A God-fearing Stripper
Posted on June 7th, 2007 by catalyst into the Reasons why I love life categoryOur favorite Portland newspaper, Willamette Week, has a fun article that analzyes the lives of two Portland strippers, Zoe and Matilda.
Zoe's life is of particular interest. She volunteers at her church Living Hope and first started stripping as a way to pay for her highschool graduation.
The day she found out about graduation dues, she drove aimlessly around Portland, where she kept an apartment in her 1973 Mercedes convertible, which she'd emptied her savings account to buy. A regular churchgoer, she remembers asking God for guidance. Then she drove by the Sugar Shack, a strip club in Northeast Portland that she says would later come under fire for dancers pulling "extras" with customers.
If you read the whole article, you understand how Zoe got into stripping. It hasn't exactly been a picture perfect life. But her Faith seems genuine.
But she does feel conflicted at times: "I work Saturday night, get a couple hours of sleep, and get up and go to church all day Sunday. And there are times when I'm sitting at church and I hear things that make me feel it would be nice to find another way to make money.
"God paid for us with his son's blood, so we measure value by what someone is willing to pay for something, whether it's materialistic or human flesh or whatever. And it's easy to do that when you're a dancer, to put value on what other people are willing to pay you. If you have a bad night, it's easy to walk away feeling empty, whereas my morals tell me I shouldn't get my values from my job but from God."
Jesus Walks with her.
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June 7th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Should we be surprised that a stripper is Christian, or should we be surprised that stripping is one of the only well-paying jobs that’ll hire a teenage girl?
June 7th, 2007 at 9:09 am
An interesting article. Glad to see you picked up on it. There are so many stories up on stage, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to read this one. Yet I was. I wonder how many more church girls there are in there…
June 7th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Wow, that’s really sad. And it would be easy to see how many Christians would simply judge her and shun her. And that is not to say I believe what she is doing isn’t morally wrong - far from it.
But what is the responsibility of the Church here?
Here is a young woman from a troubled home who has had to support herself with nothing but a high school diploma since she was 14. In Biblical terms she’s exactly one of the people God calls us to serve and protect as one of the “orphans and widows”.
In modern society, it is perfectly acceptable for a woman to be single outside of her parents’ household and have her own career. And that is perfectly fine. But when God gave instructions to both Jews and NT believers on loving others, we often see the theme of taking care of those who can’t take care of themselves adequately. The Bible most often referred to them as “orphans and widows”. There were no single successful women in those days, you went from your father’s home to your husband’s home and anything else put you in jeopardy of extreme poverty and neglect by society. As much as we would like to think that times have changed, all too often we read about stories of girls like “Zoe” who are orphaned and neglected, without family. Single mothers have it even harder.
“Zoe” is/was a member of a local church. And when she needs help the most, does she get it from the church? Are there any members of her congregation willing to take her in and help defray the cost of surviving while she gets her life in order? The sad reality seems to be that she is still struggling on her own. We don’t know the whole story here, so we don’t know if she has gone to her church leadership for help. What would be their reaction? Would they forgive her and take her in to support her, or would they condemn her for her actions?
What would Jesus do?
(I wonder if the members of the church she named will read this and be moved with compassion to find her and support her so that she doesn’t have to continue in that terrible lifestyle.)
June 7th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
I wonder if the members of the church she named will read this and be moved with compassion to find her and support her so that she doesn’t have to continue in that terrible lifestyle.
And bite the hand that tithes?
October 9th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
I stumbled apon this article and your comments…. just wanted to say thanks for the thoughts. The comment about how members of my church reacted after the article was published, deserves to be addressed. They were furious. A few at least. Any where you look you will see hypocrites. Church isn’t an exception to this. There are times where i definatly display mindlessness…. sharing what I did for the sake of “Nude Ambitions”, wasn’t an example of this. I had thought about the possibility of a negative reaction, from church members; and from my family. I guess there comes a time in your life where you have to start living for you. I want to reach a place where I can say that I am healthy! Physically and mentally. That is the reason for my divorce… and partly for the article.
It’s like a journal… you cannot write in it without considering the possibility that one day, someone may read it. If that scares you; don’t keep a journal. I’m realizing that life is about being honest with yourself. When you ask the hard questions, and don’t give yourself slack; you gain perspective on things that really matter. If people are bothered, skeptical, sickened, ________ (enter feeling here)… by what I had to say; that’s their bag. I enjoyed the scary feeling of letting it all out… like a journal; but fully knowing that people would read it. All of it. I hope it gave some perspective that people might not have experienced otherwise….. PS. Matilda has recently expressed an interest in going to church with me….. we would have never known one another if it wasn’t for the article!
October 10th, 2007 at 6:34 am
I’m surprised the church didn’t make you a worship leader, Zoe. Imagine what that would a done for attendance!
‘Scrupe
PS - hope you know I’m just funnin’ wit’ ya.
October 10th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Thanks, guys! I put that on my site! You get the credit, though…
October 12th, 2007 at 10:23 am
I’m 60 pounds over weight! In my book and from what I read in the bible I’m a glutten…But at church I fit right in. Thank the Lord we wont be judged by our peers.
We are all sinners. Thats the beauty of Christianity. We are forgiven freed from sin. It dosen’t say we will never sin. But we are free from the punishment of sin. HELL!
This is suposed to be the good news!
What you see might look like a mess but from where I am standing I see where how far I have come Not just how far I have to go…
October 14th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
James 2:24 You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.
Hey Zoe if you need a place to stay I might be able to hook you up with a friend who could help you. Be prepared to be loved and challenged as well. Let me know.
October 15th, 2007 at 1:13 am
Amen to that. Most people, believers included, tend to minimize the intent and effect of their own sins, while magnifying those of others.
I agree with you on both points, Betty. I’ve always been struck by Paul’s attitude toward his own sin. When he was younger, he was more intent on proving his credentials:
But later, when the end of his life was in view, he said:
It seems his attitude had changed. Apparently time, and experience, had shown Paul the truth about himself.
Thank God for that.
I appreciate you sharing a bit of your heart, Betty B…or is it FHC?
It is always a perilous thing to open up one’s self to the scrutiny of others.
From where I am standing, I see no mess, just another fellow sinner forgiven by our Lord. That is indeed the good news.
-joebib