4.
The honesty
factor
 |
| Azariah
Southworth, Christian TV host, like many, paid a high price for his honesty |
Yes, simple honesty
contributed to this tipping point. The message for decades was "Change is
Possible". The goal of people who sort out ex-gay organisations was always
to rid themselves of homosexuality and become heterosexual/'normal'. Even though some groups and leaders profess today
that heterosexuality is not the goal they still constantly
refer to now being married and fathered children......thus
setting up a false hope.
Alan Chambers was once of
these people. "Our organization
hears from thousands of teens and young adults each year who are desperate for
information and resources beyond the one-sided 'born-gay' message that
saturates our culture".
In a written testimony he
said, "In 1998 my ultimate earthly
dream came true when I married my best friend. My wife, Leslie, is the
embodiment of all I consider to be godly, pure and beautiful. She is not my
diploma for healing, nor is she proof that I have changed."
First
it was 1,000's then 10,000's
"Again,
I am one of tens of thousands of people whom have successfully changed their
sexual orientation. I am grateful for the message of change and for the current
laws that saved my life". (April
17, 2004) Opening Testimony of
Exodus President Alan Chambers U.C. Berkeley Debate on Same-Sex Marriage
Then
it grew to 100,000's
In
an interview with the San Francisco Gate in 2006 he
said, "If people like me
exist," Chambers said, "then they weren't born like this
(gay). Change is possible or could be possible." The article went on to say. "Chambers claims there are "hundreds of thousands" of
ex-gays, his evidence being the nearly 400,000 phone calls the organization
receives each year from people seeking their help."
In
2009 Alan, along with others, signed an open letter to the President of Uganda saying Exodus
opposes Anti-Homosexuality Bill, as a former homosexual. I doubt that had any impact.
Probably the opposite.
Finally
the honesty comes out January 9, 2012
when Alan says at the Gay Christian Network conference, “99.9% of people do
not change their sexual orientation”.
What a lot of people missed however was that Alan
was beginning to face up to the reality that change is not always possible some
five years earlier. Alan Chambers told the Los Angeles Times in 2007 that “by
no means would we ever say change can
be sudden or complete," adding that he was uncomfortable
with the term 'ex-gay' as he didn’t believe he’d ever met one the article says.
At last some people were
becoming honest but not all. What was going on before? Self-deception or denial? It was both for
me. Deceiving myself that being married and having children meant I was
actually straight (or that it was a possibility) but still
"struggled" with homosexual thoughts and feelings. Denying the
reality I desperately never wanted to accept that, I was, am and always will be gay.
Alan's new level of
honesty and openness was refreshing The honest truth is, firstly there were not
1,000's and 1,000's of ex-gays and secondly that
Alan himself and others had not miraculously turned from gay to straight.
“As
far as my life goes, I am married. I am happily married. There’s not been one
day in the course of our nearly 16 years of being married that I’ve been
tempted to be unfaithful to my wife. I would say I have an orientation towards
her. I do have same-sex
attractions." Alan admitted
in an interview with the Huffington Post.
If you want to know what I
think of Alan and Leslie and their relationship listen to this interview on ABC Radio National.
Copyright
© Anthony Venn-Brown is the co-founder and former leader of Freedom2b, Australia’s largest network of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people from Christian backgrounds. He is also an educator and consultant on LGBT/faith issues and leader in deconstructing the ‘ex-gay’ myth. Anthony’s autobiography 'A Life of Unlearning', details his journey from married, high profile preacher in Australia’s mega-churches to living as an openly gay man. Anthony has been twice voted ‘One of the 25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians’ (2007 & 2009) and was one of four finalists for the 2011 ACON Community Hero Award. He is also the founder and CEO of Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International.
Labels: alan chambers, exodus, exodus international