At a recent Gay Christian Network conference in Orlando, Exodus President Alan Chambers claimed: “We’re not here to change you. That is our message….We can’t do that… ‘Change is Possible’ we don’t use that phrase anymore…I’m sorry that that is something that we used.”
Sadly, Justin Lee, the Executive Director of GCN, fell for Chambers’ act and said on stage to Chambers, “I hear you and I believe you when I hear you say that this is not a slogan you are using any more.”
Truth Wins Out filed a special report, The Exodus Smokescreen, pointing out that Exodus-affiliated ministries at the state level still widely claim that “change” is possible. Truth Wins Out presented further evidence that Chambers deliberately misled the GCN crowd after we obtained literature last weekend from Exodus’ Love Won Out conference.
If these vivid examples of Chambers’ dishonesty were not enough, Exodus author and speaker Joe Dallas is going to give a keynote address at Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) March 16-17 Family First retreat, where parents will be taught to rationalize rejecting their children’s sexual orientation. On PFOX’s homepage there is this billboard:
If Exodus International’s Chambers is truly “sorry that that is something we used,” isn’t it immoral for Joe Dallas to speak at a group that sill uses this misleading phrase? Why is Chambers allowing Dallas to speak at this event? Why would Dallas agree to talk there, if the message of PFOX is clearly at odds with that of Exodus?
It makes even less sense when you consider that Dallas told the Los Angeles Times on April 5, 1990, “No one has ever left therapy saying, ‘Wow, I have absolutely no homosexual thoughts.’”
Here is what PFOX is saying on its website:
Friday and Saturday, March 16-17, 2012 for a PFOX family and friends weekend.
The weekend will focus on uniting families through unconditional love.
Joe Dallas will be our opening speaker. Joe’s ministry in sexual addiction recovery and homosexuality is nationally recognized. He is the author of The Game Plan and The Men’s 30-Day Strategy for Attaining Sexual Integrity, and Program Director of Genesis Counseling in Tustin, Calif., a counseling ministry for men dealing with sexual addiction, homosexuality and other sexual/relational problems. He is a pastoral counselor, a popular conference speaker and author of five books on human sexuality from the Christian perspective.
This is a two-day experience for parents and friends of gay, lesbian and transgendered children. This is NOT a parent-child retreat, but an experience for parents who unconditionally love their children.
PFOX will provide educational resources, testimonies from former homosexuals and transgenders. You’ll have the opportunity to meet and form friendships with families who understand and share your feelings.
Friday’s meetings are from 7:30-9:30 PM.
Saturday’s meetings are from 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM.Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.
The cost to attend the Retreat is $90 per person or $150 for two family members. Special discounts available to clergy. No walk-in registrations. Last day to register is March 3, 2012.
It is time that Chambers admits that he lied at GCN or acknowledges that he is so incompetent that he has virtually no control over his “ex-gay” racket. If anyone ever again says that “I believe you” when they are talking to Alan Chambers, without evidence to corroborate his tale — I’m going to pull my hair out.
