Earlier last week, the plucky pastors, who run an Internet youth ministry — and the world’s “#1 Christian Porn Site” — at XXXchurch.com, blew up a 25-foot, inflatable penis outside Sundance’s Beverly Hills offices to promote their porn-industry exposé. The incident was also a subtle protest against the film’s exclusion from this year’s Sundance event, currently taking place in Park City, Utah.
The pastors put their penis away when locals voiced their disapproval.
“Missionary Positions” is the story of Foster’s and Gross’s journey into the world of adult entertainment after God speaks the word “porn” to them. Along the way, they travel to Amsterdam’s Red Light District, visit a porn rehab facility in Kentucky, take a booth at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas and recruit a veteran porn director to make a controversial TV ad.
The film, which garnered an R rating from the film rating board of the Classification and Rating Administration, has been criticized by many on the Christian right for being too titillating. But Foster and Gross contend that the uncensored approach is necessary to get their fellow Christians to do what they’ve always been afraid to do — talk openly about the subject.
“The subject is so taboo, because even the pastors themselves are getting sucked into it. Nobody knows how to talk about it,” said Foster.
“It is the 800 pound gorilla in the room that no one discusses,” added Gross. “It is the dirty little — no make that — the dirty big secret."
Make no mistake, Foster and Gross are adamantly anti-porn. Yet, they have a remarkably favorable opinion of the people who produce adult material. “It's amazing how nice a lot of these people are,” Gross said. “It's not a den of lions.”
In fact, they say the porn producers they’ve met have acted more Christian toward them than their fellow Christians. They are regularly berated by listeners when they go on talk radio, and Pat Robertson recently squashed a piece about their film that was scheduled to run on his “700 Club” TV show.
XXXchurch plans to distribute the film at adult shops across America. “I think porn lovers and porn haters will both love this show,” director Bill Day told XBiz. “Missionary Positions” premiers in March at the Cinequest Festival in San Jose, Calif.