Today I received a message from Craig, the church's pastor, that I felt was incredibly important:
I got an email over the weekend from Donny. I was bugging Donny about a blog, because the Industry blog needs an update. Donny and I have known each-other for years and now that he is the party of the X3 family sometimes I forget all that he is going through and that just less then a year ago he was still running from God and hated most Christians. God is working on Donny. He has lost most of the things the world says are important but throughout it all his faith has been strengthened. He is flying out to Grand Rapids next week to help me with a video that we are doing for National PornSunday. So, like I said sometimes I forget what it is he is going through and what it must be like to be on this side of things now.
The one thing I know about Donny is his life has been transformed. I also know that Donny is a great father and would do anything for his son. I don't agree with what Donny did for a living in porn for the past decade but it is legal and he did have every right to do it.
So, some guy at Donny's church finds out about his past job as a porn producer and gets a hold of Child Protective Services. If Donny was a police officer, a doctor, a Porn Pastor, there would probably be things from his job that he would never share with his kids. The same thing applies to Donny's old life as a porn producer. What does that really have to do with being a dad. I got to officiate a wedding of JimmyD's daughter a few years back. It was a great wedding, these were great kids. Yet, people just assumed because JimmyD did porn for a living, his daughter was into it or some other crazy things.
So, Donny sends me this email....
Right now CPS (child protective services) is sticking their nose into my life because some idiot at a local church told them I used to be a porn producer and that they should investigate to make sure I never exposed my son to anything he shouldn't see. That is ridiculous, as I would never in a million years do such a thing. They listened to him because he's a licensed counselor and therefore has contacts inside CPS.
What this does to me is raise up all the old bitterness I feel towards anything to do with churches, and I'm battling a raging anger and hatred at the moment. Why is it that churches have to bury their wounded? I don't understand it. Now CPS wants to talk to my son, and every attorney I've spoken with says there is nothing we can do to keep them from talking to him. God only knows what types of questions they're going to ask. A 7 year old should not have to be exposed to such things. And I have no doubts that as he gets older he'll remember being asked about this and wondering why he was made to go into a meeting, alone, with total strangers and answer questions about his daddy.
So... what would you like me to write about on X3? How ignorant the majority of Christians are? How they act like anything BUT God? Because I'd be really good at writing THAT story right now...
Some good questions were brought up.
Why do we bury our wounded?
How come sometimes we (Christians) act like anything but God?
Why are so many of us so ignorant?
There are a lot of books about why people don't like Christians, what the church should do a better job of, statistics on what non Christians think and sound like. You name it there are study guides and all sorts of junk to read. Why not just listen. Why not just listen to people that want nothing to do with church and God and hear what they are saying. Don't read a book about it. Go talk to those, befriend those that don't like us and hear why and then start to change. Donny, no doubt will be okay. He is not going back. He had a rough week and is strong enough in his faith now to handle this and not let this keep him from what God wants him to do in his life. But, there are so many others out there that have not made a decision for Christ and I believe the reason why is because of us. Because they simply don't like us. They don't want anything to do with us, because of the things we say and do not what we believe.
Just some Monday morning thoughts....Craig
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