Below are some links to media coverage of the 2008 Exodus International Freedom Conference that was held in Ridgecrest, NC July 15-20.
Asheville Citizen Times - Exodus Meeting Promotes 'Freedom From Homosexuality'
TV Coverage on WLOS (ABC) Asheville
Additional Coverage by WLOS ABC 13
CitizenLink: Exodus Conference Spreads Message of Hope
Christian Post: Exodus Offers "A New Day" for Hundreds Impacted by Homosexuality
From CitizenLink:
Two social conservatives will share the stage with two pro-homosexual speakers in a notable attempt at a “balanced discussion” sponsored by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
The pro-homosexual speakers — Bishop Gene Robinson, an openly homosexual Episcopalian in New Hampshire, and Dr. David Scasta, past president of the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists — will seek “common ground and new perspectives” with two conservatives: the Rev. Albert Mohler, president of South Baptist Theological Seminary and a member of the Focus on the Family board of directors; and Dr. Warren Throckmorton, associate professor of psychology at Grove City College.
“The symposium acknowledges the role of religious belief as a core variable in the development of sexual identity,” Throckmorton told CitizenLink. “To my knowledge, this meeting, distinguished by diversity of religious viewpoints, is unprecedented at APA.”
The symposium is scheduled for 2 to 5 p.m. EDT, on Monday, May 5, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
New Man: You struggled with same-sex attraction yourself. Did that experience lead you to the ministry you’re in today?Alan Chambers: Definitely. When I was growing up the only thing you ever heard about from the Bible regarding homosexuals was that they don’t inherit the kingdom of God. That’s the one thing that rings in my head from childhood. So when I found out that there was a local Exodus ministry, that there was help for people like me, I jumped at it.New Man: So years later you have come back to be the president of Exodus?Chambers: Yes, I’m the president of Exodus. Really from the time I was 18 until now—I’m 36—I’ve never left the ministry. I started out as someone who was participating and someone who needed help and then I was a volunteer, than on staff at a local ministry and worked through the ranks and to where I am now.New Man: Your ministry is inherently controversial. You have been interviewed by a number of news outlets and you’re unapologetic about trying to change homosexuals. What is your response to someone who says, “They can’t change”?Chambers: Well my first response is that we don’t change people. I want to be very clear about that. We are people who simply point to the truth and Scripture, to the truth of our testimonies and to the grace of a God who promises He’ll free anyone who submits his will to His Lordship. It will be different for different people. I know a lot of people that didn’t experience a change in their feelings. They didn’t experience the same freedom I did, which is sometimes hard to understand.
Read the whole interview >>
From Charisma Magazine:
The council appointed to administer fallen pastor Ted Haggard’s process of “spiritual restoration” has agreed to his request to end their oversight reports the Rocky Mountain News.
Despite this, members of the New Life Church team contest that “the process of restoring Ted Haggard is incomplete and [New Life] maintains its original stance that he should not return to vocational ministry.”Haggard, who was fired in November 2006 as pastor of the church he founded amidst a sex and drug scandal, will reportedly maintain what New Life described as an “accountability relationship” with Phoenix First Assembly of God pastor Tommy Barnett.According to the Rocky Mountain News, Barnett pastors the church Haggard now attends and was a member of the council helping to restore him.Fox News reports that Haggard’s “spiritual restoration” process was expected to last at least another four years.
From WORLD:
A couple of days ago, Tony Woodlief’s WoW post, “Anti-homosexual Christianity,” stirred quite a conversation. Tony looked at a piece of the book UnChristian, whose authors observe of the church that “outsiders say our hostility toward gays - not just opposition to homosexual politics and behaviors but disdain for gay individuals - has become virtually synonymous with the Christian faith.”
The post interested me greatly because I spent quite a bit of time this week talking with former homosexuals, and with Catholic, Jewish, evangelical, and secular counselors and psychologists who help people walk away from unwanted same-sex attraction. Two trends emerged:
First, it appears that the cultural liberation of homosexuality is also liberating those seeking to escape it.
Second, the cultural mainstreaming of homosexuality is awakening some churches to more compassionate ways of dealing with homosexuality — without endorsing the behavior.
Join hundreds of other men, women, families, ministers and youth as we fellowship together in Asheville, North Carolina at this year's International Freedom Conference. Click here for more information.
From WashingtonPost.com:
A six-year battle over the content of a new sex education curriculum in Montgomery County schools came down to two questions posed yesterday in a Rockville courtroom: Can the school board legally teach students that homosexuality is innate? And can the lessons discuss sex acts other than copulation?
Montgomery educators are defending the new curriculum, approved by the school board last summer, which addresses sexual orientation as a classroom topic for the first time. The lessons place the county at the fore of a trend among some of the nation's public schools toward more candor in discussing homosexuality. But they have prompted a strenuous challenge from religious conservatives who see the curriculum as a one-sided endorsement of homosexuality.
In the two short months since its release, Exodus Youth's DVD resource Truth & Tolerance has become one of our top-selling resources. We've recently put together this promotional video clip for YouTube. Check it out!
From The Christian Post:
A Nebraska gay-rights activist who works with youth is under unofficial investigation over a series of disturbing messages justifying violent retribution toward those who bully gay students.
The messages have appeared on several websites owned by Brian Wyant, coordinator at the Rainbow Outreach Metro Omaha GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) Center but have changed several times since several concerned Christians and gay-rights advocates brought it to their attention and went public with the material on their blogs.
The original message that caught the eye of prominent former homosexual Alan Chambers of Exodus International stated in all-capital letters:
"Without GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) access, students are forced to simply kill classmates who taunt & bully - shooting, stabbing and poisoning are the common forms of retribution. Far too many government officials like bullying children to the point where retribution against classmates and faculty is only option to redress relentless human rights violations in many regions. Speciously-named 'pro-family' leaders are child molesters who make money stigmatizing homosexuality to silence gay victims."
The offensive statement was posted on gaystraightalliance.org, which Chambers and others confirmed is not connected to the official GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) movement focused on ensuring safe schools for all students regardless of sexual orientation.
Read the rest of the article >>
Also, further commentary:
Warren Throckmorton on BP News:
Mark Twain said once: "Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." If environmental factors in sexual preference could talk, they might say the same thing. For sure, social or family factors in influencing sexual attractions have been written off by numerous scholars and media members. However, a new Danish study may prompt a fresh evaluation of the role of social factors in sexual orientation.
The study, published in the October 2006 issue of Archives of Sexual Behavior, authored by Danish epidemiologist Morten Frisch and statistician Anders Hviid, reports the analysis of data from more than two million men and women. It is the first study to examine an entire group of homosexuals for environmental factors in their decisions to "marry" homosexually. The research suggests a link between environmental factors such as geographic birthplace and family relationships and the probability of "marrying" a same-sex partner. The massive study also finds that the number of brothers and sisters affects the probability of marrying heterosexually. This finding questions a recent, widely touted Canadian study of birth order that found the number of older brothers increased the probably of homosexuality in men.
