As you may have already heard from Gospel Soundcheck blogger Joanne Brokaw, pastor and Planetshakers band member Michael Guglielmucci, recently confessed to lying about battling terminal leukemia, duping his congregation, fans, and most shockingly, his wife and family.
According to Australia's Herald Sun, "The deception included conducting performances with an oxygen tube in his nose and telling audiences he had broken bones and other unexplained symptoms."
Guglielmucci claims guilt stemming from his addiction to pornography actually created physical symptoms that included loss of hair and vomiting, which made it easy to keep his lie going.
Unfortunately, Guglielmucci isn't the first Christian music star to confess to a porn addiction. Gospel superstar Kirk Franklin confessed a few years ago to stuggling with an addiction to porn since he was 8-years-old.
In an interview with the 700 Club's Scott Ross, Franklin spoke about how his addiction started:
There's always the boy who has the big brother who has the magazine under his bed. That's how it starts. So the first time I ever saw one, I was around 8 or 9. I saw my first magazine, and from there I was addicted.
Franklin also appeared on Oprah in 2006 to bring the story of his struggle to a more mainstream audience, speaking about how as a teen he went to his pastor for help, to no avail.
"He sat back in his chair, and he took a puff out of his cigar," Kirk remembers. "He said, 'Oh, you're young--you'll grow out of it.' He had no idea that he spoke death into my life. That shut me down because [I thought], 'Well, someday I'll grow out.' [Instead], I grew in--and I grew in deep."
Kirk eventually married, and managed to hide his addiction from his wife, Tammy. After he eventually confessed, she stayed by his side and prayed for him.
But that wasn't enough to help him kick his porn habit. He once threw out all of his pornographic material, but went right back to it.
"I tried to go to sleep that night, and it was literally like a drug calling me," he remembers. "About 3 or 4 in the morning, in my flip-flops and boxers, I got in my car and drove back to that Dumpster and dug [looking for my porn]."
It was only until Franklin met Pastor Tony Evans did someone finally acknowledge the severity of his problem and actively work to help him overcome it through counseling.
Today, Franklin has been clean for about 9 years. In he recent interview with Beliefnet, he spoke about his struggle with his faith and what keeps him fighting for it.
I think it would be great if Franklin reached out to Guglielmucci to provide advice on overcoming porn addiction. XXXChurch.com is another great resource Guglielmucci--or another else with a porn problem-- could utilize for help.
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JJ and the Guglielmucci's pastor must be related. That sounds like the personality which would find you broken and bleeding on the side of the road and the first question would be, "What did you do to cause this to happen to you?"
Yeah, nobody is addicted to anything. Everything is our own fault. When my doctor found out that my heart attack (2002) was caused by an completely blocked artery, he should have refused any treatment until I had received a good dressing down about eating properly and so forth.
Not!
Many people eat pizza. Or bread. Are they addictive? No, they are just enjoyable. So is porn. The whole pornography addiction thing is an invention of conservative fundamentalists. I do not question that Mike may have felt guilty because of watching porn when he was a kid, but who made him feel guilty? Probably his parents (conservative evangelicals of fire and brimstone kind), or his church, or both.
Have those that are saying that it is not an addiction ever gone through it themselves? I suppose people that are addictive to gambling are not addictive. I know someone that has wrecked their marriage because of pron. Do you think he wanted that to happen?
I find that people that use porn in their life have other problems maybe going as far back as their childhood. Some are insecure in their lives and abilities (sexual insecurity causes a lot of people going to porn. Usually starts in when they are 14 years of age. Many times by one person telling another about the experience and feelings. Go to web site e-bible.com and bring up what the Bible says about the subject. This problem is not something new.
Porn addiction and music can be an interesting combination. However it’s possible that Christian music might have a good effect on the addiction. It is possible that any kind of music can have a positive effect on the addiction.
It seems that our friend, Guglielmucci, has a much bigger problem than a so-called addiction to porn. Fabricating a severe medical condition to win support and sympathy from family and fans is one of the 'sickest' things I've ever heard. While I do not doubt that one may become addicted, not to porn, but to the pleasure one may find while utilizing porn, it seems that this person's real problems revolve around self-esteem and truth.
Utilization of porn for self-gratification is emblematic of another form of self-absorption, which this so-called Christian music performer needs to address in his life. While we are all on a singular journey toward life fulfillment and self actualization, Guglielmucci appears to be one person with a very great whole in his soul and I'm glad I do not have to share life with such a person up close.
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