OPINION:
“I literally wanted to die.”
Joshua Broome had reached the end of himself. He was struggling to make it through each day and was so desperate he began to believe suicide was his only escape.
Mr. Broome had ascended to the upper echelons of the porn industry, becoming one of its most famous actors. He had achieved fame, money and notoriety — yet he was miserable, weighed down by the shame, pain and chaos that comes with such a role.
“I just don’t want to live anymore,” he told me. “There’s no future, there’s no one who’s going to marry me, there’s no employer who’s going to hire me … I’m absolutely useless.’”
Mr. Broome had come to believe the lie that there’s no turning back, no redemption and no path forward — a mendacious and sinister belief that, for many, leads to chaos or even death.
And yet, just a few years later, he is now a Christian pastor, online evangelist, husband and father of three.
The man who once wanted to end it all is now bringing the message of eternal life and God’s love to those who need it most. The person who believed no woman would marry him and no one would ever hire him is raising three sons and traveling the nation to speak about biblical truth.
“From porn star to pastor” is a tagline that often follows Mr. Broome, whipping up a stunning juxtaposition capable of capturing even the most secular person’s attention.
He could have taken his own life, but he didn’t. He could have continued in an industry that was literally killing him, but he chose not to. Instead, he turned his pain, anger, confusion and internal chaos over to God — something that shattered his past and led him to true fulfillment.
Then there’s Brittni De La Mora, another former porn star who achieved accolades and attention, but who found herself swept up in the lies of a pervasively evil industry.
“I was in the adult film industry for seven years of my life,” Ms. De La Mora once told me. “I felt like, ‘This is everything that I’ve been looking for in life. This is where I’m going to find love, and affirmation, and attention.’
“But I didn’t find that there. I actually had to start using drugs very early on in the porn industry just to get through the scenes.”
Her life imploded on multiple fronts. Her boyfriend was murdered in front of her, she had to go into hiding, and, like Mr. Broome, she reached the end of herself. The pain of her choices could have sent her further down a black hole toward chaos or death.
But Ms. De La Mora, in the depths of uncertainty and internal horror, discovered the Bible and a relationship with Jesus. She is now speaking about faith, raising two children alongside her husband, writing uplifting books and hosting a podcast about the importance of purity.
“God has radically transformed my life,” she told me.
The Bible tells us this change is entirely possible through a relationship with Jesus. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come,” reads 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV).
And for both Mr. Broome and Ms. De La Mora, the old has surely passed away, with their new lives shining light on the power of God’s ability to change anyone, at any time, in any circumstance.
These ex-porn stars escaped the bowels of one of the most diabolical industries, the trappings of fame and money, and their own brokenness to find something greater and more fulfilling — and their journeys have understandably captivated the world.
A lot of atheists and skeptics will demand believers provide evidence of the Almighty, not realizing this definitive authentication exists in the hearts, minds and stories of people like Mr. Broome and Ms. De La Mora.
Their journeys showcase the transformative ways God can change us — if we let him. And in a beleaguered culture increasingly plagued by confusion and an obsession with the self, their stories also serve as cautionary tales aimed at helping us understand what happens when we follow our selfish desires to the extreme.
Fortunately, Mr. Broome and Ms. De La Mora also provide a blueprint for what it looks like to die to self, live for God, and make a change, no matter how far we’ve fallen. That’s the message everyone needs to hear and one they are so beautifully sharing with the world.
• Billy Hallowell is a digital TV host and interviewer for Faithwire and CBN News and the co-host of CBN’s “Quick Start Podcast.” Hallowell is the author of four books.
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