Leaving Homosexuality: A Practical Guide for Men and Women Looking for a Way Out. By Alan Chambers
Alan Chambers is the President of Exodus International. His own decision to leave homosexuality more than fourteen years ago gives him tremendous insight as he addresses this difficult issue in churches, colleges and various public forums around the world. Alan has been interviewed by Time magazine, ABC’s 20/20, MSNBC’s Buchanan & Press and ABC’s Nightline. He was listed in Charisma magazine as one of the top Christian leaders who represent the future of the American church. Alan and his wife, Leslie, make their home in Orlando, Florida and are the parents of a son and daughter.
(Excerpt PDF)
In this accessible book Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, explains the process and clarifies the expectations for those who are skeptical of change or frustrated by an ongoing struggle with same–sex attraction.
Readers will learn how to
--enter into a new life in Christ --set realistic and healthy expectations --build authentic community --learn to forgive --overcome the power of sexual addiction
You can also get it at Amazon. They have 2 1 left in stock. (unless you want a "used" copy with someone's prayer prints all over it...not that there's anything wrong with that...)
Eventually it gets bad, you know it {~~Michael Jackson~~}. There comes a day when people start to say, oops, not again {~~Britney Spears~~}. It’s possible in the world of celebrity, to become so famous, to be on so many magazine covers, to collect so much TV airtime, that it becomes cool for people to say that a given celebrity is not so cool anymore {~~Barry Manilow~~}. There comes a point when a celebrity tips from fame to anti-fame {~~Brett Favre~~}.
But I had this thought, that if a politician runs as a celebrity, and the celebrity gossip magazines like Time and Newsweek, offer up positive cover after cover. And if the TV networks offer up more glowing coverage than the circumstances really demand, well…{~~Barack Obama~~}.
He ran a campaign that was all big crowds and photo ops, and he could deliver a scripted line better than any Oscar winner. And people imagined him to be whatever character they wanted, and they voted for what they imagined {~~Rock Star~~}.
Right about now, as reality starts to sink in, I can imagine a lot of those folks are privately thinking: “~~This doesn’t look anything like the change I thought he meant~~”. And by the end of summer they might just be ready to say it out loud: “THIS IS NOT AT ALL WHAT I WANTED.”
Now, it’s not a time to point fingers, and this is critical, it’s a time to say “Welcome home.” And then talk to them about the important issues at stake, the fate of pre-born babies, the definition of marriage, the role of the courts {~~Anti-fame~~fame~~fame~~}.
[announcer-like:] Coming to a polling place near you in 2010 and 2012.
Hello, all 300 million of you American voters. In case of my absence, I've chosen Sarah Palin to be responsible for your safety:
"As for that VP talk all the time, I tell ya, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me, what is it exactly that the VP does every day?"
From Box Turtle Bulletin (of all places). As Gabriel Arana says: "Normally Box Turtle’s brow is a bit higher... ...but could you ever imagine this sort of humor coming out of the other camp?" --- To all the hateful, bigoted, anti-gay "Christians" out there, who feel they aren't getting the tolerance they "deserve" for their intolerance, this one's for you:
Visit their (mostly French) website for more: http://www.gayclic.com/ _______________ Edit: title, 6-8-09 AM
This conversation between Rachel Maddow and Frank Schaeffer is about anti-abortion extremism in regard to Dr. George Tiller's death. But it could be in regard to any extremist language that leads to violence.
The anti-gay industry and it's employees always say they're against violence against us, especially in response to well publicized hate crimes. This interview articulates quite otherwise.
June 1: Frank Schaeffer, author, Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of it Back” explains to MSNBC’S Rachel Maddow how hateful speech leads to violent acts.
You can find the full transcript to this segment, here.
Paraphrased:
@3:45 And when you look at what happened to Dr. Tiller, there‘s a direct line connecting the rhetoric that I was part of as a young man and this murder. And so, people, like me, are responsible for what we said and what we did and the way we raised the temperature on this debate out of all bounds...
@4:40 But I also think that pretending that you can call abortion murder and Tiller the baby killer, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera—and that these worlds don‘ words don‘t have an impact, is crazy.
So, this is what helps unhinge a society, talking like this.
@6:15 ...we took the movement from its early stages when it was more a moral concern, not so much about politics and not so much about changing the law, and radicalized that movement. I follow the step by step process...
And what we did is we talked one game to the large public and we talked another game amongst ourselves… …tonight, there are people who are publicly saying, “This is terrible, we never advocated killing, abortion is murder, but we didn‘t mean people to take us this seriously.” But in private, you know, if these folks popped champion bottles, they would be drinking a toast to this murder tonight.
I know that this is the case because of the fact that I was part of the movement... ...on a private side, we also were egging people on to first pick at abortion clinics, then chain themselves to fences, then go to jail.
We knew full well...what we were also doing was opening a gate here...We live in a country in which guns are all over the place. We have plenty of people with a screw loose, plenty of people on the edge. It only takes one.
And what scare me is that I see the rhetoric of the Republican Party right now…about our newly elected African-American president…Some Christians in the same groups that are pro-life groups are running around saying he‘s the anti-Christ.
They also know full well that we have people out there who will take it to the next step and say, “Well, gee, if he‘s the anti-Christ, if he‘s anti-American, if he‘s a communist, maybe the best thing we can do is pull another trigger some other day.”
James Dobson: "We are shocked by the murder of George Tiller, and we categorically condemn the act of vigilantism and violence that took his life."
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council: Scripture could not be clearer: "For anyone to intentionally murder another human being is wrong," he wrote to supporters. "...We strongly condemn the actions of this vigilante killer
Al Mohler: "But violence in the name of protesting abortion is immoral, unjustified, and horribly harmful to the pro-life cause."
Carrie Gordon Earll of Focus on the Family Action: "It was shocking news to find that this man was murdered in the foyer of his church, it has to be condemned. It is the sort of act that you hear about and you just almost go into shock, so it must be condemned."
Scott Lively: “We do not promote or condone violence.”
Watchmen on the Walls: "We are the Watchmen on the Walls…We do not promote or condone violence."
People for the Way, Truth and Lifedoes not condone persecution, harassment, violence or disrespectful behavior...In no way does PWTL condone violence or ridicule towards homosexuals.
Randy Thomas: Each time we visit an office, our team was very clear that we do not condone violence.
And our winner...
James Dobson, Marriage Under Fire, P68: “In twenty-seven years I have never said anything hateful about homosexuals on our broadcasts, and I do not condone violence or disrespect for anyone.”
So it's true when they say they love us, they just love to hate us to death.
As I noted in my June 1st post, Exodus’ latest press release is only two paragraphs long, yet they didn’t notice that they inverted the term “live a life” for “life a live.” It has yet to be corrected.
Me: “I also think that that grammatical Faux pas above is indicative of their lack of scrutiny when it comes to so much of what they say and do. They don't seem to care when they are caught in a lie, or come across as hypocritical. That article was two paragraphs long, and they didn’t even take the time to proofread it, yet they want the world to conform to their supposedly superior standards.”
Well, upon re-reading that post, I noticed another one:
“…Scott Davis who overseas Exodus International's outreach to youth…”
This further highlights my point that Exodus International does not consider accuracy to be a priority.
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”
To be sure, bad grammar is not a form of dishonesty, but the point remains: If they can’t get the little things right, how can they be trusted to get the big things right?
The pro-life community reacted with shock after George Tiller was shot to death Sunday morning...
"We…categorically condemn the act of vigilantism and violence that took his life," Dr. James Dobson said in a statement..."The person or persons responsible for his death should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." --- Umm...wouldn’t that be the death penalty?
"With the increasing influence of Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace and YouTube, Exodus is hoping that its presence on such outlets will expose a wider audience to the message that there is help available to those wanting to life a live (sic) that reflects the Christian faith.
"Social networking trends are universally appealing, but especially to young people," said Scott Davis who overseas (sic) Exodus International's outreach to youth as well as the ministry's innovations in technology and development."
Clearly, Exodus International isn’t satisfied with the inadequate amount of LGBT youth who get kicked out of their homes and / or commit suicide every day.
I also think that the grammatical Faux pas above are indicative of their lack of scrutiny when it comes to so much of what they say and do. They don't seem to care when they are caught in a lie, or come across as hypocritical. That article was two paragraphs long, and they didn’t even take the time to proofread it, yet they want the world to conform to their supposedly superior standards.
The areas which they are utilizing to spread their poisonous message are all hyperlinked on the Exodus web page:
Exodus International on Twitter Exodus Youth on Twitter Exodus on FaceBook Exodus Freedom Conference on FaceBook Exodus Youth on My Space Exodus on You Tube Exodus Student Channel on You Tube Exodus podcasts
I’m not twitter literate, and their FaceBook page is a blurb, so I’m just going to explore a couple of their newfound avenues of approach.
"Through Jesus Christ, freedom from homosexuality is possible."
Alan Chambers: "How many of you are in need of some hope tonight? How many of you feel like you are just absolutely at the end of your rope? How many people came just absolutely ready for an encounter with the Lord? We serve a God who loves us. Who died for us. Who wants to have a relationship with us. Who’s crazy about us. He can sustain you. You can find freedom. It is possible, and freedom can come amidst a life of struggle. God created us to be in relationship, first and foremost with Him. That was broken in the Garden---through a relationship with one another. He did not create us to do this by ourselves."
Underlying this promotion of false hope and freedom from reality is an inspirational song with lyrics that include: ♪ Oh Lord make us one...May the world finally see, that you made us one ♪.
An understanding that I agree with, but would re-word. However, juxtaposed with the lies, deception, and violence-encouraging hatred that Exodus wholeheartedly endorses by default, the song becomes a true and revolting bastardization of the very concept of oneness.
Love = unity = oneness, a concept that is apparently lost on Exodus employees and their affiliates, proven by their continual dehumanization of us in the public sphere.
The sad part is that there are people who will never accept their same-sex attractions, but cannot turn to Exodus because they have integrity. --- And now onto all things Exodus Youth, AKA Scott Davis:
"Social networking trends are universally appealing, but especially to young people," said Scott Davis who overseas Exodus International's outreach to youth as well as the ministry's innovations in technology and development.
One of the propaganda DVD’s Exodus and Exodus Youth promotes, is called “Truth and Tolerance.” Which, of course, is anything but truthful or tolerant. (You can find the Scott Davis portion of the DVD transcribed here.)
It’s a litany of hypocrisy, delusion, and easily knocked down arguments. The problem is that it’s not intended for those with “unwanted same-sex attractions,” it’s a training manual for adults to rape the minds of GLBT youth. And yes, there are actual follow up manuals you can download.
So, If you or a same-sex attracted loved one is feeling a bit too emotionally and psychologically healthy, and would like to do irreparable harm to yourself or that same-sex attracted loved one, remember, now more than ever, Exodus International is here to help...
_________ Edit: Tuesday June 2, 2009 @ 6:45 AM: See second "(sic)" at top, and corrective grammar to reflect this.
Leaving Homosexuality: A Practical Guide for Men and Women Looking for a Way Out.
