July 10, 2012

The following letter is no longer on the Desert Stream Ministries website but can be found on the Americans for Truth about Homosexuality website.

Recently Desert Stream Ministries published a letter outlining foundational disagreements with Exodus International’s new grace theology, which mirrors Rev. Clark Whitten’s theology. Desert Stream Ministries also is in disagreement with Exodus International abandoning the clinical science that has helped people with unwanted same-sex attraction to change their sexual orientation in varying degrees. The letter in its entirety follows: Read the rest of this entry →

July 10, 2010

Exodus International president Alan Chambers appeared on MSNBC Hardball July 9, 2012 with Chris Matthews. The MSNBC host referred to homosexuality as an innate condition and reparative therapy as “pray away the gay.”

Chambers claimed his problem with reparative therapy was that its focus has changed to claim a 100 percent cure of homosexual attractions and the use of heterosexual pornography by some therapists as a tool to instigate heterosexual attraction. Read the rest of this entry →

June 30, 2012

In a 35 page treatise theological professor Robert A. J. Gagnon has called for a change of leadership at Exodus International. Gagnon stated that Alan Chambers has propagated a false gospel of grace by “Assuring Gay Christians a Place in Heaven Irrespective of Repentance” (page 4-9). Gagnon stated that his “disagreement with Alan Chambers does not boil down to a difference of opinion regarding eternal security. It boils down to a difference over whether, as Calvin says, one can separate ‘free remission of sins … from the Spirit of regeneration.’ Calvin, though holding a perseverance view, would say that people like Alan who think that such a separation can take place have ‘torn Christ apart’” (page 9). Read the rest of this entry →

June 30, 2012

An article in The Gospel Coalition by Justin Taylor looks at Robert Gagnon’s and Denny Burke’s criticism of Alan Chambers new approach to the gay community. Gagnon argues that “Alan’s assurances to ‘gay Christians’ are the antithesis of how Paul operated with regard to a case of sexual immorality in the church at Corinth.” Burke argues that “Chambers still affirms a biblical sexual ethic. He simply argues that Christians can ignore that ethic and still be considered Christians.”

The article can be found at http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2012/06/30/robert-gagnons-critique-of-alan-chambers-and-the-new-direction-of-exodus-international/.

June 28, 2012

PFOX 2012 Summer Newsletter excerpt: – “A new study slated for the July issue of the journal Social Science Research claims to show significant differences in adverse outcomes among children raised by gay and lesbian parents when compared to children raised by both biological parents in a heterosexual-headed household.”

The study by Mark Regnerus of the University of Texas’s Department of Sociology and Population Research Center was funded by $785,000 in grants. PFOX was given an advance copy of the study. The full text of the PFOX review is in the PFOX 2012 Summer Newsletter.

June 28, 2012

The Exodus International website has made Alan Chambers‘ address to the general session of their 2012 Freedom Conference available on its website. A byline states that Chamber’s “addresses recent controversy surrounding Exodus and clarifies the organizational beliefs and mission.” The podcast is 54 1/2 minutes long.

June 26, 2012

Here is an excerpt from the Fox News article: – “Alan Chambers, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the conference would highlight his efforts to dissociate the group from the controversial practice usually called ex-gay, reparative or conversion therapy.”

“‘I do not believe that cure is a word that is applicable to really any struggle, homosexuality included,’ said Chambers, who is married to a woman and has children, but speaks openly about his own sexual attraction to men. ‘For someone to put out a shingle and say, ‘I can cure homosexuality’ — that to me is as bizarre as someone saying they can cure any other common temptation or struggle that anyone faces on Planet Earth.’” Read the rest of this entry →

June 26, 2012

The Associated Press article begins: “MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The president of the country’s best-known Christian ministry dedicated to helping people repress same-sex attraction through prayer is trying to distance the group from the idea that gay people’s sexual orientation can be permanently changed or ‘cured.’”

“That’s a significant shift for Exodus International, the 36-year-old Orlando-based group that boasts 260 member ministries around the U.S. and world. For decades, it has offered to help conflicted Christians rid themselves of unwanted homosexual inclinations through counseling and prayer, infuriating gay rights activists in the process.”

June 20, 2012

Here are excerpts from Alan Chambers’ interview in the Atlantic:

Interviewer Jennie Rothenberg Gritz: “Does that mean a person living a gay lifestyle won’t go to hell, as long as he or she accepts Jesus Christ as personal savior?”

Chambers: “My personal belief is that everyone has the opportunity to know Christ, and that while behavior matters, those things don’t interrupt someone’s relationship with Christ. But that’s a touchy issue in the conservative group I run with. And there are definitely differing opinions on it. I don’t think you could even look at any one denomination and find that everyone believes exactly the same thing. On the other hand, I do believe there is a right and wrong. I believe there is clarity on the issue of all sexuality in the Bible — on every aspect of it.” Read the rest of this entry →

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.” Read the rest of this entry →