Saturday, June 6, 2009

"How Do YOU Spell Salvation?..."


Warm and fuzzies often come from the most unexpected places…

(CNN) -- She was a call girl working the streets of Sin City. He's a guitarist in a heavy metal band. They found commonality in their Christian faith and Friday evening, the two were married in a Las Vegas, Nevada, ceremony broadcast live via the Web.

Annie Lobért, who founded Hookers for Jesus, and musician Oz Fox of the Christian band Stryper said their "I do's" at the Church of South Las Vegas in front of an applauding crowd and an audience on the Internet. The wedding had been widely touted on several Christian Web sites.

Lobért, 41, walked up to the stage in a white strapless gown, gloves and veil. Earlier this week, she wrote on her MySpace blog: "I am getting married. It's about time."

She had worked as a prostitute for 11 years, making as much as $500 an hour. She said she hit rock bottom when she overdosed on cocaine and everything went black, according to an ABC interview posted on her Web site. She asked Jesus to help her and became what many jokingly call a "porn-again Christian."

Lobért says her mission now is to save the souls of women who sell their bodies. She often spends time at night on Las Vegas streets handing out Bibles to prostitutes and seeking to convince them there is a better way to make a living.

The Hookers for Jesus Web site describes the organization as "an international, faith-based organization that addresses the realities of human sex trafficking, sexual violence and exploitation linked to pornography and the sex industry."

Before he administered the vows, Pastor Benny Perez said Lobért was a shining example of Christ's love for everyone.

Fox, 47, is a longtime member of Stryper, which stands for Salvation Through Redemption, Yielding Peace, Encouragement and Righteousness. The band's albums include "Reborn: and "In God We Trust."

I don’t really have a lot to add.

Except to say that both the Jesus, and for that matter the God, that I conceive of are possessed of a sense of humor and wisdom that makes these kinds of stories even more poignant.

Oh…and one little sidebar curiosity.

In all the years I’ve been aware of the band Stryper, I’ve wondered if they don’t get tired of having to clear up the confusion about the pronunciation of their name.

Stryper as in stripper?
Or Stryper as in stripe-er?

Anybody who has ever been in a band knows the slippery slope of word play.

Even Tom Hanks knew the pitfalls.

Which is why out of lots of funny bits in “That Thing You Do’, one of the funniest is the whole problem of “The One-ders” getting famous fast as “The Oh-Needers”.

At least Hookers for Jesus had the good sense not to mess with the spellings.

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