thesometimesaint Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 Exodus International, a group that bills itself as “the oldest and largest Christian ministry dealing with faith and homosexuality,” announced late Wednesday that it’s shutting its doors.Protestors gather outside the 2009 Exodus International convention at Wheaton College, Kevin Zolkiewicz / Flickr.comExodus’s board unanimously agreed to close the ministry and begin a separate one, though details about the new ministry were unavailable at the time of the organization’s press release.The announcement came just after Exodus president Alan Chambers released a statement apologizing to the gay community for many actions, including the organization’s promotion of efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation.“I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents,” Chambers said. “I am sorry that there were times I didn’t stand up to people publicly ‘on my side’ who called you names like sodomite — or worse.”
Kenngo1969 Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 Don't worry. I doubt Westboro Baptist Church is going anywhere anytime soon ...
Daniel2 Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 Alan Chamber's full statement (linked in sometimesaint's OP) is an amazing read!! (Exodus International was to Catholics what Evergreen International is to LDS, though Exodus was much larger. There was a lot of spill-over between the two groups, as Evergreen was patterend after and relied upon many of the philosophies and literature from Exodus).I think there's an extra "ex" in the title of this thread (meaning, Exodus International was "an ex-gay group," not "an ex-ex-gay group.")Daniel
thesometimesaint Posted June 20, 2013 Author Posted June 20, 2013 Daniel:They are now the ex ex-Gay group.
The Nehor Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 Glad they are gone. Their methods were often abhorrent and were teqring families apart and on top of that, not really working.
EllenMaksoud Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 Exodus International, a group that bills itself as “the oldest and largest Christian ministry dealing with faith and homosexuality,” announced late Wednesday that it’s shutting its doors.Protestors gather outside the 2009 Exodus International convention at Wheaton College, Kevin Zolkiewicz / Flickr.comExodus’s board unanimously agreed to close the ministry and begin a separate one, though details about the new ministry were unavailable at the time of the organization’s press release.The announcement came just after Exodus president Alan Chambers released a statement apologizing to the gay community for many actions, including the organization’s promotion of efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation.“I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents,” Chambers said. “I am sorry that there were times I didn’t stand up to people publicly ‘on my side’ who called you names like sodomite — or worse.”Their destructive, sadistic tactics caused many suicides. Putting an "errant" in the middle of a circle and having outer members say mean thing to them was never a good idea.
Avatar4321 Posted June 20, 2013 Posted June 20, 2013 Alan Chamber's full statement (linked in sometimesaint's OP) is an amazing read!! (Exodus International was to Catholics what Evergreen International is to LDS, though Exodus was much larger. There was a lot of spill-over between the two groups, as Evergreen was patterend after and relied upon many of the philosophies and literature from Exodus).I think there's an extra "ex" in the title of this thread (meaning, Exodus International was "an ex-gay group," not "an ex-ex-gay group.")DanielWho?
california boy Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 When I went to Evergreen conference in SLC, a couple of the speakers were from Exodus. The two groups definitely shared similar beiiefs about homosexuality at the time anyway. I haven't been involved in Evergreen for some years now. I wonder if Evergreen has changed its approach or even mission since the new change in attitude the church has embraced. Maybe if anyone is attending Evergreen currently, they could give us an idea on how the group now deals with homosexuality in the church.I thought the leader of Exodus's apology was quite sincere. I am sorry he is having to deal with some of the issues as a result of his involvement in Exodus. I hope he finds peace.
rockpond Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 When I went to Evergreen conference in SLC, a couple of the speakers were from Exodus. The two groups definitely shared similar beiiefs about homosexuality at the time anyway. I haven't been involved in Evergreen for some years now. I wonder if Evergreen has changed its approach or even mission since the new change in attitude the church has embraced. Maybe if anyone is attending Evergreen currently, they could give us an idea on how the group now deals with homosexuality in the church.I thought the leader of Exodus's apology was quite sincere. I am sorry he is having to deal with some of the issues as a result of his involvement in Exodus. I hope he finds peace.I have not attended an Evergreen meeting but our Stake uses them as a resource for gay men. My understanding from what I've heard through the High Councilor who oversees the program, is that the meetings are just used as a place where these men can talk and support each other in their desire to live within their belief system (meaning "stay married to their wives" for some). I don't believe that there is any "reparative therapy" going on in those meetings.
california boy Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 Alan Chambers interview. Some interesting insight to how things turned out. In many ways, he comes to the same conclusions that the church leaders have come to. A more welcoming attitude towards gays in religion has to take place. Something that Exodus was in some degree working against for the past 40 years. InterviewI like what he said about the prodigal son parable. What do you think?
Damien the Leper Posted June 25, 2013 Posted June 25, 2013 You can read John Shore's open letter here..
Scott Lloyd Posted July 15, 2013 Posted July 15, 2013 When I went to Evergreen conference in SLC, a couple of the speakers were from Exodus. The two groups definitely shared similar beiiefs about homosexuality at the time anyway. I haven't been involved in Evergreen for some years now. I wonder if Evergreen has changed its approach or even mission since the new change in attitude the church has embraced.How would the "change in attitude the Church has embraced" influence Evergreen to change its approach? I don't know a lot about Evergreen. Was it promoting unkindness or abuse toward people with SSA?(Incidentally, I don't concede that there has been all that great a "change in attitude" on the part of the Church. It still teaches that homosexuality is a sin, while enjoining respect and kindness toward those who are beset with it. Seems pretty much the attitude the Church has "embraced" all along.
california boy Posted July 15, 2013 Posted July 15, 2013 How would the "change in attitude the Church has embraced" influence Evergreen to change its approach? I don't know a lot about Evergreen. Was it promoting unkindness or abuse toward people with SSA?(Incidentally, I don't concede that there has been all that great a "change in attitude" on the part of the Church. It still teaches that homosexuality is a sin, while enjoining respect and kindness toward those who are best with it. Seems pretty much the attitude the Church has "embraced" all along.I think you would have to be living in a hole somewhere to not notice the change in attitude that church has had towards the gay community. The church has come a long ways from actively campaigning against gay marriage. No longer is the church doing broadcsts on how to train it's members on how to go door to door to defeat gay marriage. It is no longer asking its members to give all it can in both time and money to stop gay marriage in states that are voting on this issue. No longer is the church suggesting that being gay is a "choice". BYU is no longer practicing shock therapy to try and "cure" the gays. The church no longer encourages gay members to marry to "fix" them. The leaders now wisely counsel that marriage is not therapy in diealing with gay issues. Do you want me to go on? If you do not think that the church's attitudes towards its gay members and the outside gay community, then you probably are not gay and have not had to deal with some of these issues. Yes gay sex is still a sin. But the church now encourages gay members to stay active and celibate. There is no promise that if you are "good enough or pray enough or fast enough or have enough faith, etc" somehow you will no longer be gay. That is a BIG shift in attitude and approach to those that are gay.
Sky Posted July 19, 2013 Posted July 19, 2013 For those interested, here is a link to Evergreen's new website: http://www.thessavoice.comThey brand themselves as "the SSA voice for faithful Latter-day Saints." They seem to be placing less emphasis that "individuals can overcome homosexual behavior and can diminish same-sex attraction." Or at least starting to acknowledge that a complete change in sexual orientation isn't likely to happen for most people, but that you can still live your life within the framework of the gospel, whether that means celibacy or being in a heterosexual marriage.
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