]

I used to have the "Pornography Rapes the Mind" sticker, and I scanned it, printed it on t-shirt transfer paper, and made a patch of it. Made for several interesting conversations at work. "And I thought it only made me horny!"

I think it was the "Rock for Life" people who made those.

Time to rustle up some grub before church. [img]graemlins/pizza.gif[/img]