Alan Chambers, the president of Exodus
International, has apologized to the gay community ahead of an
upcoming television special.
Last year, Chambers began leading
Exodus away from supporting therapies aimed at “curing” gay men
and lesbians of their sexual orientation. At one point, Chambers
starred in ads for the ministry along with the caption “Change is
possible.”
Exodus now says it is emphasizing how
gay Christians can manage their same-sex attractions. That is, the
group continues to say that acting on those attractions is wrong.
Chambers has been criticized over the
new policy from all sides. Ministries associated with the group have
fled and some Christian conservatives called for his resignation.
“Ex-gay” survivors said it wasn't enough.
For that last group, Chambers offered
an apology in a blog post, saying that he had “hurt so many by
failing to acknowledge the pain some affiliated with Exodus
International caused, and by failing to share the whole truth about
my own story.”
“Friends and critics alike have said
it's not enough to simply change our message or website. I agree. I
cannot simply move on and pretend that I have always been the friend
that I long to be today. I understand why I am distrusted and why
Exodus is hated.”
Chambers said that he was sorry “we
promoted sexual orientation change efforts” and “didn't stand up
to people publicly 'on my side' who called you names like sodomite –
or worse.”
“I am sorry that I have communicated
that you and your families are less than me and mine,” he
added.
The apology comes ahead of an Our
America episode titled God & Gays which includes an
interview with Chambers. In a trailer for Thursday's show, Chambers
is seen being confronted by “ex-gay” survivors. (The video is
embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)