HomoQuotable - John Paulk

"It’s funny, for those of us that worked in it, behind closed doors, we knew we hadn't really changed. Our situations had changed - we had gotten married, and some of us had children, so our roles had changed. I was a husband and father; that was my identity. And the homosexuality had been tamped down. But you can only push it down for so long, and it would eke its way out every so often. I went to a gay bar - not looking for sex, which is what people thought - but because I was missing my community. I was looking to sit in a place with people I felt comfortable with, and that was other gay people.

"I would be in hotel rooms, and I would be on my face sobbing and crying on the bed. I felt like a liar and a hypocrite. Having to go out and give hope to these people. I was in despair knowing that what I was telling them was not entirely honest. I couldn’t do it anymore. For 25 years I felt guilty and filled with self-loathing, trying to reject this part about myself. I’m culpable - I spread the message that my sexuality had changed, and I used my marriage as proof of that." - Former "ex-gay" poster boy John Paulk, quoted in a Newsweek article about the movement he once led.

RECOMMENDED: Read the full story.

Former Exodus President Alan Chambers Denounces "Ex-Gay" Therapy For Minors

"What I believe is that when it comes to promising or assuring someone, or causing someone to expect that they’re gong to completely eradicate a set of feelings or temptations or desires, I think that sets someone up for tremendous damage, which can cause them shame and guilt. I certainly believe we should never be offering [conversion therapy] for minors. For adults, they can decide based on all the facts presented." - Former Exodus International president Alan Chambers, speaking on Michelangelo Signorile's SiriusXM show.  Chambers went on to to acknowledge that while he's been in a happy opposite marriage for 16 years, he is still attracted to men.

Alan Chambers Is Ready To Start Over

Posted yesterday by CBN Online:

Right now only a remnant remain at the old Exodus offices in Orlando, but its leaders hope that the so-called death of this organization will result in the birth of a movement that starts a fresh conversation on faith and sexuality. "It's a brand-new organization at this point," Chambers admitted, "with no support, no funding and yet, I'm more excited than I am anything."

In the meantime, a new umbrella group, Restored Hope Network, is seeking to serve the original mission of Exodus by focusing on change for those who want it. It has 19 ministry affiliates, all formerly associated with Exodus, around the country. For many in the Church, this summer is a time to recover after a tumultuous last several months.

Between the Boy Scout's recent decision to include gay Scouts, the closing of Exodus, and the Supreme Court rulings on DOMA and Proposition 8, many who support traditional marriage have felt overwhelmed. But for Chambers, despite an empty building and a dream that has died, it's the perfect time to start over and engage a country that's perhaps more divided than ever on this issue.

(Tipped by JMG reader Chris)

Alan Chambers On His New Group

"It's just in the dreaming and infancy stage of all of that. We don't have a name. We do have a website that we just quickly put up that is called ReduceFear.org. It's not going to be the name of the organization, but it is one part of a mission statement that we have come up with about what we want to do. We believe that the majority of people, especially people within the church, react out of fear. The majority of our opinions and positions and discussions and debates and arguments are based out of fear, and what we want to do is reduce that fear. We want to help people come to the table and bring people to the table to have intelligent, thoughtful discussions that will focus on building common good." - Alan Chambers, speaking to the Christian Post.

Christian TV On Exodus Shutdown

Exodus Gives Scott Lively The Sadz

"In anticipation of this sad day many former Exodus member organizations broke away months ago and formed a new organization, the Restored Hope Network. RHN will carry on the important work of the church in helping homosexuals to recover from same-sex attraction disorder. I applaud the courage of these men and women to remain true to Scripture in the face of intense hostility and persecution from the 'gay' movement and its many powerful allies. Their ministry will not be made any easier by the triumphal gloating and attacks of their now greatly emboldened detractors. It was this same relentless grinding hostility that undoubtedly contributed to the fall of Alan Chambers (few can bear it for long, just ask the Boy Scouts), but in addition to this 'stick' there was also a 'carrot' that led him astray: an insidious form of 'gay' theology that misrepresents God’s grace as a license to sin, or at least a license to embrace a personal identity defined by a desire to indulge in homosexual sin." - Hate group leader Scott Lively, writing on his blog.

Quote Of The Day - Rev. Nancy Wilson

"For decades, Exodus International has been synonymous with the idea that people need to be ‘cured’ or ‘healed’ of homosexuality. This week’s historic apology from Exodus leader, Alan Chambers, for the harm done to LGBT people by Exodus is encouraging. Sadly, nothing will bring back the lives lost to suicide based on pseudo-psychology and corrupt theology. Any apology for past suicides, lost years and damage to families is only as good as real actions to counter the lies spread throughout the world by past Exodus action.

"What is needed is true repentance and a conversion to truth telling. The theology of condemnation must be replaced with a theology of grace in the service of God’s good creation—including LGBT people. The trail of emotional, psychological and spiritual damage must be mitigated by evangelistic outreach around the world where the lives of LGBT people hang in the balance at the hands of religious and political leaders who would shed their blood, rape their bodies, and crucify their spirits for their own careers." Rev. Nancy Wilson, moderator of the Metropolitan Community Churches, via email.

Exodus International Head Alan Chambers Apologizes To Ex-Gay Survivors

From last night's Oprah Winfrey Network special, which was taped before yesterday's announcement that Exodus would be shutting down.

Alan Chambers Apologizes

"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 stigmatized parents. I am sorry that there were times I didn’t stand up to people publicly 'on my side' who called you names like sodomite—or worse. I am sorry that I, knowing some of you so well, failed to share publicly that the gay and lesbian people I know were every bit as capable of being amazing parents as the straight people that I know. I am sorry that when I celebrated a person coming to Christ and surrendering their sexuality to Him that I callously celebrated the end of relationships that broke your heart. I am sorry that I have communicated that you and your families are less than me and mine." - Exodus International head and "ex-gay" crusader Alan Chambers, in a lengthy apology published shortly before announcing the closure of his organization.

RELATED: Tonight the Oprah Winfrey Network will air their special on Exodus at 10pm.

BREAKING: "Ex-Gay" Group Exodus International Announces It Will Shut Down

Following a lengthy apology from its head Alan Chambers, tonight the world's largest "ex-gay" organization, Exodus International, announced that it will shut down. Founded in 1976, at its peak Exodus had over 100 chapters in the United States and over 150 affiliates worldwide. From the group's website:

“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.”

Truth Wins Out reacts:

Alan stated in his talk tonight that he doesn’t want to see another “ex-gay” organization fill the void left by Exodus’s closing, but called on the Church to actually become a safe place for gays and lesbians. Of course, the Restored Hope Network is having their conference in Oklahoma City, featuring the biggest quacks in the “ex-gay” industry, so they’ll fight tooth and nail to make sure that Alan’s vision of the Church being a loving place will never come to pass. Thus, our work must continue. Exodus was a large pillar in the “ex-gay” world, but this fight is far from over. We wish Alan Chambers all our best and look forward to a day when we can truly consider him an ally.

You can expect celebratory messages from anti-gay groups as Exodus has become one of their most hated enemies ever since Chambers began making conciliatory gestures towards the LBGT community that he so horribly hurt. It remains to be seen what this new "Reduce Fear" group is going to really be about.

Oprah Network Special: Ex-Gay Survivors Confront Exodus International

The show airs on Thursday.   

In a special episode, Lisa Ling is joined by a group of survivors of the condemned and damaging practice of "reparative therapy" as they confront Alan Chambers. Chambers recently asked Ling to help orchestrate an opportunity in which he could formally apologize to those who felt deceived and defrauded by Exodus' practices and to announce that the organization will cease to be an "ex gay" organization. Tune in Thursday, June 20th at 10/9c for a special presentation of this powerful report.

"Ex-Gay" Blooper Reel

Is this supposed to make them lovable?

(Via Good As You)

Alan Chambers: I Have To Be Honest, I'm Still Digging Hot Sexy Men

Alan Chambers: "I have to be honest and say, 'Of course I have temptations. Of course I have attractions related to the same sex.' But for over 15 years since I've been in a relationship with Leslie, my attraction is for her." He adds, "Am I heterosexual? I don't know. I'm not gay." Since Chambers announced the end of his support for "reparative therapy," Exodus International has been scorned and denounced by their former colleagues in brainwashing. Chambers now glumly calls for a lifetime of untouched, unloved celibacy for those who can't fake it with the opposite sex.

Alan Chambers: Perverted Homosexual Leaders Are Like Hitler And Marx

IMPORTANT UPDATE: It appears the below quote was first published by the Christianist Charisma Magazine in 2004. Ex-Gay Watch speculates as to why the story is now appearing on the magazine's front page with today's date: "Is someone at the conservative Christian publication trying to sabotage him [Chambers] by bringing up his past words?" As always, infighting is funny. And also, in this case, fascinating.

"Pro-homosexual leaders realized the same truth employed by Hitler and Marx: To advance their agenda they must radically influence the hearts and minds of young people. Because Mom and Dad are working all day and Susie and Junior are in school and then home alone, activists came up with a plan: Use public schools, television, the Internet and other youth-friendly venues to influence the way young people view homosexuality. Under the guise of AIDS education, groups such as the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network gained access into public schools.

"Similarly, pro-homosexual activists ran for school board positions and partnered with every kid's favorite after-school babysitter, MTV. Teenagers got hooked on the Internet, which opened them up to a 24-hour source of temptation and perversion. Now, perhaps too late, we are waking up from a three-decade sleep to realize that the gay lobby has taken America hostage. I hope we are not so naive that we think their agenda stops with legalizing same-sex marriages. Ultimately, if this process is not stopped, the gaying of the United States will begin to affect religious freedom." - Alan Chambers, head of Exodus International, desperately trying to win back the hate groups who have slagged him since his confession that nobody is ever "cured" of being gay. (Via Right Wing Watch)

NARTH Founder: I Can't Cure Gays

"Alan, what you are saying is untrue. I have never said I could cure someone completely from homosexuality. All my books make it quite clear that homosexual attractions will persist to some degree throughout a person’s lifetime. Furthermore, I do not use heterosexual pornography with my clients. I do ask them (if they wish to do this; some clients do not, and I never expect my clients to do anything they do not wish to do) to bring up a compelling image from gay porn that they wish to reduce the power of, and we work on diminishing its power (a technique with which we have had considerable success).

"However, I do not use straight porn; I use pictures of women they find attractive in mainstream magazines and we work on developing a physical attraction to them, through their imagination, while looking at these non-pornographic pictures. I would like you to set the record straight on this. You have been publicly denigrating reparative therapy and misleading people about its nature." - NARTH co-founder Joseph Nicolosi, responding to a Facebook post by Exodus International head Alan Chambers. (Via Ex-Gay Watch)

Linda Harvey: Effeminized Men Have Overrun The "Ex-Gays" At Exodus

"For Exodus, as a position led by Alan Chambers and he’s not the only one in leadership there that are really misled, for them to pull the plug on kids and just abandon them, this is just the stereotype of men who are not being men, shall I just go there, because that’s what it is. Just don’t defend anything, just let people run right all over you. Well the people running over you are the homosexuals, how ironic is this? How ironic is this that the ones with the real guts are the ones who are the more effeminized or non-masculine males who aren’t embracing their real, God-given masculine identity. But the ex-homosexuals, supposedly, or the leadership there, won’t stand up." - Hate group leader Linda Harvey, continuing her radio campaign against Exodus leader Alan Chambers, who now says that since there's no actual "cure," gay people should consign themselves to a lifetime of untouched, unloved celibacy.

Linda Harvey Vs Alan Chambers

"Chambers has said he doesn't believe a person can change his or her so-called sexual orientation. Now, there's not anything like this invented term called 'sexual orientation' in Scripture in the first place, but then he also says that he still struggles himself with sexual feelings for other males. This shows very poor judgment as the leader of this ministry to, first of all, be experiencing this and secondly, to announce it to the whole world.

"Of course a person can leave homosexuality; there are thousands of people who have done it and God's word clearly states that he can deliver us from sin. And the proud, open sinner who is publicly proclaiming it as good in defiance of God's word? It is highly questionable that such a person is saved. We would not be making this exception for well-adjusted adulterers would we? How about a compassionate pedophile? What about incest like two brothers involved in homosexuality? Why not just defy God's word on this?" - SPLC certified hate group leader Linda Harvey. (Via Right Wing Watch)

Exodoesn't

(From the Dallas Voice via Zack Ford.)

Dan Savage Vs. Alan Chambers

"So we've gone from Boys in the Band to Stonewall through forty years of the gay rights movement and forty years of an anti-gay backlash funded by the religious right and twenty years of an ex-gay 'movement' that promised 'freedom from homosexuality' only to arrive right back where we started: Alan Chambers is a sad and pathetic man. He's a homosexual and he doesn't want to be. But there's nothing he can do to change it. Not all the prayers to his God could change it. Still, Alan Chambers knows a heterosexual life. Because he wants it desperately enough. But Alan Chambers is still a homosexual and he always will be. Always." - Dan Savage, writing for Slog.

Exodus International Head Alan Chambers: You Just Can't Pray Away The Gay