June 21, 2013

The following excerpts are from the article “Prominent Ministry to Homosexuals Folds; Leader Apologizes to Gays” by Dave Bohon on The New American website: “Exodus International, the prominent Christian ministry which for the past 37 years has helped men and women leave the homosexual lifestyle, announced June 19 that it is closing its doors. The organization’s president, Alan Chambers (shown), also issued an apology to the homosexual community, telling the Associated Press that the organization had inflicted ‘years of undue suffering’ on homosexuals it had reached out to. ‘The church has waged the culture war, and it’s time to put the weapons down,’ Chambers said after announcing at the annual conference of Exodus that the group would cease operation. ‘While there has been so much good at Exodus, there has also been bad. We’ve hurt people.’”

… “Janet Boynes, a former lesbian who now uses her Christian faith to help people leave homosexuality, recalled how in 2010 she appeared with Chambers on Our America With Lisa Ling, where ‘we were able to share how our behavior had changed and how we were no longer living the homosexual lifestyle. But just three years later, here we are again, and the message Alan Chambers has for those struggling with same-sex attraction is very different.’”

“At the time Chambers declared: ‘Change is possible. I stand by that phrase, and I live by it. The opposite of homosexuality isn’t heterosexuality; it’s holiness.’”

“Boynes said she was puzzled by what message Chambers could offer homosexuals if not that they need to abandon their lifestyle. ‘I know many men and women who, with the help of different ministries, have walked away from homosexuality, and their freedom has always come through the truth of God’s Word,’ she said. She conceded that leaving homosexuality is not easy, but through faith in God it is possible. ‘For me, coming out of homosexuality did not happen overnight,’ she recalled. ‘It was a long process, during which I increasingly chose to let go of everything that had the slightest power to drag me back into a lesbian lifestyle. It took the work of a dedicated team that included God (the most important one), the many wonderful people He put in my life, and me as a willing participant. You see, each of us is given a free will, and it is ultimately up to us to decide how we will live our lives.’”