Homophobic Stigmatization vs True Homophobia

pointing

The previous post clearly involved a true case of homophobia and a general response on how to overcome it. In response on our Facebook page, Melissa said: Most who call homosexuality a sin or stand up against the gay agenda are called homophobic! There are many complex agendas and some powerful ones coalesce into pro-gay cultural momentum across the board in all sectors of society.  When people minimize the complexity of that reality (minimizing it to simply, "The Gay Agenda"), we set ourselves up to be easily stigmatized with false labels.  Maybe if we put down our pointing fingers/verbal … [Read more...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

Follow Up Reactions To Tyler Clementi and the “September Suicides”

Graphic Credit: FRC (click image to visit FRC)

Warren Throckmorton writes on the CNN Belief Blog: As a traditional evangelical, I may have some differences of opinion with my gay friends. However, such ideological differences don’t matter to a middle school child who is afraid to go to school. Agreed. Family Research Council links to my post on Tyler Clementi: Bullying Is Hate; Truth Is Love In recent weeks there have been several suicides of teenagers who either said they were, or were believed to be, homosexuals. The intense media coverage of these events has led some people to lay the blame for these tragedies not on the … [Read more...]

Why Does The Gay Community Refuse to Acknowledge Our Testimony?

Q&A

This question was left on my formspring service after I wrote this post on my personal blog.  I will answer it by parsing out the different points.  First ... How can people in the gay community make that claim dismissing a person once being gay? I think some (not all) make that claim just like Conservatives and/or Christians who used to claim (some still do) that there are no truly gay people.  What I have discovered is that people on both sides, actually people in general, are not usually happy with others whose identity and/or moral systems are based in direct opposite views to their … [Read more...]

Letter from Brazil – Alan Chambers Ministers and Experiences God’s Amazing Grace

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. (emphasis Alan's.) --- Dear Friends, I am writing to you from Mage', Brazil - a very poor city about 40 miles from Rio de Janeiro. I was invited to be the keynote speaker at an annual institute held at Central Baptist Church. The pastor's wife originally learned about Exodus and me when she saw a pastor on television promoting God's Grace and the Homosexual Next Door, … [Read more...]

Living Water, The Well – Kristin Tremba’s Video Testimony

Living Water: Labels from The Well on Vimeo. From The Well's vimeo page containing this video: Kristin Tremba struggled with gender identity and same sex attraction throughout the early years of her life. She experienced emotional intimacy with a good friend during college and through those feelings she concluded that she was gay. However, she didn’t want to take on that gay identity and kept her struggles silent. In her late 20’s, she began to fear that she would never marry a man and have a family. She lacked the trust that God would provide for her future and fell into an … [Read more...]

CNN Belief Blog Interviews Alan Chambers About Prop 8 and Gay Rights

Photo Credit CNN

From ‘Ex-gay’ ministry on gay marriage's chances after Prop 8 ruling ... “It’s disappointing that a judge would rule against the will of the people,” says Chambers, author of Leaving Homosexuality. “That’s the greatest tragedy.” For 34 years, Exodus has told gay and lesbians that they can be “delivered” from homosexuality through faith in Christ, professional counseling and support groups. But how will groups like Exodus fare if fewer Americans believe that homosexuality is a sin, and if gay marriage becomes an option? Chambers acknowledged that “our culture is … [Read more...]