We Are Thankful

thanksgiving

Everyone at the Exodus office here in Orlando and throughout all of our Member Agencies wish you a very blessed Thanksgiving! We thank God for you and pray that as you consider all the reasons to be thankful tomorrow that you will also take time to pray for the following: Women and men overcoming homosexuality Marriages and Spouses Dad's and Mom's with children who struggle with or are embracing homosexuality Children of gay identified parents (we are hearing more and more from this population.) Students and Young Adults ( Exodusyouth.net ) Exodus Member Ministries, Exodus … [Read more...]

Inaccuracy Shrouds Kirsten Power’s Article

Click Image to Read Kirsten's Article

The following was submitted to USA Today as a Letter to the Editor last week in response to Kirsten Powers article "Hypocrisy shrouds the gay marriage debate."  The letter has not been published in their paper as of yet. --- Inaccuracy Shrouds Kirsten Power’s Article As the Director of “Day of Truth 2010”, I am disappointed with the inaccurate perspective of Kirsten Power’s article. Voicing disapproval of homosexuality was not the focus of this event but rather exercising the right to present an alternative message and educating individuals about their choices. For these … [Read more...]

Does Being Older Make it More Difficult to Overcome Homosexuality? – Real Answers by Randy Thomas

QA

This article appears in both our offline and online newsletters.  To receive articles like this along with the full newsletter online via email or offline through the postal service please sign up here. — The following question was recently submitted at our Rockford IL Love Won Out conference. Real Answers by Randy Thomas I have lived a gay life for over 30 years. Is this going to be more difficult to overcome than someone who is much younger? That is a very good question and the short answer in many cases would be yes.  There are 30 years worth of memories and relational … [Read more...]

2011 = Simplify, Amplify and Intensify – Letter from Alan Chambers for November 2010

Alan-Chambers

This letter from Alan Chambers appears in both our offline and online newsletters. To receive this letter along with the full newsletter online via email or offline through the postal service please sign up here. — Dear Partners, Did you notice that you have been promoted?  Those of you who are involved in Exodus, which is the majority of you reading this letter, are more than just our friends.  You are our dear partners in ministry.  As partners you are vital to the mission of Exodus: mobilizing the Body of Christ to minister grace and truth to a world impacted by … [Read more...]

What’s in a Name? The Story of Brenna Kate Simonds – Part 2

My Wedding Day

Yesterday, I shared the first half of my story.  This is the second half. I had just become a Christian.  In one sense, I felt hope, but at the same time, the labels were still haunting me.  Even though at the time I could not voice what was going on, I continued to spiral out of control with my eating and relationships. I was so desperate for love that I entered into a relationship with an 18 year old woman with a drug problem (I was 24 at the time). After 3 months, this woman (having been raised in a Christian home) said to me, “Listen – the Bible says you must either be hot or … [Read more...]

What’s in a Name? The Story of Brenna Kate Simonds – Part 1

Brenna with a mohawk from having her head shaved

A Christian speaker recently reminded me that words are a container for power. The book of Proverbs says “reckless words pierce like a sword”, “the words of the wicked lie in wait for blood”, and “when words are many, sin is not absent”.  In the Bible, words & names are very important. Throughout my life, I allowed people and circumstances to label me, name me, and define who I am. I was born prematurely in May of 1975. I was given a 50% chance of survival and rode in an ambulance to a hospital 50 miles away since the hospital where I was born did not have premie … [Read more...]

Perez Hilton Seeks to End His Own Bullying Tactics

perez and ellen

Wow. I love the insight that Ellen gives and completely agree, we can't expect kids to not be bullies when our culture encourages, rewards and participates in bullying all across the spectrum. Have you watched reality TV? ... cable news and radio pundits? ... blogs? Have you noticed among adults in general that incivility is now a common default in much of our culture? Bullying can be found in the name calling, very real polarizing pressure based on lies/mischaracterizations at another's expense. Bullying manifests in stigmatizing, dehumanizing and creating a scapegoat in others so … [Read more...]

Memories of Bullying

upset boy against a wall

The recent suicides that are related to bullying have brought back some not-so-pleasant memories for me. I’m sure I’m not alone.  Coming out of the closet (or rather, being pushed out kicking and screaming) as a high school student in 1990-ish in small-town New Hampshire was not fun. I always joke that Ellen didn’t come out for another 7 years :)  I was made fun of, harassed, threatened, and insulted.  I remember sitting in class and having a peer tell me that all gay people should be put on an island and blown up, as my teacher sat there and said nothing.  I spent many classes just … [Read more...]

Brief Media Round-Up Concerning Day Of Truth Announcement

Day-of-Truth

I knew when Alan made the announcement that Exodus was giving up participation in the Day of Truth campaign that it would cause a bit of a stir.  I didn't expect it to cause such an enormous amount of feedback! The blogosphere lit up and emails, Facebook private messages, phone calls started coming in.  There were quite a number of media outlets that picked up the story as well. A vast majority of the feedback was exuberant agreement with the decision. However, there were a few who didn't like the decision.  Some of those who disagreed were very thoughtful about their disagreement and … [Read more...]

Jesus Likes Me This I Know

Jesus Likes Me

Jesus Likes Me This I Know Mike Goeke, October 2010 I am sort of a weird guy. I prefer the term quirky, but semantics aside, I am weird. My interests are not typical (or maybe I should say that they are not stereotypical) of your run-of-the-mill guy. I remember sensing that I was different at about age 5. In many ways, my early years were spent feeling odd and yearning for friends and some sort of acceptance. These days, I don’t worry so much about being weird. For the most part, I am comfortable with myself. I can still feel lonely at times, and I can feel like that little 5 … [Read more...]