The Ex Gay survivors conference seems to have been worthwhile.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la- me-exgay28jun28,0,1590125
From the Los Angeles Times
3 former leaders of ex-gay ministry apologize
They cite psychological harm they caused gays as the ministry, Exodus
International, meets in Irvine.
By Rebecca Trounson
Times Staff Writer
June 28, 2007
Three former leaders of Exodus International, often described as the
nation’s largest ex-gay ministry, publicly apologized Wednesday for the
harm they said their efforts had caused many gays and lesbians who
believed the group’s message that sexual orientation could be
changed through prayer.
Speaking at a Hollywood news conference, the former leaders of the
interdenominational Christian organization said they had acted sincerely
in their years of work with Exodus. But they said they had all, over
time, become disillusioned with the group’s ideas and concerned about
what they described as the wrenching human toll of such gay conversion
efforts.
The news event, in a courtyard outside an office of the Los Angeles Gay
& Lesbian Center, was timed to coincide with the opening of Exodus’
annual conference, which is being held this week at Concordia University
in Irvine. A competing “ex-gay survivor” convention is to begin Friday
at UC Irvine.
Exodus’ president, Alan Chambers, reached by phone at the meeting in
Irvine, said he disagreed with its critics, adding that its methods have
helped many people, including him.
“Exodus is here for people who want an alternative to homosexuality, ”
Chambers said. “There are thousands of people like me who have overcome
this. I think there’s room for more than one opinion on this subject,
and giving people options isn’t dangerous.”
The former leaders from Exodus cast its work in grim terms.
“Some who heard our message were compelled to try to change an integral
part of themselves, bringing harm to themselves and their families,” the
three, including former Exodus co-founder Michael Bussee, said in a
joint written statement presented at the news conference. “Although we
acted in good faith, we have since witnessed the isolation, shame,
fear and loss of faith that this message creates.”
Now a licensed family therapist in Riverside, Bussee left Exodus in 1979
after he fell in love with a man who was a fellow ex-gay counselor with
the group. He speaks out frequently against ex-gay therapies.
“God’s love and forgiveness does indeed change people,” said Bussee, who
remains an evangelical Christian. “It changed me. It just didn’t make me
straight.”
Others speaking at Wednesday’s news conference included Jeremy Marks,
former president of Exodus International Europe, and Darlene Bogle, the
founder and former director of Paraklete Ministries, an Exodus referral
agency based in Hayward, Calif.
All three said they had known people who had tried to change their
sexual orientation with the help of the group but had failed, often
becoming depressed or even suicidal as a result.
“We are committed Christians, but we’re still gay,” said Marks, who
heads Courage UK, a gay-affirming evangelical ministry based in
England.
Among those at the news conference was the Rev. Mel White, founder and
president of a faith-based gay rights group called Soulforce. White, who
was the ghostwriter for the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s autobiography and later
came out as gay, praised the former Exodus leaders.
“It’s a major moment, a paradigm shift,” White said. “They’re saying
this doesn’t work, and that’s incredibly important.”
The Exodus meeting is expected to attract about 1,000 people, Chambers
said. Chambers, who is married and has children, said he and other
current Exodus officials are careful to warn those who seek help that
such a path is not easy.
Sexual orientation “isn’t a light switch that you can switch on and
off,” he said.
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