SHOCKING: Orlando Based Exodus International, Nation's Largest Ex-Gay Ministry, Issues Apology and Shuts Down
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| Exodus International's blog as of Thursday, June 20, 2013 |
By Ken Storey
Orlando based ex-gay group, Exodus International, abruptly announced Wednesday night on their website that they were shutting down mere hours after issuing an apology for the harm that they have caused over the past 40 years.
Exodus International is the nation’s most prominent ex-gay ministry. It claims to be the 'oldest and largest Christian ministry dealing with faith and homosexuality.' The ministry leaders, who will begin a new ministry, ReduceFear, will no longer profess to ‘cure’ gay people and will now “come alongside churches to become safe, welcoming, and mutually transforming communities.”
Reparative therapy, the name given to the gay to straight ‘therapy’ that ministries such as Exodus uses, has been outlawed in one state already with others looking to follow. The ministry renounced the therapy a year ago stating that it give a false hope and can cause harm.
The president of Exodus International, Alan Chambers, will appear this evening on Our America With Lisa Ling, which airs on OWN, where he will offer an on air apology to those hurt by the organization. The show will feature Chambers along with many who went through Exodus’s survivors. Chambers allowed for an activist who works to put a stop to reparative therapy picked the participants, known as ‘ex-gay survivors’ for the show. The pre-taped interview was timed to go out at the same time as the announcement from the ministry. In regards to the show Chambers stated;“I am the person God choose to be the leader of Exodus International and part of that reality is owning the things that hurt people. I can’t just take responsibility only for the good things; I have to take responsibility for the bad things as well.”
Chambers confirmed the fears (his address begins at around the 21 minute mark) that many of the supporters of Exodus had heard rumors of earlier in the day when on Wednesday evening in his opening address at the 38th Annual Exodus Freedom Conference currently taking place in California he read aloud the letter stating the ministry would shut down.
The announcement had already been posted on the ministry’s website by the time he got up to give his address but many in the audience were only beginning to get word of the major announcement. The audience sat completely silent throughout the almost one hour speech. Chambers began his address with a long pause, then a prayer, then another pause and a deep breath, before telling the audience;
“Normally when I speak I don’t have notes but’…’tonight I have notes because there’s a lot that needs to be said’…’I want to start with the reason why we're here this week’…’why do we do all what we do’…’it is for you. I want to firmly state that most of us here at the 38th Annual Exodus Freedom event are here as Christians with same sex attractions. We're believers who like me believe that sexual expression is reserved for one man and one woman in marriage or we're here as Christians with gay and lesbian loved ones who we desperately want to love without condition. For nearly four decades Exodus International has been the only safe place exclusively reserved for this minority of believers. It has been and will be again this week, all week long, a safe haven for us.”
He shared his own story, even stating the he still struggles with same sex desires to this day.
He stated that the leaders of Exodus met nearly 18 months ago and laid out four options for the ministry.
1- Stay the same which he stated wasn’t an option.
2- Rebrand which he stated wouldn’t help anything.
3- Modify- We opted for this, we’ve been trying to accomplish this goal for many many months now. Life has been incredibly difficult, I’ve begged God to let me be a decorator. We realized God doesn’t want us to modify Exodus any more. He’s provided an opportunity for us to take option 4…to shut down Exodus International..I knew this option would come to pass. We believe that Exodus needs to go out of business so that the Church can do its job.
“We’ve [the Church] got to apologize what we’ve done wrong and then do something about it. That’s what we plan to do at Exodus.”
Along with the announcement that the ministry was shutting down Chambers posted an apology on the ministry's website which he addressed ‘to Members of the LGBTQ Community.’
Within the letter Chambers speaks of his own same sex desires; “there were several years that I conveniently omitted my ongoing same-sex attractions. I was afraid to share them as readily and easily as I do today. They brought me tremendous shame and I hid them in the hopes they would go away. Looking back, it seems so odd that I thought I could do something to make them stop. Today, however, I accept these feelings as parts of my life that will likely always be there. The days of feeling shame over being human in that way are long over, and I feel free simply accepting myself as my wife and family does. As my friends do. As God does.”
He goes on to directly apologize to the gay community for the pain caused by his ministry. “Friends and critics alike have said it’s not enough to simply change our message or website. I agree. I cannot simply move on and pretend that I have always been the friend that I long to be today. I understand why I am distrusted and why Exodus is hated.
Please know that I am deeply sorry. I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced. I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents. I am sorry that there were times I didn’t stand up to people publicly “on my side” who called you names like sodomite—or worse. I am sorry that I, knowing some of you so well, failed to share publicly that the gay and lesbian people I know were every bit as capable of being amazing parents as the straight people that I know. I am sorry that when I celebrated a person coming to Christ and surrendering their sexuality to Him that I callously celebrated the end of relationships that broke your heart. I am sorry that I have communicated that you and your families are less than me and mine.
More than anything, I am sorry that so many have interpreted this religious rejection by Christians as God’s rejection. I am profoundly sorry that many have walked away from their faith and that some have chosen to end their lives. For the rest of my life I will proclaim nothing but the whole truth of the Gospel, one of grace, mercy and open invitation to all to enter into an inseverable relationship with almighty God.”
He then states that his biblical beliefs surrounding sex remain the same but that he will exercise great care and respect when expressing them in the future. He then even touches on marriage rights; “I cannot apologize for my beliefs about marriage. But I do not have any desire to fight you on your beliefs or the rights that you seek.”
Towards the end of the letter he acknowledges that he has been an enemy to the gay community; “You have never been my enemy. I am very sorry that I have been yours.”
He closes out the letter by stating “Moving forward, we will serve in our pluralistic culture by hosting thoughtful and safe conversations about gender and sexuality, while partnering with others to reduce fear, inspire hope, and cultivate human flourishing.”
In the announcement of the ministry shutting down Chambers also states“Exodus is an institution in the conservative Christian world, but we’ve ceased to be a living, breathing organism. For quite some time we’ve been imprisoned in a worldview that’s neither honoring toward our fellow human beings, nor biblical.” He continues “Exodus International is the prodigal’s older brother, trying to impose its will on God’s promises, and make judgments on who’s worthy of His Kingdom. God is calling us to be the Father – to welcome everyone, to love unhindered.”
The announcement goes on to state; “For these reasons, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to close Exodus International and begin a separate ministry.”
Lisa Ling, in an interview with pro-gay news agency Advocate, stated that Thursday's show is “one of the most important shows” she has ever done. She went on to say “Watching this episode you'll have no doubt that people can be gay and Christian at the same time.”
Our America’s “God and Gays” episode airs Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 10p on OWN.
Watch a preview to the episode below.
