Richard Abowitz writes on www.vegasblog.latimes.com]- In August, Craig Gross (right, with Mike Foster) moved his XXX Church to Las Vegas. And, as in previous years, he and his followers will have a booth set up at the Adult Entertainment Expo, trying to save the souls of porn industry performers and fans. I reached him by phone last night to talk over his plans for the 2009 convention.
Richard Abowitz: How many times have you now participated at the Adult Entertainment Expo?
Craig Gross: This is our sixth year doing the show.
Abowitz: What is it about this convention that brings you out each year?
Gross: As far as the porn world, this is the show of shows. You got to be in Vegas and now we have moved to Vegas. So, we can’t miss it.
Abowitz: Have you ever “saved” a porn star at this convention?
Gross: I wouldn’t say at the show or on the floor we save people. We use the show as an opportunity to get the word out. If people want to talk to us about leaving the industry, we are going to want to talk to people. A lot of relationships are started there.
Abowitz: Do you get the space for free or do you pay the porn people to be at the convention?
Gross: Honestly, nothing in porn is free. We pay. We have been at the show long enough that we get a good space, and this year we will have a bigger booth than ever. In the early years we stood out but now people expect to see us and wonder what we are doing this year.
Abowitz: Have you gotten a better sense of the porn world from working this convention year after year?
Gross: Yes, definitely. A lot of people instantly write people off because they are in porn. We discover a lot of spiritual people there who find themselves in the porn industry or at a porn show. A lot of people are scared of talking to people who don’t believe as they do. We love to have conversations and be available to people. These are good, normal people. Once you see it and are there at the show, a lot of the hype goes away. It is just people like at the car show, or building show, but with less clothing.
Abowitz: But don’t you think these people are going to Hell?
Gross: I don’t. It is not my call to make. I screw up everyday in the things I do, and I am not a porn star. And I don’t feel better than someone who is in porn. Everyone is on their own journey. As I said before, I meet a number of spiritual people, many with church backgrounds, and some of them are in porn. They are trying to figure things out. We have a saying, “Jesus loves porn stars,” and that catches people off guard. I am not saying Jesus is into porn, but he loves you no matter who you are. There is nothing you can do or have done that will make him love you any less. They are used to crazies with signs that say things like repent or you are going to go to Hell. We don’t do that. It is not that we are for porn. But we understand and, more importantly, there is a God that understands and loves them.
Abowitz: Do you get a backlash from other Christian groups with this view?
Gross: We have in the past. The first misconception is we want to be around porn. People in the church wait for you to fall. There is a long history of Christians speaking out against porn and then falling. Look at Ted Haggard. But we still have to get in the game. This isn’t off limits. You can’t blame the dark for being dark, you need to blame the light for not shining on the dark. But we still get more resistance from the church than the porn industry.