Exodus International today announced the reformation of its church network as the Exodus Church Association.
In an e-mail message to supporters, Exodus Church Association director Jeff Buchanan declared:
Our goal is to empower pastors to meet this challenge so that those who struggle with unwanted same-sex attractions will find the freedom so many have experienced first-hand. In the future, the ECA will be developing resources specifically designed to meet the needs of pastors and ministry leaders to help meet this goal.
Remember: Exodus’ idea of “biblical truth and Christ-like compassion” just two months ago was to co-launch a Uganda campaign of antigay vigilantism, imprisonment, and forced ex-gay therapy.
With that in mind, read what Exodus said:
As the issue of homosexuality continues to be a topic of contention within many church denominations, Exodus International is launching a new website as a new resource for pastors wanting to respond to this issue with biblical truth and Christ-like compassion.
The website, http://www.exoduschurchassociation.org, features relevant news impacting the church, resources for pastors, a speaker’s bureau and in-depth articles that address tough questions many pastors face about homosexuality. The website is an extension of the Exodus Church Association – a national association of more than 120 churches helping those dealing with same-sex attraction to live a life that reflects the Christian faith.
The 120 churches — far short of the thousands that Exodus hoped for — are nevertheless pushing aside Exodus’ shrinking referral network of ad-hoc ex-gay activists. Ex-gay advocates have been dropping out of Exodus, citing various reasons:
- Exodus leaders’ participation in partisan politics
- Exodus leaders’ condemnation of celibate gay Christians, who include a former Exodus staff member
- Exodus leaders’ affiliation with pro-violence activists and campaigns in the United States, Barbados, Latvia, and Uganda
- Exodus leaders’ dishonest promotion of certain ex-gay therapeutic programs that local ministers know to be ineffective
- Exodus leaders’ refusal to work cooperatively with members of less conservative denominations
The Exodus Church Association website offers very little information about ex-gay ministry. Instead, the site consists of articles favoring schismatic antigay political crusades in Catholic and mainline Protestant denominations, as well as promotions of Chambers’ book against celibacy and various Focus on the Family books which teach stereotypes about gay people and their families.
