June 19, 2012

Here are excerpts from Alan Chamber’s letter “Defining Exodus”: – “Exodus International is repeatedly accused of seeking to make gay people straight through conversion therapy and prayer. As the media and culture rage around us, drawing battle lines in the sand and seeking to fuel the debate about homosexuality, my team and I have been working diligently to clearly state the calling of this great ministry and focus solely on that work. We want to reiterate that our mission is, first and foremost, to serve, support and equip the Church in providing refuge to individuals or families impacted by same-sex attractions (SSA). Quite simply, our goal is to make the Church famous for loving and serving people as Jesus would and pointing them to Him.”

“I realize this may not be new info for some of you. Yet, I believe it is important for everyone to hear this from me, as “all sides” are seeking to define Exodus and quite frankly, no one is doing a great job. It’s time we set the record straight. Pun intended.”

“While my office seeks to serve the Church, the 260 churches, ministries and counselors here in North America and our alliance of partner ministries across the world are there to serve individuals who freely come to them for support. People seeking this encouragement and guidance do so because they have decided to pursue an identity or life based on their relationship with Christ over their same-sex attractions. In most cases these are Christian men and women who desire to live in accordance to God’s design for sexuality, clearly defined in scripture. Exodus also has an extensive support system for family members or friends of those who are same-sex attracted and/or gay identified.”

… “Exodus does not believe SSA is sinful. However, sexual expression resulting from SSA is. Making such clear distinctions has been a failure of the Church that is slowly being realized and changed. At Exodus International one of our primary missions is to communicate that we all have propensities that if indulged can lead us into sin, but those attractions or inclinations are not sinful. We believe that the ground was level at the foot of the Cross and that being transparent with all of our stories is what will compel people to seek refuge in the Communities of Christ known as the local Church.”

“We must all recognize that behavior resulting from SSA is not easily overcome. Many may struggle for the rest of their lives with some form of temptation or unwanted feelings. That is the nature of human experience on earth. However, we do believe God’s grace can give us the ability to live beyond the power of our temptations as we acknowledge and yield our weakness to Him. Change is possible for every human being who has a destiny-altering encounter with Jesus Christ. But, change isn’t the absence of struggle but rather the freedom in the midst of struggle to choose differently.”

The full text can be found at http://exodusinternational.org/2012/06/defining-exodus-letter-from-alan-chambers-for-june-2012/.