You should watch this before reading….

This is Sheena. Sheena is a porn star. She also has faith in God and is a believer. She loves Jesus and she knows in a way that frankly I am jealous of, that Jesus loves her.

Mmm sounds like a bit of a paradox doesn’t it?

Can you work in the porn industry and be a Christian? Are the two compatible?

If you have the patience or indeed time or interest to read through the comments left on xxxxchurch’s facebook page this week you will quickly see that many people don’t think you can.

It’s an interesting question; one that will not be answered in this blog post or on the comments section of a facebook page but one that is important enough to ask.

What makes you a Christian?

Faith in Jesus Christ? An appreciation for who Jesus is even if you don’t partake in the ‘normal’ Christian activities like going to Church (which raises more questions like what or who exactly is Church; but that’s for another time) Do you have to act a certain way? Believe in complex theological theories? Can you be a Christian if you’re not married but having sex? What if you don’t ever read the Bible? If you continue to sin does that nullify your faith? Is it about being on a journey of discovering love, peace and grace in the people and places we live? Is it about being sure you’re going to Heaven?

Growing up in church I thought I had all the answers to these questions. I thought I knew what was required of me. Some people were clearly Christians and everyone else was obviously going to Hell. But as I’ve grown older and as I’ve met people who didn’t fit into my idea of what a Christian should look like, demonstrate more love and grace than many of those who I thought were Christians; I’m left not sure anymore.

And I like it.

I like the fact that Jesus can show up in places and through people that He shouldn’t. I like that Sheena, someone who works in the adult industry is able to remind me that Jesus loves me and that it doesn’t matter what others say. I love that faith doesn’t have to look like the way you or I think it should.

Some on the xxxchurch page questioned the integrity of the ministry by posting the video of Sheena talking about her faith but like Craig pointed out; by focusing on her actions or language, we’ve missed the point and that closes us down immediately from hearing the beauty and power of her words.

This is something that Jesus was used to everyday. There were a group of people, let’s call them Pharisees who had God all figured out in their minds and they had practices and a great deal of power and control tied up in these ideas.

If someone was to come along and question much of this, their whole structure would likely fall apart. Maybe, even enough to conspire to silence that person permanently.

When our ideas of God or faith or Christianity are so tightly bound by certain ideas and actions then it’s extremely difficult for us to see the beauty of Christ in unusual places.

Like dining with tiny corrupt tax collectors, like in interactions with prostitutes, like in stories of people on the outside showing more compassion than their enemies, who were supposed to be evil.

Or in youtube video’s of a porn actress.

If truth be told, we’re all on a journey. None of us are without sin and true, most of us won’t ever star in porn movies but we partake in our own sinful actions and thoughts everyday, justifying them to ourselves as fine and not harmful to anyone else. For some that sin, is simply pointing out the sin of others while not seeing the glaring crap we throw around in our own lives and communities.

The point for Sheena, as it is for every single one of us is not that we are in a place that we should be, but that in the very places we find ourselves as beautiful or dirty as they may be; we are loved and set free.

Our job is not to judge but to trust Jesus when he says that His love is all that is required.

So may we have a faith and a peace and know grace in the same beautiful and inspiring way that Sheena does.

And may we gently drop the rocks we have ready to throw at our fellow travellers.