Exodus: Live Out Loud

Values Voters Summit

Exodus brought a redemptive view of homosexuality to this years The Washington Briefing: Values Voters Summit.  At our booth we handed out plenty of informative material including general information about Exodus, testimonies and newsletters.  Person after person came up to us seeking prayer and ministry concerning their own struggles or their family member who identifies as gay.

The Washington Briefing is mainly about public policy concerning a broad spectrum of issues.  However, since the issue of redefining marriage into a gay worldview is of such importance (along with other gay-centric efforts in public policy), many leaders at The Washington Briefing have gone out of their way to welcome the Exodus message and bring a very important perspective to the table.  Our perspective includes preserving marriage, an extremely important social institution,  while reaching out with compassion.   Wherever, public policy affects the people we are ministering too, we will be there to offer a personal and redemptive view.

Included in the "continue reading" reading link below will be a couple of articles covering the summit and excerpts as they pertain to the battle over marriage.

Exodus Church Network at the Grassroots

Check out what Anita has to say about the Exodus Church Network.

I pray many more will join Anita in spreading the word.

Is There a Gay Gene?

The Chicago Sun-Times reports on the search for a genetic cause of homosexuality. The short article begins with a surprising admission that scientists do recognize same-sex attractions' developmental nature:

The thinking now is that sexual orientation is determined by roughly 40 percent genetic factors and 60 percent environmental factors.

They also mention studies on twins that point to environmental causation, as when one identical twin experiences same-sex attraction, the brother (who shares the same genes) is also gay only about half the time.

Another surprising idea in the article is that some gays actually fear the discovery of a "gay gene," because such a discovery may lead to the development of medical treatments or even a "cure" for homosexuality. Why should they be opposed to a so-called "cure"? Most LGBT activists believe it is healthy and right for a person--even a child--to undergo hormone treatment and even surgery to change their biological gender. Why then is changing one's orientation, if possible, so frightening?

Personally, I think this ambivalence points to the truth of what homosexuality really is--a defense mechanism. As long as its cause is an enigma, and arguments are not too concrete, it's easy to accept as unchangeable because it's so consuming and unknowable. But if a specific "switch" were ever found, be it psychological or biological, then it would only be a matter of turning the switch off, and to the same-sex attracted person that is very scary.

The homosexual identity is about more than attractions; I know for me it was a place of protection from hurt and disappointment. I thought I'd learned that the "traditional" family didn't work, and trying to interact with other males as one of them only led to humiliation. So I found a way (however unconsciously) to insulate myself from any vulnerability to it. Aside from the addictive pleasure, homosexuality is a powerful ally that's hard to learn to live without.

So, on second thought, it's not so surprising to see that many gays want to let their homosexuality continue to be a mystery that can't be solved.

Exodus Youth Announces "Allies, Too" Campaign

This October 15-21, Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs in high schools across the US are promoting an event called “Ally Week,” in which they encourage non-LGBT-identifying teens to pledge their support for making schools safe for LGBT students.

Here at Exodus Youth, we want schools to be a safe and harassment-free place for all students, and we know that millions of Christian students share the same desire. While Ally Week is meant to have this effect, the pledge involved requires students to promise to “actively support safer school efforts” promoted by GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), which often involve policies and ethics which conflict with Christian beliefs concerning sexuality. This can leave many Christian students feeling as though they must choose between holding to their beliefs and looking like a bully.

Still, the fact that our beliefs are different doesn’t mean we can’t work together for safer schools for everyone. So, Exodus Youth is creating the Allies, Too campaign, in which Christian students can voice their support for safer schools without compromising their faith in God’s Word!

Similar to Ally Week, the Allies, Too campaign provides students with pledge cards they can distribute and sign to show their commitment to making their school a safe and tolerant place, without necessarily agreeing with all the values and behaviors promoted by GLSEN. Exodus Youth is also providing various resources for Christian students can use to educate their clubs and youth groups about issues concerning sexuality, and to reach out to their LGBT-identified peers with the Gospel.

Get your youth groups and Christian clubs involved in this special opportunity to show that Truth can be spoken in Love!

Nancy Heche Writes Her Memoir

                

I have gotten to know Nancy over the past year or so as we have seen each other at Love Won Out and other conferences.  She is a sweet lady with a great big heart.  She is making the media circuit over the recent release of her new book featured in this post The Truth Comes Out.

The Chicago Sun Times reporter, Leslie Baldacci, wrote an article

Cleaning the Closet: Heche's Mom Publishes Memoir that gives a good overview of the book.  The article slants a bit but in general appears to be fair after my first read-through.

From the article:

 

What are the chances that three out of four women in a single family would each write memoirs?

 

That depends on the family. The Heche family has experienced enough dysfunction to produce three volumes so far.

 

Actress Anne Heche (Call Me Crazy, 2003) and her older sister, Susan Bergman, (Anonymity, 1994) told their stories about their upbringing with father Don, a devout Christian and closet homosexual who, after 25 years of marriage, died of AIDS in 1983.
 

 

Now their mother, Nancy Heche, a Chicagoan, psychotherapist and part-time college professor, has constructed her own memoir as she spreads the fundamentalist Christian message that people don't have to be gay.

 

Heche won't use the word "accept" when it comes to homosexuality, and she can't yet say she has "forgiven" her husband. But she has, she says, turned her anger and resentment toward homosexuality into a position of love and respect.
 

I am proud of Nancy for sharing her side of the story and the humility to live out a transparent journey.

New Zealand Deals With "Hate Speech"

From the article http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3795142a10,00.html

           

Church in uproar over gay hate slur

13 September 2006 By ANNA CHALMERS

A slur campaign warning that "gays are a cancer" in the Presbyterian Church has sickened members as they prepare to vote on a ruling banning homosexual ministers.

Bumper stickers have been sent to the Presbyterian Assembly's 500 members nationwide, inflaming an issue that already threatens to split the Church.

The assembly sets the Church's policy and direction.

Members vote later this month on a ruling to exclude homosexuals  and anyone in a sexual relationship outside marriage  from becoming ministers or Church elders.

The bumper stickers, which were sent out anonymously, say "Gays aren't welcome in our church, help us let New Zealand know" and "Gays are a cancer in our church, let's keep them out of leadership".

The Human Rights Commission says the bumper stickers constitute hate speech  but under current laws little can be done.

I highlighted the word anonymously because whoever sent these stickers out obviously doesn't have the courage to be accountable for their inflammatory rhetoric.  Within this context we don't know who made up these stickers.  For all we know it could be along the same lines as clever gay identified activists who made up "heterosexuals only" stickers and applied them to public amenities in Boise Idaho.

Chances are though that these were sent out by someone very frustrated with the increased focus on condoning unbiblical sexuality in the Presbyterian Church.  The Church, as a whole, is supposed to be founded by Christ and His revelation to us through His Life and scriptures.  The frustration is very apparent in the soundbyte messages on these stickers.  The problem is that while the scriptures do call us to have an answer, comparing those with same sex attraction to a horrible painful disease is not a good or accurate way to go.  In other words, these stickers do not provide an answer and instead inflame division.

Truth is, if the church is hijacked by social culture war issues and not primarily focussed on the preservation and propogation of the gospel, it will split.  A church has every right to adopt and enforce a moral code for it's leadership.  The scriptures are very clear that church leadership is held to a high standard of accountability and must be in line with the scriptural mandates set for leadership. People actively engaged in sexual sin (heterosexual or homosexual) do not meet those mandates (included in the link and many other places in scripture.)  The answer is not in stigmatizing people who are in sexual sin but in providing avenues that welcome them into the church, provide resources to help those who are repentant and avenues for service to those who are continually being sanctified and called into ministry.

I would not expect the MCC (gay centered church network) to allow me, a formerly gay identified man who has overcome same sex attraction and called to help others of similar beliefs to do the same, into its membership or leadership. It would be ridiculous of me to expect and want to serve an organization that I can't agree with over what biblical relationships should look like and scriptural authority to define the Creator's intent and call for repentance.  Conservative churchs should have the same freedom to uphold biblical morality as an expectation for their leadership and not hijacked by a pro-gay identified agenda.  All the while, this should be done with respect and not stigmatization.

Sidenote: I am not sure what the "hate speech" laws in New Zealand are but it is a travesty that they even exist.  While I believe stigmatizing the same sex attracted is wrong, it's just as wrong to punish free speech.

GLSEN Finally Admits that Identity is a Choice

from an article at GLSEN's website entitled "Talking the Talk: A Glossary of LGBT Terminology and Match-up Game" http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/library/record/1278.html

Sexual Identity: This is how we perceive and what we call ourselves. Such labels include “lesbian,” “gay,” “bisexual,” “bi,” “queer,” “questioning,” “heterosexual,” “straight,” and others. Sexual Identity evolves through a developmental process that varies depending on the individual. Our sexual behavior and how we define ourselves (identity) can be chosen. Though some people claim their sexual orientation is also a choice, for others this does not seem to be the case. (emphasis added)

Wait just a minute... did they just say that identity is a choice and indirectly infer that some people claim orientation is a choice?  ... That identity is a developmental process? Wow.

We at Exodus know that people struggling with same sex attraction did not choose to struggle with same sex attraction and yet people can choose by what facet of their lives they want to identify with.  For myself it is Christian.  Also, while people don't choose to struggle with same sex attraction, we certainly can choose to pursue re-orientation or "overcome" said attractions by pursuing holiness.  Healthy heterosexuality is a by-product of our journey toward holiness that occurrs on varying levels for different people.  Even so, to go from a gay-centric relational paradigm to a Christ-centered one is HUGE change regardless of sexual orientation shift (or lack thereof.)

I think perhaps many in the gay activist community are realizing that change is possible and people are looking for options aside from a gay-centric worldview.  They are changing their language and message to hold on to a base that is increasingly frustrated with a narrow view of those dealing with same sex attraction having to idenitfy as "gay."

The difference is they are holding open the "options" of identity which still limit a person's choice to what "we (inference the gay identified community) call ourselves" and never question the morality or transcendant needs of why a human desires to even have a solid identity.  It would appear that their approach is a self-sufficient option list for people to pick from, that still empower them through a sense of community, instead of an Inspired self-awareness.

Exodus is a Christian organization and we believe that every human soul bears the image of God.  We, like Him, want to be known by Him and to know others.  We bear His image most strikingly in the way that we carry out our relationships.  He is a relational God and He created us to be relational.  Sexuality is just one of many components of our relational lives and we choose to place it in proper context and not limit our identity to be based only on who we are sexually attracted too or to what we may be feeling at the moment.

It is my hope that the gay activist community will open their minds to tolerate a morality they may not agree with in recognition of the fact that not everyone who has same sex attraction are limited to the above list of gay centric optional identities.

Exodus Releases A Guide to Help Evangelicals Reach the Gay Community

Exodus Releases A Guide to Help Evangelicals Reach the Gay Community

Orlando, FL- Exodus International has just released a resource designed to help evangelical churches and individuals practically demonstrate compassion to gay men and women. Written by Alan Chambers and the Exodus staff, God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door is a comprehensive guide to dealing with the often-confusing topic of homosexuality as well as hurting individuals affected by it.

Several key areas are addressed including the behavioral complexities and roots of homosexuality; dealing with fear and ignorance within the church; leading gay men and women to Christ; mentoring repentant homosexuals in the church and helping youth affected by homosexuality. The book, published by Harvest House Publishers, also offers practical guidelines on talking with gay men and women with tips on "Five Things NOT to Do When Reaching Out to Gays."

Notable authors and speakers such as Joe Dallas, Coral Ridge Ministries Founder Dr. D. James Kennedy, Christian recording artist Sheila Walsh and Dr. Robert Wolgemuth have endorsed God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door.

"Many of us are here today because someone in the church had the courage to demonstrate the loving, uncompromising truth of the Gospel," said Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International. "It is our great hope that countless more will reach out to the gay men and women in their lives who might otherwise be ignored."

Exodus International recently launched the Exodus Church Network - a ministry that provides training sessions and resources to educate churches leaders and their congregations on what the Bible has to say about issue of homosexuality. Men and women formerly identified as gay individuals are available to speak and encourage an attitude of compassion towards the gay community and church members who are conflicted by unwanted same-sex attraction.

Founded in 1976, Exodus International is the largest resource and referral organization dealing with homosexual issues in the U.S. and throughout the world. With over 135 ministries across North America, Exodus is a growing network of former homosexuals dedicated to sharing the transforming power of Jesus Christ.

To read an excerpt from the book: www.harvesthousepublishers.com/books_nonfictionbook.cfm?productID=6916911

For information on purchasing the book: www.harvesthousepublishers.com/books_buy.cfm

Berger's Statement Generates Anger

Dr. Joseph Berger's recent statements have caused a bit of anger in certain parts of the gay identified blogosphere.  Dr. Throckmorton also reports on this.

Dr. Joseph Berger is reported to have stated (original article removed from the NARTH website):

I suggest, indeed, letting children who wish go to school in clothes of the opposite sex - but not counselling other children to not tease them or hurt their feelings. On the contrary, don't interfere, and let the other children ridicule the child who has lost that clear boundary between play-acting at home and the reality needs of the outside world.  Maybe, in this way, the child will re-establish that necessary boundary.

After contacting NARTH about our concerns over this statement, Exodus received the following reply  from them explaining the organizational view of Dr. Berger's advice.  They gave us permission to release this statement from them.

NARTH disagrees with Dr. Berger's advice as we believe shaming, as distinct from correcting can only create greater harm.Too many of our clients experienced the often life long, harmful effects of peer shaming. We cannot encourage this. 

Here is the Exodus response to the above clarification from NARTH.

Exodus commends NARTH for its distinction regarding the harmful emotional damage of peer shaming. So many of us as former homosexuals know, firsthand, that public or private humiliation can serve no beneficial purpose. We must demonstrate compassion and honor the dignity and  worth of each person.

HRC's Back-To-School Tips for Gay Parents

Scott Davis, Exodus Youth Director, wrote the following:

In a recent email to gay and lesbian parents, HRC admits that being the child of a gay parent isn't always the greatest thing in the world:

Better dust off those backpacks and sharpen those pencils — back-to-school time is here again. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parents often face a unique set of challenges when it’s time for the kids to head back, whether it’s talking to them about fairness for GLBT families or working with school administrators to create a welcoming learning environment. Find out more about what GLBT parents need to know at this time of year.

"Unique set of challenges" is certainly a mild way to put it. Study after study proves that children need both a mother and father figure who are actively involved in their lives. Children of gay or lesbian parents are automatically denied healthy male or female influence as they grow up. This places them at a tremendous disadvantage as they head off to school, where they must now learn own their own how to interact with both males and females.

HRC makes an even more startling admission in the text of the article, saying "Our children do not need to bear the burden of the struggle for GLBT rights and diversity in their schools".far before the welfare of children.

Perhaps this means they will halt their vocal and monetary support of student groups devoted to homosexual activism! But I doubt it. Based on their actions, activism seems to come

For a redemptive view of sexuality and young adults please visit http://exodusyouth.net.