For those of you wanting to read the next chapter in my interview with Ted Haggard, do not despair! I promise, it will get here. The reasons I haven’t yet released it are rather boring, but there ARE reasons. Just stick with me for a few…  it’ll be worth the wait.

Today I’d like to share some TV footage with you. If you watch TBN, you’ve undoubtedly seen Breakthrough with Rod Parsley, as I’ve been told it’s one of their top three programs.  In April of this year, I received an email asking if I would be interested in appearing on the show.  At the time, I’d never heard of Pastor Parsley, so I searched Google for information about him and the show.  What I found from that search led me to believe that Rod is very… hmm, how do I describe this… “televangelist”, and to be honest, some of the things I found reminded me of my childhood and could easily have turned my stomach, but I chose to look for positives.  And there were plenty of positives to be found once I landed in Columbus, Ohio to meet with his staff and begin filming.  Positives such as this morsel:  did you know that Rod Parsley’s World Harvest Church has a team that attempts to be amongst the first on scene helping when natural disasters strike?  Tidbits like that ensured my heart remained soft towards Rod’s ministry.

Rod Parsey's "Breakthrough" Studio

Besides… the people there treated me like an absolute KING.  I was put up in a decent hotel room, had an “attendant” that anticipated my every need, and didn’t meet an unfriendly person during my entire stay.  The experience was beautiful!

But I had to wear a suit (which I found, still brand new, for $7 at a Salvation Army thrift store – Yes, I said SEVEN DOLLARS)!  Fortunately they didn’t require a tie.

Although we’d only planned to film one show (actually, half of one show – the other half to be shared with another guest), upon discussions with Rod and his staff I was asked if I’d come back the next morning for another filming.  They felt there was so much that needed to be shared, the original time allotted just wasn’t going to be enough.

In the first show, after Rod Parsley’s opening segment he and I speak for awhile, then the second half of the show is spent talking with Pat Trueman, former Chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Criminal Division, U. S. Department of Justice – a man who used to argue in front of the Supreme Court.  He speaks about how there are anti-porn laws already in existence that simply aren’t being enforced.  If you’ve been a long time reader of mine you know it is my opinion that legislation will never change hearts, and only education done with a big fat dose of Jesus’ Love can do so.  That being said, many of you will undoubtedly find Pat’s segment interesting.  I know my mother definitely did!

Here’s a Rebroadcast of that first show, shared with permission of Rod Parsley:

Click To Play

For the second show, Rod had Debbie Stacy, the Director of his Center for Moral Clarity, do an in depth interview with me.  My segment takes up the majority of the show, and there are no other guests.

Here’s the second show:

Click To Play

Even as I write this article, I’ve been direct messaged on twitter to let me know TBN is re-broadcasting one of the shows today.  It’s been on several times in the last month, so I am assuming feedback has been positive.  I’ve received emails from around the world from people who have seen it.  What a small world we live in!

Let me know what you think!

IMG_3378.JPG
Originally uploaded by xxxchurch.

Seeing myself on film, I realize I’ve still got a long way to go in the weight loss department.

This was shot April 21, 2007. I was being interviewed at the Porn and Pancakes event in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Click photo to enlarge. Wait a second… that might not be such a good idea.

I’ve got another 25 lbs to go to reach my goal.

Footage from this particular Porn and Pancakes event will end up on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric sometime this coming week. If my luck is as good as last time (when CNN‘s Anderson Cooper sent his team to the last P&P) all footage of me will be cut from the final story.

I’m okay with that.

That’s pretty much how I’d describe what happened with the Anderson Cooper story last night.

I had a feeling that might happen. After hyping it in the blog I was thinking, “Wouldn’t it be funny if they cut me out completely?” Sure enough…

I know Craig is disappointed too. Anderson Cooper sent an entire team to town, they shot a few hours of video, and what ended up making the cut was a fraction of what was filmed. Yeah, I know, that’s normal.

In addition to filming the entire Porn and Pancakes event, they had a sit-down interview with Craig after the event. Not a single bit of that interview was aired.

Craig emailed this morning. Katie Couric wants to sent a team to the next Porn and Pancakes event later this month. Maybe her cutting knife won’t be as sharp as Anderson’s.

From: XXXCHURCH
Date: Apr 2, 2007 6:51 AM

We just got word that the segment that we shot for “360″ with Anderson Cooper will be on this week. They are doing a two night feature, starting on WEDNESDAY NIGHT, called “What is a Christian?” The segment was shot at a Porn and Pancakes with Craig Gross and Donny Pauling last week in Illinois. They also caught up with the XXXChurch team that is currently at the Miami porn show. Should be a good little piece. We heard we are on THURSDAY’s show but watch both nights just in case.

- Craig

EDIT TO ADD: Craig just emailed me (I’m typing this on Tuesday night at 11:45pm Pacific Time) to let me know that our segment is indeed on THURSDAY night.

For those who are wondering: the air date is going to be sometime in the first week of April. The date isn’t etched in stone yet. When it is, I’ll be sure to tell you. But Anderson Cooper’s producer told Craig and I that it will definitely be the first week of April.

This is Craig Gross wearing the shirt I mentioned in that last blog entry. He says I can’t wear it for my CNN interview tomorrow.

Stephen, a xxxchurch intern that’s here in Illinois with us for tomorrow’s Porn and Pancakes event, says, “I don’t think it’s all that bad. The colors show up better in the light.”

I think Stephen’s patronizing me.

I’m thinking I’ll wear the shirt anyway.

(click photo to enlarge)

Added March 26th:

Yep, I wore it. Here we are on stage, speaking at “Porn & Pancakes” in Morton, IL. I like the shirt. I guess that makes sense, though, since i bought it.

On March 16th I received an email from Craig Gross asking if I was available this coming weekend to attend a Porn and Pancakes event in Illinois. He’s been speaking with the producer of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360º show.

“Donny, he’s interested in talking with you about XXXchurch, your past, and your current transition out of porn. I told him there is a good chance you will be at the event next weekend.”

Yep, I’ll be there. I just finished packing. The scary thing is that I picked out my own clothes.

No, I don’t mean I got them out of the closet and put them in my bag. What I mean is: I just got back from JC Penney, where I purchased the outfit I’m going to be wearing.

All. By. Myself.

If Belinda was still around she’d tell you what a scary thought that is. When shopping for clothing, we used to go into a store, where I’d pick something up and start heading toward the check out register. She’d take the item of clothing out of my hands and put it back on the rack, replacing it with something she found more appropriate.

Tonight I was on the phone with a friend from Chico. She called as I was pulling up to the mall. I tried describing what I was picking out and she said it sounded good.

“But you don’t understand… I need a woman to tell me if this stuff looks good together, and more importantly, if it looks okay on ME.”

“I just saw you a couple days ago. Your clothes were perfect on you.”

“That’s because A WOMAN picked them out. This time I’m picking this stuff out myself. That’s the scary thing!”

The sales clerk told me it all looked great, but that’s her job. How good a sales clerk would she be if she told customers they shouldn’t spend a dime on the outfit they’ve brought to her counter?

So if y’all see me on CNN looking really funky… well, now you’ll understand why.
—
PS: click here and check out my pastor’s new blog