January 28, 2013

The following text was transcribed from the “Question of the Week: What does 2013 look like for Exodus?” video featuring Alan Chambers on the Exodus International blog: “This year we are so excited about the vision and the direction for Exodus International. 2012 was a year of pruning for us, which anytime there is pruning it is an opportunity for growth in the years to come. We believe 2013 is going to be that year for Exodus International. I believe we are simpler, we’re stronger, we’re more focused on the areas of ministry that we need to be focused on.”

“Here at Exodus International the foundation of our ministry is that we believe what God said when he gave us his new commandment, and that is: ‘Love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.’ Again that’s the foundation of the work we do here at Exodus International. And it plays out in everything that we do as a ministry.”

“Practically, our mission is fulfilled in these ways: Number 1, in 1976 when we were founded, we were founded as a ministry helping and serving people in need. Men and women who were struggling to make Jesus Christ the Lord of their life in the area of their sexuality. We will always be here for people like that, who through our local ministries, counselors and churches find that they are not alone on that journey. So often it feels very lonely and what we can provide is a community of support for people who are in need.”

“We can also help you through our website, whether that’s Exodusbooks.org, our blog or the testimonies that you can find at ExodusInternational.org, where we will provide opportunities for you to understand what it is like or what it was like for others going through the same journey that you’re on.”

“Secondly, our ministry to parents and families is an important part of what we do here at Exodus International. So often parents and loved ones call us and ask us for help with questions like what should I do when my loved one wants to bring their partner home for Christmas? We’re here to help families understand that this should never be a central point of anyone’s relationship; that the relationship they have with their loved one is paramount, important to keep that relationship going, the dialogue open and to understand that tolerance is a two-way street. You will be able to share with your loved one and they will be able to share with you. That is a part of what we do here at Exodus International.”

“Thirdly, we’re here for the gay and lesbian person who might call us for help with what to do with their conservative parent. And we so often have shared with them that same truth that the relationship is most important, that tolerance is a two-way street. We’re not here to fight gay and lesbian people. We’re not here to argue or debate. We’re here simply to have a conversation with anyone who wants to have a conversation with us. To share our stories and most of all to point to a God who is crazy about every single person he created – gay, straight, Black and white, you name it, God loves you.”

“Fourthly, we are here for the church and most importantly in my opinion, because the church should be the number one place where someone feels they can go in the midst of their messy situation. The body of Christ should be the first responders. We should embrace messy, not endorse. As the body of Christ we are Christ’s representatives, and if I think about how Jesus would respond to people in need, it wouldn’t be with condemnation or with anger. It would be with support and with affirming and encouraging words, whether he agrees with them or not in their position. We are here to serve people who are in need of being served. Jesus died for all of us or he died for none of us and as ministers in the body of Christ, we’re here to serve people.”

“Lastly, at Exodus International we desire to be in the public square, to share our thoughts and views in the media, whether that’s Christian or secular media. I think that when we share our testimonies we give people the opportunity to understand that there is more than one option out there for them. When I share my story I hear from thousands of people who have more questions, whether they want to follow the road that I have followed or whether they just simply want to engage me.”

“I am grateful for the opportunity that we’ve had at Exodus International for the last 36 years to share our stories in the public square. That will continue with great momentum in 2013 and beyond.”

“I hope some of the things that I’ve shared with you today are helpful in understanding where we are as a ministry and where we are going. We are the same Exodus we have always been and yet we are radically different. We serve a God who never changes and yet he asks us to constantly be changing; to be more like Him; to be conformed into his image on a daily basis. In the culture we live in we simply do not have the luxury of doing things the way we’ve always done them. God is asking us at Exodus International and in the body of Christ to serve his creation in a new and exciting way, and we intend to do just that in 2013 and beyond.”

(Retrieved March 3, 2013)