Some veteran Jackson Mississippi Samson guys' musings, recommended resources, and Samson Society news / updates (all written by 100% Grade A - Human Intelligence)
Weekly meetings available to you are as follows:
Tuesday at 6:30 PM, Truitt Baptist Church - Pearl. Call Matt Flint at (601) 260-8518 or email him at matthewflint.makes@gmail.com.
Wednesday at 6:00 PM, First Baptist Church Jackson - Summit Counseling Suite - 431 North State St. Jackson. Call Don Waller at 601-946-1290 or email him at don@wallerbros.com.
Monday at 6:30 PM , Vertical Church - 521 Gluckstadt Road Madison, MS 39110. Mr. Roane Hunter, facilitator, LifeWorks Counseling.
Sunday night at 6:00 PM, Grace Crossing Baptist Church - 598 Yandell Rd. Canton. Call Joe McCalman at 769-567-6195 or email him at cookandnoonie@gmail.com.
Since the re-pinned video wasn't the original one, I took the time to screen its more recently created (Christian softball) replacement. And it got me to thinking.
What if Joshua Broome had been a Jolene Broome? Would her story replicate despite the gender change?
Let's be more specific.
Jolene, being as bright and "girl next door" physically attractive as her "fraternal twin", Josh, would have had the exact experience - from start to finish - related to become one of the most prolific / well compensated porn stars prior to returning home to her mother - +/-5 years later - in the Carolinas / quietly morphing into a respected personal trainer / being lassoed in by the gospel of Jesus Christ / getting married to a virgin, Christian man (who's NEVER consumed porn) and then becoming the next Kay Arthur / Beth Moore.
Absolutely not would her story replicate Josh's.
There'd be no chance she'd be seen as anything other than refuse / a liability, no matter her spiritual testimony. I suppose certain folks might pity her and her story, but no one would buy into her being "sucked" unassumingly into the porn industry as Josh so doey-eyed, unassumingly capitulates.
For women can most certainly model their sensuality (Victoria's Secret), but they absolutely cannot participate in the creation of pornography sans being labeled a slut - for life.
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Therefore, let's turn our attention back to Josh, porn star turned preacher / Ward Cleaver - father of four boys whose past has never truly seemed to catch up with / stuck to him.
The elephant in the room, of course, is the digital archive. Thousands upon thousands of hours of straight and gay porn that'll be archived forever online. Titillating, influencing, explicitly narrating extremely intimate sex acts performed by none other than he himself. Over and over and over again with hundreds, if not thousands of strangers. And all of this is simply one click of the mouse away...
How do you reconcile that in relation to your children / grandchildren having access therein to this part of your past? And the bigger question is the following: When Josh's family (church / bio) begins to inquire (demand?) an explanation pertaining to him truly explaining his past life, what's he going to say? In particular, the sheer quantity of sex partners, thousands of hours of smut highlighting his ability to fuck consenting adults animalistically whilst being filmed / photographed.
But, considering his present pastoral role, how would you, as his parishioner, reconcile that within your own mind? For I believe much of it, for him personally, comes down to his pseudonym / porn star moniker that he chose to uphold throughout that season of his life. It must serve as a dividing line of sorts. Plus, we're all familiar with the theatrics behind the notion of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde - two separate personas neither of which can exist simultaneously. Perhaps his parishioners would take the same approach.
Here's a thought.
I suppose, if his porn career archive only existed within the analog, perhaps there could be some reconciliation therein, but of course, that's most certainly not the case. Most everything, particularly within the porn space has been digitized. And, there's no doubt, his onscreen "work" continues to gain traction in light of his newfound vocation / willingness to narrate his story.
The bigger question though is to what degree and exactly why his charmingly good looks and seemingly unashamed approach captivate audiences. If you've screened ex-female porn stars' testimonies (converted to Christianity or otherwise), particularly those who were as entrenched as Josh was within the industry, the primary differentiator comes down to trauma. Deep seated trauma.
Most female porn stars are victims, from their childhoods onward, of sexual abuse / trafficking. This sets them up perfectly for the roles they'll play within porn, and even well into their retirement from the industry itself due to the inevitable lifelong shunning / ostracization that'll be handed to them - on a silver platter.
To look at this clinically, Jolene would be, no doubt, easily recognized as traumatized so long as she's mentally / emotionally sound.
Now then, here's the fact that no one's discussing here.
Josh exacted / inflicted that trauma as the Alpha male. The stud. The stallion. This no doubt eventually resulted in amassing a tremendous amount of shame for this young man, but that could never be compared to being traumatized via sexual assault / coercion under the hot lights of the porn industry.
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Poor Jolene. Poor, poor Jolene. No wonder so many women with her story simply choose to become lesbians after the fact.
It's no doubt a man's world. The story of Josh Broome proves it.
Today I had the privilege of lunching with one of the most physically beautiful men I've yet (so far within these 53 years) to have the privilege to befriend. And, I'm pleased to say as well that his persona came / comes across as quite likable in kind.
When I was in high school, I found myself transfixed by one particular fellow classmate (male). He was no doubt the most athletic / athletically built young man within our +/-45-member troupe. Whenever Tom would be within "visual range", I would have to - very intentionally - stop gazing in his general direction. For everything about this young man simply looked distinctly ideal in regard to Rob's ultimate fantasy man.
What was ironic regarding these consistently roulette wheel run-ins (our private high school was NOT large) was this very Adonis ended up seated directly across from me within my first college class.
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Physical beauty can spell trouble for individuals who're prone to exploit the inevitable attention (feed their egos) for their own gain / pleasure. My former classmate, Tom, may have experienced this (he & I, by no means, stayed in touch), but regarding my new friend from lunch today, there's absolutely no doubt. And he very humbly admitted to this.
According to my new friend, playing college football brought opportunities to party alongside. And with partying (at age 20) came boozing. Boozing that tapped into a genetic predisposition (lengthy ancestral line) to become addicted. And that addiction almost completely destroyed him and his future. I knew just enough of this prior to our lunch to be intrigued (which served as a catalyst for organizing our juncture), but I had no idea of the severity therein. Ultimately, in tandem with him hitting rock bottom, had it not been for the kindness of an aunt, he'd be dead.
Listen to me when I tell you this, dear reader. If you saw this beautiful man on the street, you'd NEVER SUSPECT him having lived out this wreckage of a life. Never. And speaking of the word never...
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I've never had an experience like this. Sitting there with this incredibly hot guy and hearing the highlights of his derailment tale absolutely shook me to the core. And let me be blunt, this derailment altered - for the worse - the course of his life forever. Opportunity(ies) torched. A future life lived on Easy Street torpedoed.
It's been six years since my new friend has drunk alcohol. Today, he's married with numerous stepchildren, meekly providing financial support via a below average pay managerial position at a local nonprofit.
I wept for my - only half-smiled once during our lunch - new friend as I made my way back to my office. And, man oh man, what a gorgeous smile he has.
In closing, he shared with me how he and his fam were slated to head out tomorrow, (10/3) for a fall break vaca. Their destination? A very isolated, modest beachfront property owned by a hospitable family member.
I couldn't help but wonder if said location wasn't - at least to some degree - selected out of shame management.
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This world of woe is so very difficult to reckon with, taking stories like his into consideration. Please pray for me going forward as I rub shoulders with my new friend. I feel so privileged to know him now as I didn't know him before despite the time it will take for me to process his story. Here's the lesson: Over the top physical / sexual attractiveness can no doubt be exploited by our Enemy. Particularly in a world that celebrates / elevates these to the degree that we do. Satan's end goal will always be to kill, steal & destroy using first & foremost the status quo against us coupled with our naivety regarding our own vulnerability.
We are all sheep. Some of us far more attractive sheep than the rest, but there's no changing the fact that we're still dumbass sheep. Never forget how vulnerable therein you truly are.
This November 7–9, we’re gathering atGlorieta Adventure Camp outside Santa Fe, New Mexico for the annual Samson Summit, and you don’t want to miss it. This year, we are honored to welcome Chris Bruno—author, counselor, and guide for men reclaiming the lost art of true initiation and rites of passage. Chris has spent his life helping men step into their strength, courage, and wholeness not through bravado, but through honest vulnerability and sacred brotherhood.
The Summit is a chance to step out of the noise of daily life and into a space where you can reconnect with your story, your brothers, and your God. Together we’ll explore what it means to walk through life’s thresholds as men who are deeply known and fully alive.
And there’s more: you can choose to arrive a day early—Thursday, November 6—for a special time of fellowship and gathering. This extended time will give you the chance to deepen your recovery journey and begin the weekend already rooted in connection.
Don’t miss this opportunity to walk shoulder to shoulder with men on the same path as we rediscover our story.
Grab your official Samson Summit 2025 shirt today and show up to Glorieta already geared up. This isn’t just a shirt! iI’s a marker of your journey and a reminder that you’re not walking alone. Snag yours now and wear it with pride when we gather in Santa Fe.
Curious about how to step into deeper healing, brotherhood, and honest conversations around faith and sexuality? Click the button below for resources, events, and connection points we’ve gathered for you. You don’t have to walk this road alone.
Your support is crucial to keep Samson House running smoothly and effectively. Your financial contributions help cover the essential expenses that keep our operations going strong.
The one time I had the privilege to hear Pastor Voddie Baucham was during a weekend men's conference here in Mississippi. This was around 17 years ago (2008). All I recall is that he exposited the first few chapters of Genesis, and it was so unlike anything I'd ever heard executed within a "men's conference" - type setting. Prior to this, I'd attended a handful of stadium-filling "Promise Keepers" events, and these served as my only point of reference. In contrast to those, Voddie preached to us men throughout the entirety of the conference, WITH FULL EXPECTATION that we'd stay focused therein on his exposition - no matter it's length / concept. That weekend demanded so much more than anything I'd ever been part of (in light of it being labeled as a conference specifically designed for men).
The guys that attended with me were three younger Presbyterians from our church, one of which organized our small group's involvement. None of these men were close friends, though interestingly enough, one did eventually get fully immersed within Samson Society (& he did know my story at the time).
Notice within this video Voddie's voice. Specifically, how much blank space(s) is intentionally left within his speech. As such, his words have reference and austerity, and what I mean by that last descriptor is how very deliberate he was with his diction.
