Ex-Gay Ministries KILL

From In The Life, January 2009:

Ties That Bind
This month IN THE LIFE explores the power of religion to shape our lives, worldview, and our political convictions... providing spiritual guidance and comfort, but often used to promote intolerance and hatred of LGBT people. Looking at the intersection of religion and sexuality, we see how gays and lesbians reconcile their faith within their religious communities.

In God We Trusted
Believing that homosexuals have no place in the Christian church, evangelical ex-gay ministries, such as EXODUS, have been established around the country to re-program LGBT people to make them heterosexuals? often with tragic consequences.


Michael Billy, Host: In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association declared homosexuality no longer a mental illness. In response, by the late 70’s, ex-gay ministries were established around the country, and soon after, throughout the world, by evangelical Christians.

Believing that homosexuals have no place in Christianity, groups like Exodus attempt to reprogram LGBT people to make them heterosexual. Often, with tragic consequences.

Many who leave these programs find themselves alienated by their church and their families, and even, the gay community itself.

[Intro Montage]
Newscaster Cynne’ Simpson: A battle is underway in Atlanta, that some say pits sexual orientation, against faith.

Rev. Dr. Mel White, author, co-founder Soulforce: The ex-gay movement is perhaps the most dangerous movement to the gay community, that there is.

Pat Robertson: The average homosexual male is not gay and happy, there is a dark cloud that’s there.

Melissa Fryrear: We offer hope, to people who are living homosexually, who may be dissatisfied.

Wayne Besen: These groups offer promises they can’t deliver, and deliver disasters they never promised.
[End montage]

Wayne Besen, Founding Exec. Director Truth Wins Out: All the power houses in the religious right are behind this. Jerry Falwell, when he was alive, Pat Robertson highlights their testimonies on the 700 Club, and of course, James Dobson and Focus on the Family are really the nexus, the nebula, of all things ex-gay.

Michael Busse, Founding member Exodus International: The repetitive message is always, you are broken, you are damaged, you need to be fixed. And I think that’s a very destructive message.

Narrator: The ex-gay movement, a movement based on the notion that through prayer and hard work, gay people can become straight, took off in the mid 70’s, with the formation of Exodus International.

Michael Busse: The year after the first Exodus conference in 1976, we began getting hundreds--thousands of letters, gay and lesbian folks from all over the country and outside the country that had heard about us somehow. We took it of course as a sign that we were doing God’s work, that for it grow that fast, it meant that it was definitely God’s idea.

Narrator: Quickly however, some former leaders of Exodus, began to see that no one was truly changing, but many were truly suffering. 31 years after founding Exodus, Michael Busse and other leaders came together to offer a public apology for their role in the movement.

Michael Busse: Not one of the hundreds we counseled ever became straight. Instead, many of our clients began to fall apart. One young man in our program got drunk and deliberately drove his car into a tree. Another fellow leader of the ex-gay movement told me that he had left Exodus and was now going to straight bars looking for guys to beat him up. He explained that the beatings made him feel less guilty, he was atoning for his sin. One of my most dedicated clients, Mark, took a razor blade to his genitals, slashed himself repeatedly, and then poured drain cleaner on the wounds -- because after months of celibacy he had a “fall.”

To those people I may have harmed by my involvement in Exodus, I am truly sorry.

Narrator: The damage wrought by the ex-gay movement was never so apparent, than at the first ever ex-gay survivor conference, held in Irvine, California in 2007. The same weekend that Exodus was holding their conference across town.

Peterson Toscano, Co-Founder, Beyond Ex-Gay: A good friend of mine--lesbian ex-gay survivor, we’d been talking about our own experiences for the past few years on our blogs, and various forums on line, and we’ve had the chance to unpack our stories, but so many people don’t get that chance. So we thought, you know, we need a place for people to unpack these experiences for themselves.

Supportive Preacher: You don’t have to change. They do.

Mel White: The suffering that comes out of the ex-gay movement, is considerable.

Vincent Cervantes, ex-gay survivor: For me I realized, growing up in a Christian home and just being in a Christian institution, that it wasn’t ok to like someone of the same gender.

Dan Gonzales, ex-gay survivor: The ex-gay movement then told me that same-sex relationships were false, that they inherently disordered, that they were destructive, that they were abusive.

Peterson Toscano: We did the 12 steps, an intensive 12 step program, except instead of looking at alcoholism, we looked at our addiction to homosexuality and compulsive sexual behavior.

Vincent Cervantes: I went through exorcism, and it was terrifying.

Christine Bakke, Co-Founder, Beyond Ex-Gay: There are these demonic powers and presences that you’re going to have to, sort of fight against with the help of Jesus.

Mel White: And that leads to a kind of desperation, that leads to suicide.

Vincent Cervantes: It threw me into a point then where I no longer had hope. That if not even an exorcism can get rid of this, then nothing ever will, so I planned a suicide.

Peterson Toscano: The thing that has amazed me, is all the collateral damage I’m seeing from the ex-gay movement.

Mel White: I tell ya, this ex-gay movement is not benign, it is very very dangerous.

Patty Ellis: If you try to change your child you will lose your child. You will break their spirit, and you may never get them back.

Suicides:

Robbie Kirkland, 1982-1997: Shot himself in the head after a 4 year struggle with homosexuality.

Bill Clayton, 1978-1995: Took massive overdose.

Marcus A. Wayman, 1979-1997: Shot himself.

Narrator: While the ex-gay movement, fueled by the religious right, has proven devastating to many individuals, the ultimate goal, may be to destroy any political advances by the gay community.

Wayne Besen: This is not about changing gay people. This is about changing laws that would protect us from discrimination.

Mel White: The ex-gay movement really comes out of fundamentalist Christianity, and fundamentalist Christianity believes in the literal Bible, and if you take the Bible literally, it seems to say that gay and lesbian people are making a choice that’s bad. And if they’re making a choice that’s bad, then why should they have any civil, let alone religious rights?

John Hagee, anti-gay preacher: We need a constitutional amendment to protect the sanctity of marriage, that guarantees that in America, the only marriage to be recognized, is the marriage between a man and a woman. There are so many things in America that have changed, that should never change. And you listen to me, if it does, you can kiss this country goodbye.

Mel White: And so there you have a real conundrum for gay people who are needing and deserving of those rights, but being told by religion gone political, that they can’t have them.

Narrator: Yet while the ex-gay movement shows no sign of going away, their messages are being challenged like never before.

Supportive Preacher: The church has been wrong and wrong and wrong on this issue, and it’s time for us to make a change.

Wayne Besen: For the first time ever, we’ve got a variety of organizations, from Truth Wins Out, to Beyond Ex-Gay, and Soulforce, and many others, having a laser-like focus on exposing, what I believe is one of the biggest frauds perpetrated on the American people. A multimillion dollar fraud.

Darlene Bogle: God loves all of us, just as He created us.

Wayne Besen: We’re going to get stories out there, we’re going to be exposing some of their leaders, this may enter the legal arena.

Shirley Phelps: If this lawsuit is going to work, then why don’t they file a lawsuit against the Lord their God.

Wayne Besen: It will be around, because there are people who are desperately want to believe this, however I think the credibility is going to be eroding over time, slowly slowly slowly.

Fox newscaster to Shirley Phelps: I don’t know what planet you’re from, but you say you thank God for (ID’s?), you thank God for 9/11, you thank God for dead soldiers, thank God for AIDS…I thank God that you are not a leader of a real church.

Narrator: And for those still struggling with faith and sexuality, Reverend White has one thing to say.

Mel White: I’ve talked to gay people who’ve been out of the closet for 50 years, and still wonder, can you be gay and Christian? Isn’t that sad? The saddest question in the world, is can you be gay and Christian?

Of Course you Can! God created you and loves you as you are.

Ex-Gay Survivor Conference attendee: God’s truth is marching on.
_____________

For more information visit http://inthelifetv.org/

Soulforce's Jeff Lutes gives further insight into the mind of Rick Warren.

Via the Bilerico Project

That Weird Hug from Rick Warren
December 19, 2008 10:00 AM

Editors' Note: Guest blogger Jeff Lutes is the Executive Director of Soulforce, a national civil rights and social justice organization dedicated to freedom for LGBT people through nonviolent direct action.

The beginning of that Jeff Lutes article:

In December of the previous year, I wrote a letter to Warren outlining my plan to bring a group of gay and lesbian couples, and their children, to visit his Saddleback Church over Father's Day weekend. I expressed our intent to attend worship on Sunday, and my hope that he and some families in his congregation would share a meal with us in an effort to reach beyond our differences and focus instead on the commonalities we share as parents and people of faith. In due course, I began a series of phone conversations with Warren's chief of staff. Over the next several weeks, we agreed that eight of our families would eat lunch on June 16 with Warren, his wife Kay, and six of their staff members. After the family meal, eight people from our group would then convene for a 90 minute conversation with Warren, his wife, and the six other church leaders. Here's where it gets interesting.

And it does get interesting from there...

Ray Boltz: Singer, songwriter...Christian

Don't Tell Me Who To Love


___
http://rayboltzblog.wordpress.com/

Bishop Harry Jackson: "I've had death threats by openly gay groups"

(Cross posted at Pam's House Blend.)

Bishop Harry Jackson recently met with families of Soulforce:

The American Family Outing is a nationwide fellowship effort that aims to build bridges between LGBT families and families at American mega-churches. AFO families met with Bishop Jackson and members of his Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, MD, on Saturday, May 24, 2008.

This video documents Jackson's closing remarks at that meeting.

Bishop Harry Jackson and the American Family Outing


Full transcript follows, as well as video and full transcript of smackingly contradictory CBN video -- three days later -- making a public mockery of not only these Soulforce families, but of their sincerity in meeting with him.

Among the sentiments he expressed to Soulforce:

Bishop Harry Jackson: I honor the fact that other people have been threatened, but I think it’s unconscionable that I have to work through my feelings about being attacked or accused or threatened, all that kind of stuff, and every day that I live I wake up, look--little Google thing that comes across my desk, I have at least three or four things that are written by openly gay bloggers that have my name on it, and they call me an out and out bigot, and I think that’s interesting. They feel like they have the liberty, without knowing me or talking, to defame me, to talk about me, to put me down -- they’ve never done what you are doing, visited us, never talked to us. There’s something hypocritical about that.

Well then. Let’s get to know the good bishop…

Shall we?

Full transcript of Soulforce video above (followed by video and full transcript of CBN video):

Bishop Harry Jackson: ...there’s a problem in the culture, and the Word of God gives a clear answer to the problem. Whatever that answer is, we should first live it ourselves. The church in my view, especially the evangelical church in our generation, has been guilty of trying to bring others to do things that we won’t do ourselves. To live things that we don’t live ourselves. The issue of marriage today, traditional marriage, as we had the question earlier--what shall we do about gay marriage, and all of that. The reality is heterosexual marriages are failing in America, many of them, nearly fifty percent, because--heterosexual community is not doing something right. There’s a failure to live out some of the convictions that are primary to the scripture. And if you don’t live it at that first level, you really disqualify yourself to speak out to anyone else about it. It really is a violation of what I’m going to call prophetic protocol, if I may say that. So the Church has to decide how intensely is she going to live the truth the she purports to believe.

Second issue is doing right. And the doing right, in my view means, what ministries do you have, that deal with the problems that you see? The question was asked earlier, whether we had a ministry for G-L-B-T people, and how do we respond to them. I said we don’t have any ministry, other than our friends at Exodus International working with us, and us referring folks to them. And as I hear that question, I have to say to myself that we at Hope Christian Church, need to be about being more open and offering the healing power of God, as we see it. Now that’s where we are today. And, but rather than saying hey, there’s nothing that we’re going to do, maybe there should be service ministry locally, around people coming to grips with where they are, their journey, coming to really know Christ, etc., etc.

Third issue is moving right. I think, as I view this phrase moving right, I would call it the current PR battle of our generation. Scripture says that we’re not to let our good be evil spoken of. And tonight I want to just tell you that I hate the fact that there are many many folks who believe as I do in the sanctity of marriage, believe as I do about trying to uphold some of these fundamental institutions, who have stepped over lines, and they’ve got issues that are unresolved with gay folks. And I think that somehow we’re going to have to say, how does love wear servant’s clothes, or what does love look like if it says I disagree with you, but I still value your right to believe as you believe, and still value you as a person?

I’ll take some ownership of the fact that the evangelical community has not always known carefully or clearly, how to say I disagree, but I’m going to disagree in a spirit that reflects the spirit of Christ.

Fourth thing that I think is important is that we need to pray right before we prophesize--speak to the culture. And what I mean by pray right, somehow in that civil rights movement, folks got a hold of something from God that so transformed them that they could say hey, release the dogs on me, or release the hoses on me, and I’m still going to come and stand in a right way, in a right spirit.

The answer before, and the statement that Troy brought before, I honor the fact that other people have been threatened, but I think it’s unconscionable that I have to work through my feelings about being attacked or accused or threatened, all that kind of stuff, and every day that I live I wake up, look--little Google thing that comes across my desk, I have at least three or four things that are written by openly gay bloggers that have my name on it, and they call me an out and out bigot, and I think that’s interesting. They feel like they have the liberty, without knowing me or talking, to defame me, to talk about me, to put me down -- they’ve never done what you are doing, visited us, never talked to us. There’s something hypocritical about that.

Somebody needs to pray through what they’re dealing with before they start to move out and try to correct problems. See, and that’s on both sides of this question, it’s with the evangelicals and it’s with the gay community. So, for us, I say to our team, we’re going to have to begin more and more to pray about the reality of discrimination and other issues with the gay community. And I have thought, and maybe you disagree with me, that we have allowed some of these issues to become polarized, because political parties find it to their advantage to play everybody against one another, and they play out their dance of support and finance and votes, but with no intention really of doing anything that counts toward the problem. ‘Cause if you tell me, well, there are 1100 laws that you have access to that separate me, and I’m saying that I believe everyone should be treated humanly, why hasn’t somebody sat down and said, what are the reality of the these laws -- the lady talked about the expenses she had to go through to make sure that certain rights, the transfer of property, or taking care of sick ones, aren’t available -- why doesn’t some politician sit down and say, this the list, these are the issues, and here’s where we go. No, we’re in a tug-of-war that is over all, or nothing at all, that makes no answer that we come up with but an all, or nothing at all idea with marriage, acceptable.

No preacher worth his salt who is born in a traditional evangelical church system in this generation would ever say, alright, just do what want with marriage.

First of all, he’d lose the paycheck, Second, he’d lose the parsonage, and ultimately he’d lose the pension.

So we’ve got an issue here that is untenable. So, I send you back, I mean, the gay movement is very very active politically, that’s very obvious in this political cycle, and in others. And the evangelical community has been active, so where are we? Are we praying through our issues or are we fighting a tug-of-war?

Finally, I think we have to speak right, speak correctly. And for me, it’s been a matter of whether others know it or don’t, receive it or not, act like they understand it or not, for me, I always try to measure my words concerning the issues I speak to, as I write columns or as I speak to various television programs or radio interviews, I try to measure my words to address the issues that I think need to be talked about from a Biblical perspective.

Our ministry is touched, and I know as we debrief afterwards, we going to ask ourselves a question, in this generation, with the growing number of openly gay people, and the growing number of gay marriages, regardless of whether we want them or not, or we even endorse them or not, how do we present the Gospel in this generation, it’s power and it’s claims?

And so I want to thank you tonight for coming. Again, if you had not invited us originally, if you had not insisted on the dialogue, it never would have happened. And I’m thankful for the spirit in which you have said you were going to operate, and you have operated thus far. Again, we did not know, were you coming in peace, or whether you came with a sword. We had no way of knowing that, really didn’t. And so we’re very very thankful for this opportunity to dialogue with you, and I believe that we’ve learned quite a bit from this time together. Pastor [Vera?] would you…

~~~~
Compare and contrast with CBN interview no less than three days later, on May 27, 2008:

CBN News: Interview with Bishop Harry Jackson

Wendy Griffith: A gay rights group is trying to confront six mega churches across the US. Over the weekend the group met with Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Center in Maryland. The Washington Times reports 30 conservative black Pentecostals dined with 30 of the activists. Members of Soulforce say the talks are designed to force the conversation about faith, family, and homosexuality, to a national level. Other churches that have been targeted include Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, and T.D. Jakes’ The Potter’s House.

Bishop Harry Jackson joins us now from Washington, and Bishop Jackson, you met with members of Soulforce over the weekend, what happened?

Bishop Harry Jackson: Well, they had their old spiel. You know, they’re out to get civil rights, they’re out to change the nature of marriage, and to be included in the Church. Over the years they’ve been aggressive, and this group has had a reputation of having sit ins, being arrested, holding up placards, and there was a veiled threat that if we didn’t talk, they were going to act out. So we said come in, the night before, and we had a little bit of a debate, we shared the Gospel with them, and it was an amazing time, where, I believe we learned a little bit about their strategy.

There’s nothing to be afraid of. Ultimately we need to recognize, as the Church, that these folks are sinners, and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can overcome any kind of sin, from drunkenness to homosexuality. Sometimes we try to make it so deep that we’re fighting some kind of foe that we can’t defeat. But Wendy, it’s important to note, that with the California ruling, the next decade, we’re going to deal with things like hate crimes, Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and the gay community has targeted the Church as it’s ultimate arch enemy.

Wendy Griffith: Well let me ask you this, I understand that while the group did not back down, at least one life was changed during the service. Tell us about that.

Bishop Harry Jackson: Well what happened was, we decided that we’d meet the night before, and during the regular service, I’d preach a message entitled: “Jesus, the ultimate liberator.” And we preached that from the scripture Saint John, that if you continue in His Word, then the truth shall set you free.

A openly gay man, who is HIV positive, who was not apart of that group got saved that day. But it was a sign to us, as he came forward, that God’s Word is greater than any of these kinds of attacks.

Wendy Griffith: Wow. Well you’re church is one of six churches targeted by the group. What do they hope to accomplish, and what are they doing at churches that won’t meet with them?

Bishop Harry Jackson: Well, churches that won’t meet with them, like Lakewood wouldn’t meet with them early on, and they had a little placard and they stood someplace in the city, and they had a press conference, calling them all kind of names--it’s a subtle form of intimidation. And Wendy, you may be aware that I’ve had death threats by openly gay groups, and it was interesting in our debates, as we talked with them, and I mentioned this fact, they kind of shrugged that off. And one of the guys came up and said, well, our people are under the threat of death every day of their lives, in a sense, you’re just feeling what we feel all the time.

Wendy Griffith: [LAUGHS OUT LOUD] A'heh!…I’m not getting the logic there…a'heh..

Bishop Harry Jackson: No, I don’t get it either, but the thing is that they are irrational. I believe that many of them want to be Christians, but it is a counterfeit Gospel that is being preached. And their ultimate goal is a four fold fight. They’re fighting on a PR front, they’re fighting on a legal front, they’re fighting also on a generational front, that our children will be more open to the gay lifestyle. And then finally, they’re fighting on a doctrinal front. They want to be included in the warmth and [roof?] of our society, and I think we need to, according to Psalm 2, believe that God will give us the heathen as our inheritance. And if they want to call themselves a gay nation, then I believe that Jesus can win every nation by winning those aggressive people to Christ, as he did in our Sunday morning service.

Wendy Griffith: Well said. Bishop Harry Jackson, thanks as always for being with us today.

Bishop Harry Jackson: Thank you.

~~~~
It would appear that Bishop Harry Jackson leaves us with two demonization options to choose from.

Be depicted as automatically unfair:

Bishop Harry Jackson: openly gay bloggers … They feel like they have the liberty, without knowing me or talking, to defame me, to talk about me, to put me down -- they’ve never done what you are doing, visited us, never talked to us. There’s something hypocritical about that.

Or

Visit, talk with him, and get to know him:

Bishop Harry Jackson: And so I want to thank you tonight for coming. Again, if you had not invited us originally, if you had not insisted on the dialogue, it never would have happened. And I’m thankful for the spirit in which you have said you were going to operate, and you have operated thus far.

And then be depicted as unfair:

Bishop Harry Jackson:
they’re out to change the nature of marriage
they’ve been aggressive
there was a veiled threat
we learned a little bit about their strategy
these folks are sinners
from drunkenness to homosexuality
I’ve had death threats by openly gay groups
they are irrational
children will be more open to the gay lifestyle
God will give us the heathen as our inheritance

For the record Mister Jackson, I too am a bigot.

I am bigoted against hypocritical religious supremacists.

Posted to GCMW, June 2, 2008 @ 4:41 AM Eastern time:

Re GCM Watch plans to monitor Soulforce Atlanta visit
--
gcmwatch: "please provide evidence that Joe Dallas has not repented of having a divorce."

Emproph: Mark 10:9 "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."

If marriage is God made, and divorce is man made, how is it even possible to “repent” of divorce?

Wouldn’t that require repenting of God’s Will itself?
--
But that wasn't even my point - as divorce and the adultery-of-remarriage are two completely separate things.

As such, my issue had nothing to do with Joe Dallas, nor his divorce (due to his adultery). My issue was, and is, with your, GCMW’s, apparent approval of adulterous remarriage - as per the Bible:

Luke 16:18 "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery…"

Which brings us back to my original question in regard to this thread;

"Why would it bother you that Soulforce spreads false doctrine about Scripture, when you yourselves list divorced and remarried unrepentant adulterer Joe Dallas as a resource?"

EVEN IF he could “repent” of his specifically-adulterous divorce, how do you find it possible for him to repent of his Scripturally-adulterous remarriage?

Perhaps you have an explanation, but my question is then in regard to why you list him as a resource without offering that explanation.

By listing Joe Dallas as a resource, without such a clarification, you come across as endorsing unrepentant adultery -- and thus, supportive of the eternal damnation of those who are divorced and remarried, including that of Joe Dallas.

Point being, if you think of unrepentant adulterers as being scripturally sound, why should anyone take you sincerely when you say that Soulforce “spreads false doctrine about Scripture” ?

Or is salvation secondary?

GCM Watch is missing a comment.

GCM Watch plans to monitor Soulforce Atlanta visit:

Pastor DL Foster, along with supporters of GCM Watch will be at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, this Sunday to observe and report on the actions of Soulforce members who have targeted mega churches in an effort to spread false doctrine about homosexuality and scripture.

4 Responses to "GCM Watch plans to monitor Soulforce Atlanta visit"

Now, in between Joe Brummer's comment, and James' comment, this comment should appear:

How is it possible for you to say that Soulforce spreads false doctrine about Scripture when you yourselves list divorced and remarried unrepentant adulterer Joe Dallas as a resource?

I think it's a fair question.

So GCMW, did I get lost in the spam filter, or was this intentional on your part?