logo
book Subscribe to our Magazine
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
    • Grassroots Fundraising Journal
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Podcasts
    • Tiny Spark
    • Women of Color in Power
  • Webinars
    • Free Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership

As One Anti-Gay Group Ends its Crusade, Another Takes Up the Mantle

Erwin de Leon
June 24, 2013
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

 

Chambers

June 20, 2013: New York Times

Last Friday, Exodus International, the leading organization of the “ex-gay” movement for 37 years, announced its end while Alan Chambers, its president, publicly repented and issued a mea culpa to gays and lesbians harmed by the movement.

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

“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,” said Tony Moore, board member of Exodus, in a statement.

Chambers’ open letter to the LGBT community, however, questions the very work of Exodus International and others like it. “I understand why I am distrusted and why Exodus is hated,” he writes. “Please know that I am deeply sorry. I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced.” He pleads forgiveness for promoting harmful reparative therapies and acknowledges that gay families are no less than his “straight” family. Chambers, who is married to a woman, admits he remains sexually attracted to other men.

It didn’t take long for another organization to step up and take the lead in “curing” homosexuals. The Board of the Restored Hope Network, a fledgling ex-gay group, said in a statement that while they “grieve the decision” to close down the “venerable organization,” they see the end of Exodus as “the not-unexpected outcome of a cheap grace theology that severs the confession of Christ as Savior from the confession of Christ as Lord.” So there.

Rest assured, the mission to save sinful and deviant souls lives on. But as more and more Americans embrace their gay neighbors, will groups like Restored Hope find any support at all from the mainstream?—Erwin de Leon

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Erwin de Leon

Erwin de Leon is a researcher at Urban Institute and writer on nonprofit, immigration and LGBT issues.

More about: Nonprofit NewsPolicyReligious/Faith-Based

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

NPQ_Spring_2022

You might also like
Edgar Cahn’s Second Act: Time Banking and the Return of Mutual Aid
Steve Dubb
We Owe You Nothing: The Movement to Cancel Student Debt Gains Ground
Rithika Ramamurthy
Charitable Tax Reform: Why Half Measures Won’t Curb Plutocracy
Alan Davis
Green New Deal or Stale Old Tax-Break Scam? Getting Electric Vehicle Incentives Right
Greg LeRoy
Goodbye “Race Neutrality”—The Case for Race-Conscious Economic Policy
Dedrick Asante-Muhammad
Graduate Student Workers Are in the Frontline of the Growing Labor Movement
Rithika Ramamurthy

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
June 9th, 2 pm ET

Remaking the Economy

Wage Justice, Now!

Register
You might also like
Edgar Cahn’s Second Act: Time Banking and the Return of...
Steve Dubb
We Owe You Nothing: The Movement to Cancel Student Debt...
Rithika Ramamurthy
Charitable Tax Reform: Why Half Measures Won’t Curb...
Alan Davis
WOMEN OF COLOR IN POWER
Women of Color in Power

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe
Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Authentic Leadership
Reclaiming Interrupted Lineages

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Submissions
  • Advertisers
  • Newsletters
  • Copyright

Subscribe to View Webinars

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.