Smut Magazine Publishers Convert

When Steve Lane talks about pornography, he speaks from experience, both as a producer of smut and as a born-again Christian.

Lane, 32, and his brother Mike, 36, each converted last year after watching televangelist James Robison. The two had been publishing a “First-Amendment newspaper” and glossy tourism magazines in the Florida panhandle. After both publications defended and promoted pornographic businesses, the two were about to hit the market with their first porn magazine. Steve Lane says they had printed 30,000 copies last fall, which were sitting in a warehouse awaiting a national sales contract.

“When we got that national contract, it was everything we ever dreamed of,” Steve Lane recalls. “All we had to do was sign it and ship the magazines off for distribution. We got saved, and what we have now is worth a lot more than money.”

The brothers had an unusual background prior to ending up in the pornography business, Lane says. “Our stepfather was a Baptist minister. Our mother was a gospel song writer. We were two kids who grew up in church,” he says.

Yet that stepfather “was the first person who exposed us to pornography. We found his magazines,” Lane says. “There are so many dads that say, ‘I buy Playboy to read the articles.’ If you are a family that carries pornography in your house, those magazines make it eventually into the hands of your children.”

After their conversions, the Lanes contacted Robison at his nondenominational Life Outreach International in Fort Worth. “We did two television shows with Robison,” Steve Lane says. “In two days, 10,000 people called for help, and about 40 percent were Christians in bondage to pornography.”

Lane says the brothers, who relocated to Tupelo, Mississippi, and are working with the American Family Association, are also preparing a video exploring the connections between the Internet and pornography as well as speaking at ministerial conferences.

Copyright © 1999 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also in this issue

Birth of a Troubled Conscience: A Christian Science upbringing. A shameful wartime act. And a God whose grace haunted Glenn Tinder into the kingdom.

Our Latest

Public Theology Project

A Real Revival Is Not Controllable 

It implies a movement of the Spirit, not just a boost in numbers.

From Our Community

For Vince Bacote, the Black Evangelical Story Has Something for Everyone

The theologian behind a recent documentary on what compelled him to tell a challenging and beautiful story.

Tribalism Comes with a Warning Label

When tribalism turns us inward, we live like the rest of the world apart from the gospel.

Excerpt

Shutdown Highlights Challenges in Rural Health Care

Small-town doctors grapple with looming budget cuts and lack of support.

There’s No Shame in Talking About Pregnancy Loss  

Eli and Hannah’s conversation in 1 Samuel holds wisdom for Christians on how to care for people who have lost babies or experience infertility.

The Russell Moore Show

JD Greear on What Culture Wars Are Doing to Us

What if the real radicals right now are the ones who refuse to join the outrage mobs?

News

The Anglican Communion Is Coming Apart

Conservative Gafcon leaders break from Canterbury and claim the future of global Anglicanism.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube