Monthly Archives: June 2013

Exodus International to Shut Down (Updated)

Sadly, this comes as no surprise. The day that Lisa Ling gives Exodus International and Alan Chambers its third exclusive television show, and on the heels of their annual conference, Exodus International releases the following on their website (see below). Alan Chambers has also released an apology letter on their website, which can be viewed by clicking here.

I will be a guest today at 3:30pm EST on Dr. Michael Brown’s “Line of Fire” to react and discuss the future of the ex-gay movement, now that Exodus is seemingly withdrawing. For more information on how you can listen in, visit: http://www.lineoffireradio.com

 

Exodus International to Shut Down

Thirty-seven-year-old ministry for those with same-sex attraction marks its last national conference 

Irvine, Calif. (June 19, 2013) — Exodus International, the oldest and largest Christian ministry dealing with faith and homosexuality announced tonight that it’s closing its doors after three-plus decades of ministry. The Board of Directors reached a decision after a year of dialogue and prayer about the organization’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. The message came less than a day after Exodus released a statement apologizing (www.exodusinternational.org/apology) to the gay community for years of undue judgment by the organization and the Christian Church as a whole.

“Exodus is an institution in the conservative Christian world, but we’ve ceased to be a living, breathing organism,” said Alan Chambers, President of Exodus. “For quite some time we’ve been imprisoned in a worldview that’s neither honoring toward our fellow human beings, nor biblical.”

Chambers continued: “From a Judeo-Christian perspective, gay, straight or otherwise, we’re all prodigal sons and daughters. Exodus International is the prodigal’s older brother, trying to impose its will on God’s promises, and make judgments on who’s worthy of His Kingdom. God is calling us to be the Father – to welcome everyone, to love unhindered.”

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 (reducefear.org), and come alongside churches to become safe, welcoming, and mutually transforming communities.”

Local affiliated ministries, which have always been autonomous, will continue, but not under the name or umbrella of Exodus.

 

 Christopher Doyle, M.A. is the Co-Founder and Acting Director of Voice of the Voiceless, the only anti-defamation league for former homosexuals, individuals with unwanted same-sex attractions, and their families. For more information, visit: www.VoiceoftheVoiceless.info

Dear Mr. President…

President Barack Hussein Obama

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

 

June 18, 2013

 

Dear Mr. President,

Our office has left multiple voice messages for the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Voice of the Voiceless is a public advocacy organization of ex-gays that represents tens of thousands of former homosexuals. As you may know, former homosexuals are now recognized as a legally protected class in Washington, D.C. (see: PFOX v. Government of the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights, No. 08–003662, slip. op. at *5-6 (D.C. Super. Ct. June 26, 2009)).

As such, we have established July 2013 as the First Annual Ex-Gay Pride Month, and are seeking a meeting with you or a senior member of your civil rights staff to discuss a Presidential Proclamation, as you have issued in previous years, including this year, for June’s Gay Pride Month.

We would also like to discuss tolerance for the ex-gay community and how The White House can ensure equal access for ex-gays in the nation’s capital, which is the only jurisdiction that recognizes ex-gays as a legally protected class.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience at [email protected] or by phone at 571-379-4546.

Respectfully yours,

Christopher Doyle Signature

Christopher Doyle, M.A.

Co-Founder & Acting Director

Voice of the Voiceless

Ph: 571-379-4546

[email protected]

www.VoiceoftheVoiceless.info

 

VOV Condemns Kangaroo-Court Committee That Advanced Therapy Ban in New Jersey

New Jersey Gay Activists Continue to Misrepresent Truth in Committee Hearing on Bill That Would Deny Therapy for Child Sex Abuse Victims 

Trenton, NJ, june 13, 2013 – New Jersey Citizens Against the Jerry Sandusky Victimization Act, A 3371 charged in their testimony today before the Assembly Women and Children’s committee that gay activists and their allies continue to fabricate stories and misrepresent the facts and scientific research related to the development and treatment of same-sex attraction.

The bill would ban licensed psychotherapists in New Jersey from providing widely accepted and proven sexual orientation change effort (SOCE) therapies to children and adolescents with unwanted same-sex attraction, including victims of abuse by sexual predators like Jerry Sandusky. The ban would apply even if these victims and their parents seek it.
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New Jersey Assembly Committee to Hear Jerry Sandusky Victimization Act Tomorrow

On June 13, 2013 a New Jersey Assembly committee will hold a hearing on the Jerry Sandusky Victimization Act, also know as Assembly Bill 3371. Brielle Goldani and Troy Stevenson of Garden State Equality have been fabricating stories of “conversion therapy torture camps” since the March 18 hearing in the Senate, prompting opponents of the bill, which seeks to ban therapy for minors with unwanted same-sex attraction, to demand evidence. So far, allegations of at least eight torture camps in Ohio and Oklahoma have been made.

“Troy Stevenson promised to provide evidence of these ‘conversion therapy torture camps,’ but he cannot, because he’s lying. Just as Goldani’s lies about attending the fictitious True Directions camp, which only exists in Drag Queen Ru Paul’s movie, are catching up to her, so are Stevenson’s fabrications, who has falsely accused the Assemblies of God of torturing gay youth,” commented Christopher Doyle, Co-Founder of Voice of the Voiceless.

One can only hope that the members of tomorrow’s committee hearing will ask tougher questions than the Senate did, who failed to challenge the gay activists unsubstantiated allegations of “conversion therapy torture camps.” Other witnesses testified as to having been “harmed” by sexual orientation change effort (SOCE) therapy, yet were not challenged by committee members as to the specifics of their experiences.

“Anyone can get up on the witness stand, which was not under oath, and tell lies like Goldani and Stevenson did on March 18. It’s the job of the committee members to challenge serious allegations when presented. The Senate committee not only failed to challenge Goldani and Garden State Equality’s lies, they threw soft ball questions and even praised their ‘courageousness’ of speaking out against SOCE,” commented Christopher Doyle, Co-Founder of Voice of the Voiceless.

Just in case the Assembly decides to do their job tomorrow, here are a couple of great questions to ask those who testify that SOCE is “harmful” or present more allegations of “conversion therapy torture camps:”

  1. What is the name of the counselor or psychologist that treated you, what year(s) did you go through the therapy, and what state did the counseling take place?
  2. Was the counselor/psychologist licensed by the State of New Jersey?
  3. How many sessions did you undergo, and for what length was the treatment?

Asking these simple, direct questions, which the Senate committee failed to do, can easily determine whether a witness is telling the truth, or if they are fabricating portions or details of their testimony. If you happen to live in New Jersey, give the following Assembly members a call today and demand they ask these questions at tomorrow’s hearing. Each name is hyper linked to their contact information:

Lampitt, Pamela R. – Chair
Fuentes, Angel – Vice-Chair
Casagrande, Caroline
DeCroce, BettyLou
Mosquera, Gabriela M.
Schaer, Gary S.   

Wimberly, Benjie E.   

Christopher Doyle, M.A. is the Co-Founder and Acting Director of Voice of the Voiceless, the only anti-defamation league for former homosexuals, individuals with unwanted same-sex attractions, and their families. For more information, visit: www.VoiceoftheVoiceless.info

Will Lisa Ling Misrepresent Sexual Orientation Change Effort Therapy Again?

Host of Our America to Revisit Exodus International’s New Stance, Fails to Interview Therapists

Lisa Ling, host of Our America is at it once again with an upcoming show featuring Christian ex-gays. It’s an interesting topic, one that I have a great deal of interest in, since I am myself an ex-gay and a Christian. According to the show’s teaser, which can be viewed by clicking here, Ling plans to revisit Exodus International’s new branding with President Alan Chambers and a group of so-called “ex-gay survivors” who have purportedly been hurt by Exodus and similar ministries over the last forty years.

Although the sneak peak was rather short, it appears that Exodus Founder Michael Bussee, who is seemingly the poster boy for ex-ex-gays (ex-gays who no longer consider themselves former homosexuals, and have returned to the gay life), plays a prominent role in the show. In the sneak peak, Bussee angrily says to Chambers:

The organization needs to shut down. Don’t tweak it, don’t try to improve it. Shut it down!

The show appears to center around Alan Chambers apologizing to these so-called “ex-gay survivors” for the role that Exodus has played in hurting gays and lesbians with the “Change Is Possible” message over the last forty years. Sadly, Ling combines the work of Exodus and similar religious ministries that focus on prayer, deliverance, and religious devotion with Sexual Orientation Change Effort (SOCE) therapy, or what she calls “Gay-Reparative Therapy.”

Let me be clear when I say this. I like Lisa Ling. I like Our America. I also like Alan Chambers personally, although I do not agree with the direction he is taking Exodus International. But what is most troubling to me is that Ling refuses to interview actual psychotherapists who practice SOCE and/or clients who have gone through SOCE, either via individual therapy or through group therapy programs such as Journey Into Manhood. These programs differ dramatically than the Exodus programs, but the average person would not know that unless a reporter makes this distinction.

I have personally reached out to Lisa Ling’s Facebook page and offered to be interviewed. I also contacted Alan Chambers and to see if Ling interviewed SOCE therapists for the “God and Gays” program, and he told me he believes she did not. Sadly, many will watch this program and get the perception that psychotherapists who practice SOCE are really just helping clients “pray away the gay” and harming gays and lesbians in the process.

Only time will tell if Ling decides to give a complete portrayal of ex-gays and the actual therapists who help them experience real change.

Christopher Doyle, M.A. is the Co-Founder and Acting Director of Voice of the Voiceless, the only anti-defamation league for former homosexuals, individuals with unwanted same-sex attractions, and their families. For more information, visit: www.VoiceoftheVoiceless.info