{"id":18390,"date":"2013-06-21T08:45:59","date_gmt":"2013-06-21T12:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theredphoenixapl.org\/?p=18390"},"modified":"2026-04-21T22:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T03:13:10","slug":"group-that-had-aimed-to-change-gays-to-shut-down-leader-also-offered-apology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/2013\/06\/group-that-had-aimed-to-change-gays-to-shut-down-leader-also-offered-apology\/","title":{"rendered":"Group That Had Aimed To \u201cChange\u201d Gays To Shut Down, Leader Also Offered Apology"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cExodus International, the oldest and largest Christian ministry dealing with faith and homosexuality, issued an apology to the gay community for years of undue suffering and judgment at the hands of the organization and the Church as a whole,\u201d the group stated on its website Wednesday.\u00a0Update:<\/strong> The group has announced it is closing down.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In a letter \u201cto members of the LGBTQ community,\u201d Alan Chambers, the head of Exodus International, a group that has long backed \u201cchange therapy\u201d for gays and lesbians, issued an apology Wednesday,<\/span>\u00a0stating<\/span><\/a><\/span>, \u201cI am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[Update at 11:20 p.m.: Following a meeting Wednesday night at its conference, Exodus International went further, announcing it is closing up shop.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cExodus International, the oldest and largest Christian ministry dealing with faith and homosexuality announced tonight that it\u2019s closing its doors after three-plus decades of ministry,\u201d the organization<\/span>\u00a0said in a statement<\/span><\/a><\/span>.]<\/span><\/p>\n

The public statement comes in advance of a Thursday airing of the television broadcast \u201cGod & Gays\u201d on\u00a0Our America with Lisa Ling<\/i>\u00a0on OWN, in which Ling talks with Chambers about these issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

In his apology, Chambers wrote, \u201cI am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Later, he added:<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope the changes in my own life, as well as the ones we announce tonight regarding Exodus International, will bring resolution, and show that I am serious in both my regret and my offer of friendship. I pledge that future endeavors will be focused on peace and common good.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There are limits to his apology, as he also wrote, \u201cI cannot apologize for my deeply held biblical beliefs about the boundaries I see in scripture surrounding sex, but I will exercise my beliefs with great care and respect for those who do not share them. I cannot apologize for my beliefs about marriage. But I do not have any desire to fight you on your beliefs or the rights that you seek.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The changes to be made by the organization were not laid out in the apology or the group\u2019s news release about the apology.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a news release, the group<\/span>\u00a0states<\/span><\/a><\/span>\u00a0only, \u201cExodus International, the oldest and largest Christian ministry dealing with faith and homosexuality, issued an apology to the gay community for years of undue suffering and judgment at the hands of the organization and the Church as a whole.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[Update at 11:20 p.m.: The group\u2019s statement Wednesday night added:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cExodus is an institution in the conservative Christian world, but we\u2019ve ceased to be a living, breathing organism,\u201d said Alan Chambers, President of Exodus. \u201cFor quite some time we\u2019ve been imprisoned in a worldview that\u2019s neither honoring toward our fellow human beings, nor biblical.\u201d \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

For these reasons, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to close Exodus International and begin a separate ministry. \u201cThis is a new season of ministry, to a new generation,\u201d said Chambers. \u201cOur goals are to reduce fear (reducefear.org), and come alongside churches to become safe, welcoming, and mutually transforming communities.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The \u201creducefear.org\u201d website is not yet live.]<\/span><\/p>\n

The statements were released on the first day of the group\u2019s Exodus Freedom conference, taking place through June 23 at Concordia University Irvine.<\/span><\/p>\n

[Update at 11:55 a.m. Thursday: Truth Wins Out executive director Wayne Besen, who has been tracking and opposing \u201cex-gay\u201d therapies for more than a decade, issued a statement Thursday morning:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe closing of Exodus is an earthquake that is shaking the very foundations of the \u2018ex-gay\u2019 industry. We feel vindicated with our efforts to expose these groups and reveal their great destruction. Although new groups are vying to fill the vacuum, the passing of Exodus casts a huge shadow of doubt on their work and cuts right to the heart of their credibility,\u201d Besen said.]<\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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