Anti-Gay US Not for Profit Ministry Shuts Down
20 June 2013 at 5:18 pm
A controversial US-based Not for Profit group, Exodus International, that has long backed “change therapy” for gays and lesbians, has announced its closure- issuing an apology “for the pain and hurt many (people) have experienced.”
In a letter “to members of the LGBTQ community,” Alan Chambers, the head of Exodus International said “I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced.”
Chambers has also revealed his own “same-sex attractions”.
Exodus International, the oldest and largest Christian ministry dealing with faith and homosexuality announced via a statement in the US that it’s closing its doors after three-plus decades of ministry.
It says the Board of Directors reached a decision after a year of dialogue and prayer about the organisation’s place in a changing culture.
“We’re not negating the ways God used Exodus to positively affect thousands of people, but a new generation of Christians is looking for change – and they want to be heard,” Tony Moore, Board member of Exodus said.
The message came less than a day after Exodus released a statement apologising to the gay community for years of undue judgment by the organisation.
“Exodus is an institution in the conservative Christian world, but we’ve ceased to be a living, breathing organism,” Alan Chambers, President of Exodus said.
“For quite some time we’ve been imprisoned in a worldview that’s neither honoring toward our fellow human beings, nor biblical.”
For these reasons, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to close Exodus International and begin a separate ministry.
“This is a new season of ministry, to a new generation,” said Chambers. “Our goals are to reduce fear, and come alongside churches to become safe, welcoming, and mutually transforming communities.”
In revealing his own gay leanings, Alan Chambers, a married man with children, said: “There were several years that I conveniently omitted my ongoing same-sex attractions. I was afraid to share them as readily and easily as I do today. They brought me tremendous shame and I hid them in the hopes they would go away.
“I cannot simply move on and pretend that I have always been the friend that I long to be today. I understand why I am distrusted and why Exodus is hated.
“Please know that I am deeply sorry. I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced. I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatised parents.
A public apology with be aired in an interview on US television overnight.
