It was a great day today getting to do the multimedia for the first Advanced Leadership Training Seminar of the year for Celebrate Recovery at Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, FL. It was great to have the opportunity to meet some of the people that until the seminar I had only known through testimony videos and names on the covers of Step Guides and on the pages of web sites. I was especially blessed to meet Tina Davis, the national training coach, who shares a similar testimony of sexual addiction, and Johnny Baker, the son of CR founder John Baker, who co-led the ALT portion of the day.

The day was valuable for me in that it gave me some good guidance in conducting the open share group that I am responsible for at CR on Monday nights, as well as helping keep the main focus on the newcomer—those who are there for the first time exploring the program, helping them feel like they are in a safe place where they are free to share their hurts, habits, and hang-ups.

I left the “high” of the ALT and returned home in the early evening to find the latest reminder of the reality that is ahead. Apparently a process server had visited the house while I was gone and left his card in the door.  I returned the call to let them know when I would be home.  There’s no sense in dragging out the inevitable.

Meet Shelley Lubben.

In the late ’80s, she lived the life of a prostitute.

In the early ’90s, she was “Roxy,” a star in the pornographic film industry. During that time, she saw the realities of the industry and got hooked on drugs and alcohol.

By 1995, she was on her way out of the industry and in recovery from her addictions, having been diagnosed as Bipolar disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Impulse Control Disorder and substance abuse due to years of trauma from the sex industry.

Today, she is a happily married (with kids) example of a changed life by the power of Jesus Christ.

What drew me to Shelley’s story is the fact that hers is the story not of a preacher or a lawmaker who has maybe seen one moment of a ’sex flick’ at some conference and decided to do something about it. This is a woman who speaks from her own experiencein the industry, having seen what goes on behind the camera lens, and therefore knows what she’s talking about. For me, as one who was addicted to the adult media industry through online pornography, her story is a glimpse of what it’s like to be on the “other side” of that screen—and the picture is far from the glorious ecstasy that the industry endeavors to present.

Shelley’s web site is http://www.shelleylubben.com, and she has MySpace pages in English and en español. Take the time to read her story, and the stories of others now out of the industry. Perhaps it would make you think twice about what you’re “wanking off” to.

What would be very cool would be some kind of conference with people on both sides of the page and screen, to learn and hear about the experiences both of those who have come out of the industry, to give the audience a glimpse of what it’s like, and also from those whose lives were consumed by the product of their occupation. Imagine what can be changed.