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David R Smith, the guy who writes well over half of our Youth Culture Window articles, was talking to me on the phone earlier this week about an upcoming debate he has at his college ministry on the campus of The University of South Florida. He told me that he was hosting a debate on pornography at his ministry facility with Joe Redner, owner and operator of the Mons Venus, a world-renowned strip club in Tampa, FL.
The debate is going to center on the effects of pornography; are there any, and if so, are they good or bad?
David has told me he’s taken a huge leap of faith in this arena. Redner has made millions of dollars through adult entertainment, and has spoken at hundreds of venues like the one Thursday night, espousing his views on pornography. Simply googling the name “Joe Redner” reveals tons of information about the guy; he’s also on Wikipedia. In short, this guy is a giant in the adult entertainment business.
David wisely met him for lunch earlier this week; at that meeting, Redner made many disparaging remarks about the idea of God, verbally embraced atheism, and promised David he’d embarrass him in front of the campus body.
Hmmm…sounds like another story involving a giant who hated God and a guy named David….
I’m using today’s blog to ask you to pray for David. He’s going to have audience with an incredible amount of college students Thursday night, and he’d greatly appreciate your prayerful support. Who knows what could come out of this night. Clearly, David has the truth. Let’s ask God to give him the words, the insight, and the clarity to communicate those truths to college students in South Florida.
The debate starts live at 8:15pm EST, Thursday night (for those in the Tampa area who would like to attend, it’s at the Crosswinds ministry building on 50th Street next to the new athletic fields). David has told me there’s a tech team in place to film the entire event so we can make it available to our blog and Ezine users at a later date. In addition to determining a winner and loser, college students will also be given a chance to state whether their belief AND USE of porn will shift as a result of this conversation. We’ll share that with you as soon as we can.
Thanks for your help in this. David has already expressed his gratitude to me on behalf of your prayers for him.
Posted in Entertainment Media, Faith, Personal, Prayer | | Leave A Comment
Well we shouldnt be shocked that this world will turn more and more against the truth of God. Not trying to sound like a doomsday Christian but its coming faster than we realize.
David i have set my phone and will be praying for you tonight. You might even talk with Craig Gross at xxxchurch.com as he has these debates regularly.
When I’ve seen these kinds of debates in the past, I’ve noticed that if the Christian puts up his dukes and tries to slug it out, he takes a beating. But love and a sincere concern for a person’s soul is very disarming even for daddy lap dance. I’ve read and used enough of Davids stuff to know he will take the high road. I’m praying right after I enter the code shown above.
Jonathan we will pray for him tonight after karate. I will remind everybody! I’ll also have my mom put it on our church’s prayer chain.