Ex-Gay Watch

A well written article in Christianity Today begins:

American evangelicals, who profess to be committed to Truth, are among the worst abusers of simple descriptive statistics, which claim to represent the truth about reality, of any group I have ever seen. At stake in this misuse are evangelicals’ own integrity, credibility with outsiders, and effectiveness in the world. It is an issue worth making a fuss over. And so I write.

The article goes on to examine a claim:

“This generation of teens is the largest in history—and current trends show that only 4 percent will be evangelical believers by the time they become adults. Compare this with 34 percent of adults today who are evangelicals. We are on the verge of a catastrophe.”

That 4% statistic began as a informal survey done by an author of a book on youth ministry and eventually worked its way up to 4-page magazine advertisements for a national leadership summit seeking to “re-educate 20,000 youth pastors in 44 cities around the nation.”

Christianity Today’s article does not seek to catalogue other bad statistical behavior by Evangelicals but rather to inform the reader of the importance of using statistics accurately. One can only hope many ex-gay leaders I write about regularly will learn from this.

Friend of Ex-Gay Watch, Jim Burroway, also posted on this article.

This weekend marks the first ever Transgender Religious Summit. The press release states the following about the event:

Religious communities struggle with full acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, causing discrimination not just in churches, temples, and mosques, but throughout society. Perhaps least understood and accepted among sexual and gender minorities are members of the transgender community. Those who identify as transgender or other non-conforming gender expressions are subject to misunderstanding and rejection by faith communities, and harassment and violence in society as a whole.

The Transgender Religious Summit to be held at Pacific School of Religion (in Berkley, CA) will be the first of its kind: a collaboration between national policy leaders on transgender issues, transgender and transgender supporting religious leaders, and academic experts on LGBT studies and religion. This diverse group of ministers, activists, and scholars will address issues of denominational and public policy, outreach to the transgender community, and transgender leadership, in order to break down the religious barriers to full inclusion of transgender and gender non-conforming people in religious communities and the nation as a whole.

The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry are sponsoring the summit.

Justin Tanis is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and San Francisco Theological Seminary. He’s also the NCTE Program Manager. He had this to say about the summit:

“If there is opposition to transgender-inclusive legislation, it very often comes from a religious perspective. But this doesn’t have to be the case. Many progressive people of faith want to expand transgender rights within our religious traditions and to counter the transphobia in public policy, so this meeting will give us an opportunity to work together on that.”

I’m glad to hear it. Messages that folk like Alan Chambers, Peter LaBarbera, and Mike Ensley have put out about on transgender people need a countering voice; a voice that talks in terms of Christian transpeople, as well as a voice on transpeople of other faiths.

The upgrade too longer than expected, but we seem to be up and running. Look for changes and tweaks over the next few weeks. Also, while we have tried to maintain legacy links as much as possible, please check your links to us if you have them and make sure they work.

Ok, I hope that got your attention. Sometime late tonight or early tomorrow morning, we will be shutting down for at least a few hours to (hopefully) make the final move to our new software platform. This move has required a lot of work to fix some problems encountered during past upgrades and moves. We hope this next change will provide a solid base on which to continue our growth. We ask your patience with any down time during this period.

When the site comes back up, it will look very different, but it won’t be complete. Expect that things will be tweaked and layouts adjusted, new features added, all during February. None of this should prevent normal operation, but if you see something you don’t like initially, don’t become too alarmed as it may just change before you know it.

If you have any questions or feedback on these changes, please send them to editor@exgaywatch.com and try to be concise. We will use this to help make future changes.

Thank you all for making each year more active than the last. Your participation, comments and insight have made Ex-Gay Watch a very special, very important place for the discussion of all things surrounding ex-gay politics and culture. We hope to provide you with this platform for many years to come.

Levi Kreis is an emerging gay musician. He’s appeared on an episode of The Apprentice, done a few indie films, and has had his music played on television shows. In connection with the release of his new album The Gospel According to Levi, Kreis artist sat for an interview with Between the Lines.

The songwriting process became therapeutic as he reflected on his personal struggle to accept himself while serving God. As a Tennessee teen he stopped attending his parent’s Southern Baptist congregation, where he sang and preached, and enrolled in an ex-gay program at a nearby church. No one knew. Not his parents. Not his friends.

“I felt like it was my duty personally as a very sincere boy to rid myself of what (Apostle) Paul calls ‘this thorn in my side.’”

With workbooks and tapes supplied by Exodus International, a religious group focused on converting gay people back to heterosexuality, Kreis committed to the program for six years. As he considered their tactics and noticed “ex-gays” practicing suppression he realized their explanation of the development of homosexuality was ludicrous.

His decision to come out was not without cost. He was expelled from his conservative Christian college and dropped by his record label. In the lyrics of his song Bittersweet Salvation we hear the anquish of that period in his life in which he struggled to be what he thought God and the church demanded him to be.

I coveted the sorrow and death of every martyr made
Took this thorn into my side as Yaweh’s name
Twenty years of faith and fear and still you say I falter
I’m laying all this dogma dead upon the alter

Earlier this week XGW’s Timothy Kincaid wrote about fallen ex-gay Michael Johnston’s appearance in the video “It’s Not Gay” which is still being sold by several anti-gay organizations. This morning gay activist Wayne Besen filed a complaint against one such organization, Americans For Truth, for selling what Besen calls “a fraudulent video” with the Illinois Attorney General.

[O]pponents say the prospect of same-sex book-borrowing endangers the moral fiber of the country’s most sacred reading traditions.

“What’s next—gay people at the DMV, being granted licenses to drive cars?” Rev. Brian Peters of Verona, WI said. “Will we be soon seeing gays and lesbians at our local post offices, being sold stamps and mailing packages? We must protect our nation’s public institutions from relentless encroachment by those who threaten our values.”

–Satire from The Onion‘s article Nation’s Gays Demand Right To Library Cards

The Onion’s very funny take on GLBT civil rights issues is funny in its pure hyperbole. It’s such a well done, ludicrous exaggeration for humorous effect that it left me laughing out loud.

Perhaps an equally ludicrous take on GLBT equality is found on the NARTH website in an article by Christopher H. Rosik, Ph.D., entitled Clinical And Theoretical Parallels Between Desire For Limb Amputation And Gender Identity Disorder. But, unlike the satire of the Onion article, this article is sincere commentary.

In this piece Christopher H. Rosik, Ph.D., takes some pretty incredible leaps to draw a pretty incredible final conclusion. Rosik reviews an article by Anne A. Lawrence that compares apotemnophilia to transgenderism. He then, in his commentary, equates the identities of people who desire to remove their limbs to the identities of all GLBT people…

The existence of apotemnophilia raises some very intriguing questions for current discussion about human sexuality, particularly as pertains to transgenderism and the limits of pursuing civil rights for sexual minorities. Lawrence seems mostly concerned about understanding the reasons for finding such parallels between these conditions in order to enhance treatment. But when it comes to the surgical option, Lawrence’s very tentative conclusion seems to beg the larger question: Should surgery ever be considered? However, in the current sociopolitical climate transgendered persons (including transsexuals) are riding the coattails of the gay rights movement with reasonable success. Therefore, given these extensive parallels it may be difficult for the mental health professions to make a rational argument against permitting amputation of a limb that would not also apply to the amputation of one’s sexual organ.

Although Lawrence clearly treats the desire for amputation as a clinical disorder, the trajectory of contemporary sexual minority rights ideology would suggest that this appraisal may well be questionable. The American Psychological Association’s recent FAQ about transgenderism states:

A psychological condition is considered a mental disorder only if it causes distress or disability. Many transgender people do not experience their transgender feelings and traits to be distressing or disabling, which implies that being transgendered does not constitute a mental disorder per se.

…It’s probably a long shot at present, but Lawrence’s observations about individuals desiring amputation would seem to point them toward a strategy of playing up their sexual minority status and affiliating with other sexual minority groups. Then perhaps some day in the future we just might be hearing about the pursuit of GLBTIQA (i.e., gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, questioning and amputee) equality.

I don’t want to get too deep into the subject, but sex reassignment surgery (SRS) for male-to-female (M2F) transsexuals isn’t penis amputation. And for female-to-male transsexuals, SRS is actually penis creation. Calling SRS “amputation” is a misnomer. Plus, there are no standards of care that outline procedures for removing a limb for “identity” reasons, whereas there are standards of care that set criteria for SRS.

But really, that’s a minor part of what Rosik is saying. The underlying message of his commentary on the NARTH website is found in his comparison of those who identify as GLBT, queer, intersex, or any other letter in the alphabet soup with those who identify as apotemnophiles. He is equating the GLBT civil rights movement as having the same moral equivalence of the non-existent civil rights movement for apotemnophiles.

His argument on identity; however, is an Argument Of The Beard — a logical fallacy. He makes the false assumption that GLBT people see ends of the spectrum of human behavior as all being the same, since one can travel along the spectrum in very small steps. The existence of pink should not undermine the distinction between white and red — all identities aren’t considered the same hue, and the LGBT community sees a difference between transsexuals and apotemnophiles.

Let me clarify Rosik’s Argument of the Beard by using a heterosexual identity comparison: Rosik’s comments on GLBT identities would be equivalent to stating that since Christian heterosexuals approve of males and females entering marriage relationships, Christian heterosexuals should embrace the idea of sixty year-old men marrying twelve year-old girls. Christian heterosexuals should then fight for equal rights to heterosexual pedophiles because their relationships are male/female relationships.

That’s a fallacious opinion — Christian heterosexuals and heterosexual pedophiles aren’t the same thing. Not all behaviors or identities one could loosely classify as heterosexual would be considered equal by Christian heterosexuals; just as a Christian heterosexual/heterosexual pedophile argument is fallacious at the face, so is Rosik’s SRS/apotemnophilia argument.

What passes for commentary on the NARTH website is ludicrous — just not ludicrous funny like on The Onion’s website. We’ve seen previous NARTH website commentaries on slavery and gender-variant children — and now this one by Rosik on identities and civil rights. With NARTH’s history of posting untenable, poorly reasoned commentaries, one has to wonder why NARTH is still hosting commentaries at all.

If one reads the news coverage following pretty much any Love Won Out conference it quickly becomes obvious they are attended primarily by family, friends and clergy rather than actual ex-gays or gays. As I’ve stood at the driveways to churches where Love Won Out is hosted I’ve seen too many cars pass by with children in the back seat, looks of sheer fear and dread on their faces, their parents unable to reconcile their faith with their child’s sexuality. At Love Won Out Atlanta one such gay son stood outside with us while his mother attended the conference. An article about Love In Action (Exodus’ largest and oldest conversion ministry) in the current anti-gay AFA Journal makes it perfectly clear Love Won Out’s goal is to affect gay youth:

“I go to every Love Won Out conference,” [John] Smid [director of Love In Action] said, “and 60% of those who attend are parents. It’s primarily a ministry to parents, that’s their goal.” He said parents want to know how to build a respectful relationship with their children, which is necessary before they can help their children escape the tentacles of a homosexual lifestyle.

On New Years Eve, 1879, W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan presented their comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. Although a social satire of English sensibilities, the production’s launch was in New York to (ironically) deter pirating of their work. Those old enough may recall Linda Ronstadt, Rex Smith, and Kevin Kline in the 1983 movie or the rather dreadful campy adaptation, The Pirate Movie, from the year before with Kristy McNichol and Christopher Atkins.

Perhaps the best known piece of G&S music is the Major-General’s song from Pirates. It’s mockery of English priorities for military leadership – an extensive education in matters social but highly irrelevant – stands as a tower of Victorian wit.

It is in this spirit that Justin Lee of the Gay Christian Network reworked the song into the parody song The Very Model of an Ex-Gay Individual as part of a parady musical performed at the GCN conference. While Sullivan, the composer of Onward Christian Soldiers might be scandalized (and you might also), Gilbert would probably find the whole notion of an ex-gay movement to be bursting with comic opportunity.

For the entire song link here.

I am the very model of an ex-gay individual
I’ve no more gay attractions (okay, maybe a residual)
I go to ex-gay conferences, where folks hold me accountable
They say with Jesus, sga is never insurmountable

I think of God, not Gaynor, when I hear someone say Gloria
I always stay a block away from local gay emporia
I’ve read 8 books on how to please my wife while I’m caressing her
And probably a dozen more by Dr. Laura Schlessinger

[Chorus:
And probably a dozen more by Dr. Laura Schlessinger,
And probably a dozen more by Dr. Laura Schlessinger,
And probably a dozen more by Dr. Laura Schlessing-Schlessinger!]

In 1988 Michael Johnston became ex-gay.

Almost immediately he became visable in the conservative anti-gay Christian movement. The following year he started his own ex-gay vehicle, Kerusso Ministries through which he put himself as an example in churches, schools, and on religious programming on radio and television. Eventually, by 1999, his profile had reached the place where Jerry Falwell used him as an example to Soulforce that gay people could become heterosexuals.

Johnston was the darling of anti-gay religious powerhouses. He was awarded by the Southern Baptists and helped write the Assemblies of God’s position paper on homosexuality (for those unaware of the AoG’s positions, let’s just say that they are not charitable).

But Johnston’s purposes were not limited to religious appeals to convert gays to his brand of Christianity. He also participated in the political anti-gay campaigns attempting to use sexual orientation as a criterion to deny fellow citizens equal treatment under the law.

Johnston was the face to a campaign called Truth in Love* in which he and his mother appeared on television telling the country that he had “walked away from homosexuality” but not before he contracted HIV. Johnston was also featured in the American Family Association’s 2000 video It’s Not Gay** and served on the steering committee for the National Campaign to Protect Marriage.

Johnston was not inconsequential in his ex-gay and anti-gay advocacy. He founded Americans for Truth (currently Peter LaBarbera’s AFTAH) and the National Coming Out of Homosexuality Day – coinciding with National Coming Out Day.

Johnston was at the top of his game when reality kicked in.

In June 2003 a reader reported to XGW that Kerusso Ministries seemed to have disappeared and that references to him on AFA and Family Policy Network seemed to have disappeared. Then in August of that year an attorney contacted Wayne Besen and told him an amazing story.

Johnston had been going by the name Sean and had been cruising men online. More surprising, he had been organizing unsafe sex parties and lying about his HIV status.

Besen interviewed the witness and verified the story before releasing the news to the media which, so closely following John Paulk’s gay bar sighting, caught attention. Religious conservatives who had once championed his testimony now scrambled to explain that though they knew Johnston was struggling, they were unaware of his deliberate exposure of HIV to unsuspecting others. The ex-gay leadership downplayed Johnston’s involvement and distanced themselves as best possible and those who couldn’t simply went on the attack against “homosexual activists”. But this scandal took its toll on the credibility of certain anti-gay efforts.

Johnston immediately disappeared into Pure Life Ministries, a rural Kentucky residence program and that was the last we heard of the ex-gay ministry’s most lauded success story.

Until now.

As Wayne Besen noted on his website, Johnston has now returned to public life as part of Pure Life, his refuge at the time of his scandal. He now serves as the Director of Donor Relations for the ministry. Pure Life describes the refurbishment of his once bright star this way

Since coming to Pure Life Ministries, God has accomplished a wonderful transformation in Mike. Through a series of spiritual breakings and heart-wrenching repentance, God has systematically stripped off the many masks he has worn over the years and brought down the heavily fortified walls that protected his heart from others for so long. For the first time in his life, Mike has gained a genuine understanding of what it really means to be a follower of Jesus and God has given him a fresh vision of helping others find real freedom; this time not for the purpose of self-promotion but to glorify Christ.

We will be watching with interest to see to what extent Johnston can recover from his scandal. The political operatives that drive the public face of the ex-gay movement may be hesitant to take a risk with a proven liability. Or, alternately, it may be that the depths of despicable behavior to which he sunk during his “fall” will only further titillate his audience and demonstrate greater evidence of his redemption.

* “Truth in Love” (often in capitals) has become a code term for extremist religious anti-gay activism, often accompanied with unapologetic theocracy advocacy.

** This video remains available from AFA without any explanation or clarification that their star witness was later shown to be a fraud.