Often the groups that society shuns are the ones who actually need love the most. Mike Foster talks about his ministry in the porn industry and how it taught him grace.
Questions for Discussion and Personal Reflection
- How might we learn about grace by seeking out those whom society shuns?
- Do you agree that Jesus would be rushing into those places we view as "off-limits"?
I kind of went to the, the darkest parts of our culture, um, and into the sex industry and the porn industry and, and tried to bring light into a dark place. I guess in a sense, I got to be a pastor to the porn industry, and it was incredible. It was an incredible experience. Um, that's where I learned about grace. It just meant going and being present with people, uh, at porn shows, and handing out a Bible and telling them that Jesus loves them and that they may not think that's true, but it's true. And... but it wasn't until I got on the, the floor with thousands and thousands of porn stars and porn producers and porn buyers and consumers and fans and all that, that, uh, I'd actually realized what grace was all about. I learned that people in the darkest places, like a porn show, are just like me and just like the people that I attended church with, and, um, we're all searching for the same thing. We just find ourselves in different places. We don't probably like to have this picture of Jesus, but I, I think Jesus would be all over all the places that we think we shouldn't be going to, like a porn show or a bar or you, you name it. Whatever place that seems off-limits, I think those are the places that Jesus would be rushing into if he was walking the earth today, and as just a small little ambassador, a little worker bee, uh, for Jesus, I just loved the fact that I got to do that for several years and, um, hear stories of porn producers who were just trying to be good dads and porn stars who were just wanting to be loved. The questions that we are all asking are the same, and it all comes back to the truth of Jesus' love and His grace and his forgiveness, and I don't care whether you're a porn star or a prostitute or a pastor, preacher, a soccer mom, a business guy, we all need the same thing and that's, that's Jesus.