How Meeting Jesus Changed Former P*rn Star Joshua Broome's Life | Pure Desire Ministries

Yeah. So tell us the next major part of your story, just briefly again, you know, some of these questions could be the whole podcast itself, but we want to dive into some other questions, but briefly give us the overview of how did you meet Jesus and how did that begin to change your life?

Yeah, so ironically, I used to wear this really expensive rosary that had a cross on it and I had a cross tattooed on my arm. I got rid of that and I covered the cross up with a different tattoo because I was almost branded by that because many people had seen it and kind of knew me by that. So covered that up, deleted my social media and ran for my life. And kind of on a one off, I'd gotten this personal training certification to coach CrossFit. That's, that's, that's the only thing I had in my bag. It's like the only thing.

What can I do? I'll do this.

Totally. Yeah. It's like literally, you know, that's, that's all I could do. And I applied to a bunch of different gyms in proximity to where my mom was. So we live. So my mom is in South Carolina, like right on the state line, a little bit closer to Charlotte. But I got a job at a gym in Raleigh, North Carolina. And it was pretty humbling because, you know, I was cleaning bathrooms and you're like, you know, outside doing landscaping and coaching a few classes. And on top of that, to make ends meet, I was working at a grocery store from 4am to like 1pm and then I worked, then I worked at the gym. And then even with working those two jobs, you know, I went from making like $350,000 a year to making like $3,000 a month. Yeah, right. So, like, that was pretty traumatic. And, uh, it was really providential the way that God allowed me to feel the brokenness and the hurt and all. But in a very real way, like, I wanted, I, I didn't want to go back to the industry, but I didn't know what else to do. And I knew, I knew how easy that money was, but there was just nothing in me that would allow me to make the decisions. Like I even, you know, I looked up emails and, and you know, looked through my phone and like contacts and I thought about texting, I thought about emailing, and I just couldn't do it. And that lasted for about two years, but worked my way up in the gym very quickly, was able to stop working at the grocery store work. My just again, high achiever, like talented communicator, just from experience and just, you know, gifted in that way. So I was able to excel in this coaching position and work my way up to management. And. And while I'm there, I'm doing pretty good, you know, in contrast to where I started. But inside, still night terror, still very broken, still getting recognized with some consistency when I went places. And from, you know, from being in the porn industry, which was really frustrating. So the way I handled it was I would lie until I got found out, and then I would just deal with it. So I. I hurt person after person after person. Nearly got fired from my job. Not because of the truth. It was. It was the truth that was withheld, which can be equally painful for people. And after a period of time, it just, like, a lot of the people in the gym knew, and I just kind of. I was a better coach than I was a liability than. And I just stuck around and started to see some success in there. And then this girl walks in, like, drop dead gorgeous. I asked her out on a date, and she says no. And I was shocked by that. I was like, whoa. She says no to the date? And she said, well, we can go for a run. And I was like, take what I can get. I'll meet you for a run. I don't enjoy running, but I'll run. Same for you, but we meet for this run. And while I'm there, I get there a little bit early, and I'm waiting for her to get there. And it's almost like many times I tell a story, and it's like I hear my mom's voice, but I'm pretty sure it was the holy spirit. But saying, don't, like, don't you dare lie to that girl. Like, don't you lie to her. I tell her the truth. And I was like, you're right. I don't want to hurt another person. So I was like, I'm just going to lay it all out there. And, you know, not very long into the run, that stayed a walk. I was like, hey, I've done a little bit of porn. She's like, excuse me. And I was like, man up, delight. For once, just tell the whole truth. And I told her everything. You know, I just blabbered on for, like, five minutes. And she was looking at me, like, pretty, you know, struck by what I said. And she, you know, obviously processing. And then it was almost like she planted her foot. And she's like, okay, I'm gonna respond. And she said, you know, a person's not defined by the worst thing they've ever done. And a person's not defined by the greatest thing they'll ever do. God defines who a person is. Do you know who God is? And I was conditioned. I was wired. I was an actor. So in that moment, I was great at pretending to be whoever the person across from me wanted me to be because I had no clue who I was. But I was great at putting on the mask of whoever I thought I needed to play so that you would like me. So I was like, do you want me to be Christian? Sure. Cosmological argument just regurgitating anything I've ever heard. Right? And. And then she pressed in. She's like, well, are you plugged into a church anywhere? Like what? Like, what does your walk with Jesus look like? And I. I couldn't fake it now. Just like, if. If that is what you're talking about, maybe I don't have that. And she's like, well, I gave my life to Jesus when I was in seventh grade. My brother, sister, mom and dad, all Christians. I'm not perfect by any means, but Jesus is the foundation of my life, and he is how I make decisions. So, anyway, do you like tacos? I was like, what? Hold on a second. I just told you all of this, and I tell you the truth, and I've never told any. I was never forthcoming with anything. And I tell you this, and your response is like, ah, no big deal. And it's like, you really see, you know, her being bold in her faith. And you see Colossians 4, 6 being played out like, let. Let your speech be gracious and season with salt. So you. You might know how you ought to answer each person. And sometimes it's not. It's not the right answer is the right response. How you react sometimes preaches a powerful message. And she extended kindness to me and grace, but she also told me the truth. And that was really captivating to me. I felt loved, I felt heard and very curious. I felt very curious. And a few. Few days go by. So this was. This conversation happened on Easter eight years ago. And the next weekend she said, hey, would you like to go to church? And I was like, sure. And we. We go to church and I walk in and there's this giant wooden plaque and says, we want to love people where they are, but encourage them to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. And I was like, I've heard about Jesus. He seems awesome. If you knew who I was and where I've been, there's no chance you're going to love me. Where I'm in. And that's just what I believed. But I went in and, you know, it was well received and the service was amazing from an aesthetic standpoint. And I was enjoying it and felt, you know, moved emotionally. And then there's a pastor gets up on stage, he's wearing jeans and a T shirt. And the little experience I had with church was like a very, very suit.

And tie Southern Baptist.

Yeah. So suit and ties, like, if you're not. If you got a wrinkle in your shirt, you're going to hell. You know, where it's like how I what I remember you. Tattoos, wrinkles, you're gone. And he gets up there and he starts talking about how Jesus changed his life. And he starts telling the story from first Samuel, talking about this dynamic between Jonathan and David and how when Jonathan died, historically the previous kingdom was wiped out. So my fable chef was the last remaining member of Jonathan's family. And David's asking his guard, like, is there anyone left? And he goes and send this guard. And Meph knew history because it implicated that he was going to die. So knowing that sends the guard and instead of extending a spear, he extends his hand and he brings him into David's kingdom and he gives him a seat at his table, even restores his land. And then the pastor pivots to, well, you know, who's guilty? Everyone. Romans 3:23 says that we've all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And then Romans 6:23 says, the wages of that sin is death. So each and every person is guilty. And each and every person, like Mephibosheth believed, is impending death. So there's a holy and perfect God that we can't get to because of our imperfection, because of sin. What are we to do? Well, Jesus comes into this world fully God and fully man, lays down his life and he dies on the cross, paying our debt. And the way that we can be reconciled to God is putting our faith in the perfection of Jesus. And I'm hearing this, and in this moment, Holy Spirit just gets a hold of my heart and I give my life to Christ. And so, yeah, so that. So that's how I met Jesus. And then three days after that, again, high achiever, I'm all in. Three days after that, I'm, you know, I met that church and I'm like, hey, here's my story. What am I supposed to do? Yeah. And then so I connect with pastor, and he introduced me to this man, Andrew Yates, who was a new pastor at this church. He just graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary, and he was there to help launch another campus. And he sat with me, was supposed to sit with me for, like, 30 minutes. He gave me Searching the Scriptures by Chuck Swindoll. And we're going to talk about, you know, observation, interpretation, application, like, here's how you read the Bible in context. Here's a little bit of homework. And instead of that being just a little bit of time that he intended to be, we sat there for three hours. And then I I rearranged my whole life. And then for four years, I spent 15 to 20 hours a week with him and ended up going to Bible college at Liberty University, study biblical theology. And God started bringing opportunities for me to share my story and eventually to preach the gospel. And here we are.