For many of us, the constant drip of negative political adverts are reason to head to the kitchen, or as the response says, ‘change the channel.’
This response by the federal Liberal Party to the Conservative attack ads against the new Liberal leader is, hmmm, surprising and frankly, refreshing.
I’d read this.
I’ve read author Tim Callaways thesis, and given the recent response of PBI to historical abuse at the school, abuse survivors, and the ongoing leadership of the next generation of the Maxwell family at the small western bible school, Training Disciplined Soldiers for Christ may help me understand how US fundamentalism took such deep root in a small prairie town school and in the the lives of it’s loyalists. Tim Callaway has been a steady and clear voice for PBI abuse survivors in media and online.
I’ll wait for the e-book – the hard-cover price is out of my league.:^)
If any of you are reading this book, pop into the comments and have your say.
By Rick Hiebert. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission
A brief correction notice in the New York Times shows that our world is changing.
Several others have already noticed a correction to the Times’ story on the Margaret Thatcher funeral service, towards the end of the online story here.
It reads like this:
Correction: April 19, 2013
Because of an editing error, an article on Thursday about the funeral of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain referred incorrectly to the biblical passage read by Amanda Thatcher as the first lesson at her grandmother’s funeral. It was Ephesians 6:10-18 — not VI Ephesians 10:18.
I’ve committed some howlers in my time, so I do not want to gloat.
But I think it a bit striking that people’s knowedge of Christianity these days seems to be such that how to make a Biblical citation is apparently no longer common knowedge. That the error escaped the notice of NYT editors merely serves to drive the point home.
It’s a sign of the times, as Petula Clark might sing. 
By Rick Hiebert. All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission
Seeing as though this was on the front page of the National Post this week, one could say that the secret is out.
Over the past few years, pro-life politicians have adopted an incremental approach to eventually stopping abortion. John Ivison in this featured piece in the newspaper explains this process well.
As Ivison notes, “Roxanne’s Law” was targeted against coercive abortion while motion M-408 was to target the alleged problem of sex-selection abortions. Both were unsuccessful. I recall, though, that the advocates of these initiatives targeted the practice. Surely no one should be forced to have an abortion? Surely, no child should be aborted due to being the “wrong” sex? People who are moderate on this question may see these cases as egregiously bad, and worth restricting.
The closest quote that Ivison was able to get to support his thesis was one from an anonymous Pro-life MP, tied to the March for Life rally in Ottawa this past week, which led the reporter to surmise that pro-lifers may have more stick-to-it-iveness than the Energizer Bunny. .
He writes:
“As one anti-abortion MP put it: ‘We need to move the debate beyond a political drive on the narrow question of a law limiting abortion access. That’s the old Morgentaler debate. Can the movement grow bigger than any political party and become the tail that wags the dog?’”
If you are pro-life, your response may be “And?” After all, the incremental way is how William Wilberforce worked to eliminate slavery in Britain, one step at a time, targeting the most egregious reasons to get rid of slavery first.
If it is clear to reporters now that this is the game plan, it might be good for pro-lifers to acknowledge this in public. Otherwise the pro-choice side will be able to say “We know exactly what you are doing…”
In October 2012, a civil suit was filed against Sovereign Grace Ministries, a small group of neo-reform churches in the US. (2 churches in Canada) Prior posts.
In November, SGM stated the suit:
“…contains a number of untrue or misleading accusations as well as considerable mischaracterizations of intent,”
This complaint makes broad allegations that SGM pastors were negligent, resulting in errors and omissions in pastoral counseling and spiritual care, which was voluntarily sought and provided years ago to some families of child abuse victims.
In January the filing was amended to include more defendants, and add more plaintiffs.
SGM stated publicly that under the First Amendment, (religious freedom) they were free to provide pastoral counselling free from government interference.
SGM leaders provided biblical and spiritual direction to those who requested this guidance. This care was sought confidentially, as is a right under the First Amendment. We are saddened that lawyers are now, in essence, seeking to violate those rights by asking judges and juries, years after such pastoral assistance was sought, to dictate what sort of biblical counsel they think should have been provided. SGM believes that allowing courts to second guess pastoral guidance would represent a blow to the First Amendment, that would hinder, not help, families seeking spiritual direction among other resources in dealing with the trauma related to any sin including child sexual abuse.
As well, SGM wants the lawsuit dismissed claiming that the abusers were not denominational employees. SGM also claims the statute of limitations has run out on some of the abuse claims.
Christianity Today looked at the First Amendment claims of SGM.
Sovereign Grace Ministries cannot claim with this new amendment filed in a Maryland court yesterday that the allegations are broad. The allegations are graphic and specific, and the amended document addresses the failure of leaders to report sexual abuse, and is specific in the allegations leaders required children to meet with them and their abusers to seek forgiveness. As well the amended claim states that SGM leaders:
“conspired, and continue to conspire, to permit sexual deviants to have unfettered access to children for purposes of predation, and to obstruct justice by covering up ongoing and past predation.”
A few of the perpetrators of abuse mentioned in the suit were charged and convicted.
Five of the plaintiffs have chosen to no longer be anonymous
Warning: Trigger alert. If you have been a victim of physical or sexual abuse, proceed with care.
SGM was quick with another statement yesterday, there is no mention about their First Amendment rights. As well, one of the defendants, former board member and pastor John Loftness released his own statement to his church. While he has been advised by legal counsel to remain silent, his plea to his church sounds more like the same pattern of ‘don’t talk’:
Let us thank God that we live in a country where there is a judicial system which sorts these things out according to the rule of law. Let’s pray for a fair hearing of this case and a ruling that is in keeping with what is right and true.
Because we are so connected together as a church, this suit presents us all with many temptations. Let’s strive to respond to everyone involved and everyone affected by it with love and grace. We must see it in the context of God’s providence which sometimes presents us with storms of difficulty which seem to have no reason and no end. But just as surely as he has allowed my life to unfold in this way, he will allow this storm to pass—in his good time and in his purposeful way.And let’s also remember our mission together as a church—to live lives worthy of the gospel of Christ so that through our example and our message we can make the grace and truth of Jesus known. I’d ask that you keep your focus on this gospel mission and not allow this suit to distract you from what is most important—knowing Jesus and making him known—together as a church.
There will be an accounting, hopefully in a court in Maryland, for sure some day before Jesus Christ. Alleged covering for child molesters has nothing to do with the gospel, and protecting of victims and justice is not a distraction from the gospel mission. One only has to read SGM Survivors to see that SGM churches have not been safe places, and it is the obligation and right of every parent to make informed and knowledgeable decisions around their childs safety. The patterns of valuing doctrine and the institution above the safety and well being of congregants has to stop.
The civil suit claims conspiracy, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring and supervision, and misrepresentation. The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial.
Please pray for the plaintiffs and their families, their lawyers and their families as they continue their arduous trek toward justice.
Reality TV hits the internet. Epic.
Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nighmares episode Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro aired recently in the US. It was the first time Ramsay walked away from a restaurant.
The battle spilled onto the internet. Buzzfeed has details, as does Ragans PR Daily.
The owners of Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro, unhappy with reviews on Yelp and comments on Reddit, started battling back on their Facebook page. Then this:
Uh huh.
Forbes: Lessons from Amy’s Baking Company: Six Things You Should Never Do On Social Media
Update: The plaintiffs plan to appeal. I need to clarify that two of the plaintiffs are not bound by the Maryland statute of limitations which got this tossed. The law states that a person has 3 years after turning 18 to file a civil suit.
By Rick Hiebert. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
Last week, what we could define as Todd Bentley’s travelling circus hit the road.
Starting on May 15, the Bentley revival moved from the Durban area to the “Pretoria Show Grounds” in South Africa. I find that interesting in that the Durban meetings seemed to have lasted about the same amount of time as the well publicized part of the “Lakeland revival”.
Any longer in Durban and it may run out of steam and there would be time for people in the Durban area to notice it and give it a careful examination? Who can say?
My guess is that their “fair grounds” would be like holding the revival at the PNE or the Canadian National Exhibition, which seems a little ironic.
{Bentley has followed up his announcement of the move on the 9th with another anouncement that we are in the midst of “Another Pentecost”, writing:”We don’t need to prophesy any more about a coming healing revival or about a coming harvest; we are already in the season of harvest at the end of the age more souls will be saved than ever before.” No pressure, Todd. No pressure at all.]
Wendy Alec, of GOD TV fame, has chimed in with what looks like another prophetic word channeling “God”. “In case you were not paying attention the first time, THUS SAITH THE LORD”?
Todd Bentley sent it out April 30. I’ll be quoting it in the comments for future reference, but one part, directed at Todd personally, really rubbed me the wrong way:
It reads:
“…For my son beloved son,
Do you not realize I knew when I birthed you all those years ago? I knew when Lakeland was aborted; I saw this very day.”
It is bothersome in that “God” is seeing Lakeland” as something that was living and perfect that would have been born and prospered if we would have let that take place. And there is so much evidence to the contrary, which I am sure that my readers are well aware of.
Wendy Alec as carnival barker? Perhaps….
The assistant pastor of a Washington state church which has been called a cult, was found guilty today of sex crimes against a child, after a two month trial.
40 year old Malcolm John Fraser is also the Development Officer at WinePress Publishing, a business connected with Sound Doctrine Church.
Background here and here.
Fraser had been charged with two counts of first-degree child rape and two counts of first-degree molestation. The case involved a girl who was 11 when the incidents took place; she is now 18. The incidents occurred in the girl’s home, while Fraser was living with her family.
The jury found Fraser guilty on all counts.
Updated and detailed report.
By Rick Hiebert. All rights reserved. Used by permissio.
This is something that BDBO readers already know, but Douglas Todd of The Vancouver Sun reminds us of something interesting on his blog.
He’s reporting on the Bridging the Secular Divide: Religion and Public Discourse conference at McGill University earlier this week and what struck his interest was that there were several progressives there:
Liberal MP John McKay, NDP MP Joe Cromartin and former NDP leadership hopeful Bill Blaikie, a United Church minister, said it was discouraging to realize many of their own party members thought it was bad to bring a Christian perspective into politics.
The Liberal and NDP politicians cited the profound Christian convictions of NDP founders Tommy Douglas and J.S. Woodsworth, the Catholicism of Pierre Trudeau and Paul Martin and all made references to Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister.
Thanks to Mr. Todd for the notice and the reminder. In his post he quotes a book by former NDP MP Bill Blaikie, which speaks to all this.
It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor [oppressed] than to divide the spoil with the proud. Proverbs 16:19
A powerful response to neo-reform leaders in the US, who prefer to promote CJ Mahaney of Sovereign Grace ministries, than to fulfil their calling. Thank you Thad Norvell:
When shepherds refuse or fail to live humbly among the people – when leaders are consumed by agendas (however noble those agendas may be) other than caring for the community of God’s people “like a nursing mother taking care of her own children” (1 Thes. 2:7) – when pastors are inaccessible, unapproachable, or just too busy to listen to and know their people…these are not secondary ecclesial breakdowns. They are an abandonment of primary pastoral calling that signals a stunning disconnect from the evangelical ethos Jesus declared (Matt. 22, Jn. 13) and prayed into being (Jn. 17) and that John affirmed as central to Gospel identity (1 Jn. 3).
Our zeal and skill for expanding the doctrine of the Gospel simply cannot obscure or replace our humble submission to life in the crucible of the Gospel’s work — the community that the Gospel creates where the greatest become least and the last become first. (And if that does not mean that the vulnerable, the weak, and the exasperating folks in our churches get at least as much attention from us as our successful friends and heroes, I do not know what it means.)
The Church is not first and foremost an audience for our sermons and our books; it is the people of God among whom we are our real selves. If we live above or apart from that Church in any way, our doctrines and words about the Gospel become theory and conjecture, not a testimony to a truth we know by experience.
Rachel Held Evans, Boz Tchividjian, Zach Hoag, Matt B. Redmond, David Clohessy
via: Spiritual Sounding Board
Hall of Shame Together for the Gospel, The Gospel Coalition
Al Mohler, Ligon Duncan, Mark Dever, Kevin DeYoung, Justin Taylor, D.A. Carson, CJ Mahaney
Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues. Proverbs 17:28
Every time I think Southern Baptist leaders can’t mess up any more than they already are, they do.
Amy Smith is a courageous woman, who attends a SBC church and who is also the Houston director of S.N.A.P. For years she has been pointing out how SBC churches neglect their responsibilities in reporting paedophiles, protecting children, and SBC failures in ministering to abuse survivors. Her stand has cost her.
And it is costing her again.
Amy and her husband Matt have never named the church they attend on her blog, Watch Keep. Until yesterday.
A pastor at our church of almost 18 years, Houston’s First Baptist Church, has told me and my husband this week that it’s for the best that we step down from serving there, teaching in the youth ministry, since we don’t see what I’m doing is a problem, like he does:..
I want to be clear. The post doesn’t say the pastor demanded the Smiths discontinue in leadership. The post doesn’t say he directly asked that they step down from volunteering in ministry, he just did what he needed to do to steer them in that direction. Why?
The Houston First Baptist Church lead pastor (who is also the President of the SBC Pastors Conference) saw her blog. Particularly, the May 23rd entry:
The SBC annual meeting is June 11-12 in Houston. The SBC pastors’ conference is June 9-10, same place. Jack Graham, pastor of megachurch Prestonwood Baptist Church and former, two-time SBC president, is a featured discussion panel leader on the topic of “leadership.” We are planning an awareness event outside the convention to stand for those abuse survivors who don’t have a voice or whose voices are being callously ignored by pastors and leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention.
You can read Amy’s post about the phone call and her husbands meeting with this pastor, and what S.N.A.P. is planning for the awareness event outside the convention. I’ll wait.
About the last 10 minutes of their meeting was a discussion of us stepping down from teaching. Doug brought this subject up. He told Matt, “Amy told me yesterday that she is stepping down, and I told her we should think about it. But I have been thinking about it overnight, and I think it’s for the best that she step down.”To that my husband asked “Why?” Doug said, “You don’t see it as a conflict?”Doug never once told me or my husband that he wanted us to keep serving in the youth ministry.
That’s not the way of the Jesus I know, love and serve. He called out sin, wrongdoing and corruption among his own followers.
No where in the post did I read that the Smiths stated they were asked to step down. I know I said that already, but, if you think this approach by leadership being made public wasn’t going to be protested by Houston First Baptist Church, you’d be wrong.
Associated Baptist Press picked up the story of the pastors approach, and the decision of the Smiths to step away from youth ministry in their home church. This is the statement from Doug Bischoff, the pastor who put the pressure on the Smiths. It’s all the Smiths fault, they ‘misinterpreted’ him:
When I spoke with Amy and then with Matt, I expressed that we as a church are not — nor have we ever been — against them personally, their organization or their mission to protect children,” he said. “Houston’s First Baptist Church takes very seriously the safety and well-being of the children who attend our church, and we hope and pray that other churches — of all denominations –are doing the same. We applaud Amy for her dedication to SNAP and the survivors whom they serve.”
Bischoff said he did not ask them to resign from their position as teachers in the student ministry, but they suggested during conversations that he did. “The resignation from ministry was at Amy’s insistence,” he said.
Oh. Gotta love the spin. Why did he call the Smiths about the blog and his concerns about ‘conflict’ if there wasn’t an agenda by First Baptist Houston? How stupid does church leadership think people are?
It gets even more interesting. Amy Smith received a call from Houston Police later in the week. (Shades of Chris Tynes and Prestonwood?) Amy Smith:
Also, did someone at HFBC or the SBC alert the Houston police department and give them my name and number as well as David Clohessy’s, our national director? I got a voicemail today from an officer in the HPD criminal intelligence division stating he was calling to find out if SNAP is planning a protest or rally next week at the SBC.
S.N.A.P. holds quiet, off site, respectful small protests, holding up pictures of abuse victims and speaking to people who chose to speak to them. This is a well known, professionally run national US organization, not thugs or threats to the SBC status quo. I’d bet the farm the SBC phoned the Houston Police Department, and I won’t hold my breath waiting to be proven wrong. If I am wrong, it will be duly noted.
Houston First Baptist cannot deflect this into ‘misinterpreting’, but they are trying, sending their ‘communications director’ to the Associated Baptist Press article.
Oh. I am going to say this again. No where in Smith’s post does she say she was asked to resign. I think that is what her friends and colleagues at her church will be told behind her back. I think that is what will circulate at the SBC convention. It’s called spin, deliberate and wilful deflection. Houston First Baptist is not a misunderstood institutional victim here. This is an attempt to marginalize and discredit and sadly, once again, the SBC will probably be successful.
Below is a pic of S.N.A.P. at the 2007 SBC Convention
The take away for anyone reading Amy’s post, the ABP story and the Houston First Baptist Church comments?
You tell me. Here is what I hear, “If you defend abuse survivors, if you point out the SBC lack of national policies on abuse, if you raise awareness publicly, you are in conflict with your home church and the SBC. Good of you to step down, glad you see it our way…”
Keep speaking up Amy.
Catherine Darnell is a patient, quiet, intelligent Canadian who has dedicated her life as an advocate and mentor for abuse survivors.
Catherine has been able to tap into the marvel of social networking to align advocates and survivors together for projects that are having a global impact. Catherine is much sought after by ministries and organizations that see she is passionately aware of the needs of abuse survivors in faith-based environments. She has a passion to see faith communities rise to their God-given responsibility to acknowledge and care for the needs of those wounded.
Catherine helped start the Facebook group for Prairie Bible Institute abuse survivors.
You’d think, given her skills and her polite Canadian approach to PBI leadership, that asking to befriended by a FB group called Friends of PBI wouldn’t be a problem. Since Prairie Bible Institute went to national media in 2011, Catherine has been reaching out to PBI President Mark Maxell and his family members involved with the Alberta bible school. She is a bridge builder, and wants to help PBI alumni understand why PBI survivors aren’t giving up.
When I talked with Mark Maxwell, I mentioned that I felt it was important for me to be able to gain access to group members in order to clear up any misunderstandings, and allow members to ask me questions if they wish. He emailed me a couple of weeks ago to see if I had reconnected with Ruth, and if I had been given permission to join the group. The reasons for banning me make no sense whatsoever!
Friends of PBI, are not interested in befriending Catherine, or any PBI abuse survivors. While I wouldn’t bother trying to be part of a group which does not want anything to do with me, I admire Christians like Catherine who honour their calling as teacher and peace maker.
Since the end of 2011, many PBI alumni have had great difficulty acknowledging abuse occurred at their bible school, and many have been aggressive and passive aggressive in their opposition to PBI abuse survivors. You’d think someone as skilled and as experienced as Catherine would not be a threat, and her peace making skills would be welcomed as encouraging and positive. Nope.
…the administrators have decided that it’s not in the best interest of the group as a whole to have you join our conversation. We don’t mean to offend; however, please understand that we have observed a history over two years in which you and others have joined “general-purpose” FB groups and dominated them with discussions around abuse, be they PBI-related or otherwise. This has typically led to some unhelpful hostility on both sides and resulted in good people leaving the groups previously enjoyed by all. While we believe that the topic of abuse is a very important one and is deserving of FB group time, it’s not the purpose of this particular group. We would say the same to someone who was “taking over” the discussion about any other particular passion, be it homeless in Chicago or AIDS in Africa. We affirm your passion to bring healing to abused people but suggest that instead of bringing that to this group, that you continue to do so in groups that exist for that express purpose and for an audience that share that same passion.
By Rick Hiebert. All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission
Apologies to my readers, as a grinding schedule at work has kept me busy. But, that said, I have some “stop press” type items to pass on.
1) Faytene Grasseschi’s big pro-life march on Ottawa appears to have finished–at least her part of it anyways–on May 13, I am guessing per what I read on her Twitter feed. Quite low key, compared to the beginning of the walk, as I see a lot more references to the plans and the start than what happened.
No doubt the pro-life participants got a lot out of the march, from their point of view. May we hear more?
2)On her Twitter feed on May 29, the day that Dr. Henry Morgentaler die, she wrote Emphasis mine:
Faytene Grasseschi
?@Faytene
Father or abortion in Canada, Dr. Henry Morgentaler, just died. Praying for many to come to know Jesus at his funeral. #comfort #salvation
(No doubt my pro-choice Christian readers will find this interesting to parse. 
)
3. The mini-Faytene’s play to be active at the federal Conservative party convention. A motion on “gendercide”–remember the attempts at private member’s motions in the House of Commons–will be presented at the convention for party members to make party policy, possibly. Says the My Canada e-mail from late last wee [emphasis theirs]k:
If you are attending the convention and would be open to being a part of a team that would work together strategically on the ground to pass the resolution please let us know ASAP. We would be happy to work with you.
At the last Conservative Policy Convention two MY Canada volunteers were instrumental in seeing the passing of the unborn victims of violence resolution and had a tremendous impact. We would love to see that happen again.
Lots of Charisma issues with the Faytene cover story are available from MY Canada, by the way. They can send some to you.
I like Tim Hortons, it is a part of the landscape of my life, and apart from the occasional less than perfect coffee, I have few complaints.
Until today.
The Tim Hortons Fathers Day promotion was well advertised, and was promising to be quite the deal.
Starting at 2 pm today, 2300 Tim Hortons across Canada were selling a Tassimo brewer and a carton of Tim Hortons variety pack coffee for 40.00. (With tax 45.20 – still awesome). Each Timmy’s was supposed to have about 40 brewers/packs. That is a deal, given the Tassimo T65 brewer sells for $130.00 retail my area.
Right now the main Tim Horton website is down, a message on Tim Horton’s FB page tells customers to use RedFlagDeals to read about this promotion.
There has to be thousands of angry and disappointed Canadians such as myself, every few seconds another one piles on FB. This was one of the most poorly anticipated, poorly communicated and poorly executed promos I have had the misfortune to try to take advantage of.
I expect line ups – but to have locations giving out tickets two hours prior to 2 pm, having employees also have to take advantage of a customer promotion….really bad idea. Frustrated customers who stood in line, weren’t told about the tickets etc., don’t need to see employees carrying Tassimos to their cars, only to find out there are no more units available.
I commend Tim Hortons for including employees in this promotion – but not at the expense of customers who came early, waited patiently, only to find out they couldn’t even get a ticket. When a location is technically out of a promotion prior to the 2 pm starting time, you can’t blame even patient and loyal customers for being frustrated.
I’ve filed a complaint with Tim Hortons and with Bosch (not their fault if they had 40 units at 2300 locations), but the bottom line is, pffft. I’m not so loyal any more.
Tonight Canadians will have the opportunity to watch a show on OWN that has caused a lot of buzz south of the border.
As important as the content of the show is to GLBT, ex-gay and church and para-church groups in the US, what has happened since the show aired in the US is just as important.
Our America with Lisa Lang airs at 10 pm. EST Friday on OWN Canada.
The story of Exodus International, the LGBT men and women who have been affected by the organization and the nationwide dialogue that surrounds this topic continues in an Our America special report.
For almost 40 years, Exodus International claimed to offer a “cure” for homosexuality. Alan Chambers, the leader of Exodus, decided last year to stop endorsing the controversial practice of gay-reparative therapy. And now, he has a new message: an apology.
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.
Wednesday afternoon, before the show aired in the US, Exodus International president Alan Chambers issued an online apology for the harm Exodus International has caused in countless lives.
That evening at a sparsely attended Exodus Conference in California, Chambers announced the 47 year old organization was shutting it’s doors, and re-branding itself as Reduce Fear.
The news broke worldwide. Anyone who has followed the fight for GLBT rights is aware of the long reach of Exodus International, its fundamentalist push for reparative therapy (praying away the gay) and it’s entrenchment in various countries politics and religious organizations.
In Canada, two organizations were affiliated with Exodus International. Exodus Global Alliance, positioned itself for the shut down of the US organization 10 days ago with an announcement the two groups had severed ties.
Exodus Global Alliance says they found out about the shut down of Exodus International, the same way everyone else did. Make of that what you will, Exodus Global Alliance will continue to promote reparative therapy and positions common to the former Exodus International, and a US Exodus International breakaway group Restored Hope Network.
There are a couple posts I want to hi-light, in the coverage of the shut down of Exodus International.
HuffPo Live interview with Lisa Ling, Alan Chambers, Sean Sala and Michael Bussee.
John Shore, a Christian ally for US GLBT, pens An open letter to Exodus International’s super-remorseful Alan Chambers. I think John’s post most reflects my skepticism on the re-branding.
Ex-Gay Watch: Five Outcomes of the Exodus Ex-Gay Reboot
Bridging the Gap was a Canadian affiliate which ended it’s relationship with Exodus International in 2008. Well, I think Wendy Gritter can tell the story better than I can, as she adopts a wait and see interpretation to movement in the US this week. My Response to the Closing Down of Exodus.
The truth is being a mainly straight Canadian female meant that I didn’t have a whole lot of influence in the large American evangelical system in which Exodus was birthed and sustained. The address in 2008 was my swan song and not long after that we quietly withdrew from Exodus circles so that we could continue to press forward to listen and learn and stretch and be re-born into the postures of generous spaciousness.After that keynote, I was asked to write a guest post for Ex-Gay Watch. I decided to use the opportunity to articulate an apology to ex-gay survivors and other LGBT people who had been harmed negatively affected by the ex-gay paradigm. I said that we weren’t going to be focused on reorientation change, that we had no clear idea about the causation of same-sex sexual orientation, and that we did not think that Christians who claimed to love gay people should be involved in political measures seeking to limit the rights and freedoms of others.If some of this is sounding a wee bit familiar ….. it does to me too. I’ve been saying for a while now that Exodus seems to be taking some pages from New Direction’s playbook – only about six years later. I don’t say that to boast or to take credit or to gloat or any such thing. I am very aware that being a small organization in Canada and having a leader who did not have her personal life and testimony enmeshed in my leadership role afforded New Direction more nimbleness to respond sooner. At the same time, we did pay a tremendous cost. We lost, over the course of a few years, 50% of our donors. There were some former board members who did not like the direction I was trying to go – resulting in some very difficult months when I didn’t know if I would be able to keep my position. And, there were the emails – some threatening, some expressing disappointment, some accusing – from those who believed that I was no longer following God’s will. Oh – and I got thrown under the bus in an article by Alan Chambers in Charisma.So…. What do I think about Exodus’ announcement that it is shutting down?
Our America with Lisa Ling Special Report: God and Gays OWN Canada Friday June 21 10 pm EST
Maclean’s Magazine has an article about Wendy Gritter and New Direction: Quietly ahead of the curve
Gritter was optimistic when she started ministering at New Direction. She attended an Exodus International conference in the ’90s and found the testimonies of alleged ex-gays quite moving. But her optimism soon wavered when she realized that the majority of gay Christians she knew were carving out a third option: They were leaving the church and living openly gay lives. “Reorientation clearly wasn’t working. As Christians you say, ‘Well, God can do anything,’ but it wasn’t looking like God was doing that.” She was also troubled by what the therapy was doing. “There is a deep pain in knowing people were traumatized—that people were taught to hate themselves.”
Gritter was tormented. She woke up frequently in the middle of night. “I would cry out to God and I would say, ‘If I’m wrong, please tell me—I’ll turn 180.’ ” When God didn’t “write a message on the wall,” Gritter wrote her own; she married her heart and her mind. In 2003, she stopped practising conversion ministry and, in 2008, she gave a speech before Exodus International—Alan Chambers included—calling for an end to reorientation therapy and, like her own Canadian group, New Direction, an abstention from the gay-rights debate in politics.
From her 2008 apology to the GLBT community:
I want to begin by saying I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the pain that some of those who follow this site have experienced from leaders like me and ministries like the one I lead. I’m sorry that some of you connected with this site who identify as Christian have had your faith questioned and judged. I’m sorry there is a felt need for a site like XGW. I’m sorry that it feels like legitimate concerns have not been listened to. I am sorry for the arrogance that can come across from leaders like me.
I suppose I’m not what some would assume to be your typical ex-gay leader. I’m not gay, not ex-gay, not ex-ex-gay. Not male. Not Southern Baptist. Not Republican. Not even American. I’m a Gen X postmodern whose perspectives are, depending on who you talk to, too liberal or too conservative, unorthodox or too orthodox, heretical or vibrantly Christ-centered.
It remains unfortunate that Exodus Global Alliance, a ‘pray away the gay’ reparative/reorientation therapy ministry is head-quartered in Canada. More on the harm done world wide by Exodus Global Alliance adherents.
The Prime Minister’s Office and the office of the international development minister got about 170 letters and emails after The Canadian Press reported earlier this year on the $544,813 contract to Christian Crossroads Communications for humanitarian work in Uganda.
The criticism of homosexuality on the organization’s website raised concern about its operations in an African country where gays face persistent threats of physical violence and where notorious anti-gay legislation is before parliament.
The Harper government briefly announced a freeze in funds but later revised its position. Crossroads’ project is linked to the construction of latrines and wells, in addition to hygiene awareness, in Uganda.
In the days after the news broke, the government received 120 letters and emails from people opposed to funding Crossroads. About 50 others expressed support for continued funding.
I mentioned past anti-gay lobbying by Crossroads founder David Mainse here, when news surfaced in February that Crossroads Christian Communications had not updated their website, or apparently their thinking.
Other religious groups in Canada, experienced and well equipped to dig wells in Africa have had their funding cut by the federal conservatives.
About four months before Canadians found out about Crossroads CIDA funding and the stance against gays, the organization hired a controversial Southern Baptist minister Jerry Johnston from Kansas, known for among other things, his involvement in same sex marriage politics. Jerry Johnston is the Executive Director of Crossroads USA.
He announced a few days ago that he is nearly ready to move Crossroads into the US market.
This is what Johnston has basically offered up so far – sermons out of the Crossroads Burlington studios. He has also been essentially re-cycling his past material from Jerry Johnston Ministries through Crossroads (for a price). Johnston is also a co-host on 100 Huntley Street, he’s like a fish out of water, despite the warmth and assistance shown him by the Canadian hosts.
When news of Crossroads official beliefs regarding homosexuality surfaced in February, the CEO and CCSO went on air to attempt damage control, and released a statement saying the broadcast organization was not anti-gay. Starts at 2:06:
I doubt some Crossroads employees believe homosexuality is a perversion, or accept employers linking SSA and orientation to criminal activity, or believe in praying away the gay. The core viewership of 100 Huntley is now elderly, mostly pentecostal and charismatic and some of those viewers frame their support as elitist/ us/them/enemy:
“Please do not take the polical (sic) agenda of the gay movement targeted at the Christian faith to withhold aid to the needy, deprived and desperate people of the third-world countries.”
I doubt Crossroads was ever in danger of losing the rest of the CIDA funding, even with protests by Canadians, the broadcasters ties to the current government run deep.
The reality is Crossroads is a very conservative evangelical organization, and as they move their programming into the US with Johnston at the helm, I suspect it will become more so.
It’s refreshing to know that on a 3 to 1 ratio, Canadians let the federal government know we don’t appreciate our tax dollars going to this organization, even though CIDA says the team in Uganda digging wells doesn’t discriminate.
Federal documents reveal that a representative of the Canadian International Development Agency visited the Crossroads project on Feb. 14-15 to monitor for discriminatory practices.
In her report, Wassala Nimaga said the access to water and latrines was being delivered as promised. The nine-page document did not delve into treatment of homosexuals but, from a more general standpoint, said Crossroads did not discriminate.
I doubt any GLBT Ugandan would dare mention their sexual orientation to Crossroads, the on-going day to day threat to their lives and well-being is all too real, and if the Crossroads Uganda well-digging team is proselytising or discriminating, they aren’t going to let a CIDA observer see. Hopefully Canadians speaking up will give the federal government pause, and tax payer funding for overseas water projects will be restored to competent, ethical, non-discriminatory Canadian organizations.
Gertie Cleary compared the experience to a child with a splinter. “[W]hen you pull a splinter out, they holler and screech and pull their hand away,” she told CTV News.
The young raven fledgling who visited Cleary’s Nova Scotia home last month had just borne the brunt of a porcupine attack, and was clearly reaching out to Cleary for help in extracting the painful quills that were attached to its face.
A wildlife expert says the bird, which the family named Wilfred, probably wouldn’t have survived if it hadn’t sought out Gertie for help.
via: Gawker
G.R.A.C.E. (Godly response to abuse in the Christian Environment)
Recent allegations of sexual abuse and cover-up within a well known international ministry and subsequent public statements by several evangelical leaders have angered and distressed many, both inside and outside of the Church. These events expose the troubling reality that, far too often, the Church’s instincts are no different than from those of many other institutions, responding to such allegations by moving to protect her structures rather than her children. This is a longstanding problem in the Christian world, and we are deeply grieved by the failures of the American and global Church in responding to the issue of sexual abuse. We do not just believe we should do better; as those who claim the name of Jesus and the cause of the Gospel, we are convinced we must do better. In the hope that a time is coming when Christian leaders respond to all sexual abuse with outrage and courage, we offer this confession and declare the Good News of Jesus on behalf of the abused, ignored and forgotten.
…But we have hindered the victims. By our silence and our efforts to protect our names and institutions and “missions,” we, the body of Christ, have often sided with an enemy whose sole purpose is and has always been to destroy the Lamb of God and his presence in this world. Our busyness and inattention have often resulted in complicity in allowing dark places that shelter abuse to fester and survive.
…To all who have been abused, broken, deceived and ignored, we have failed you and our God. We repent for looking nothing like our Lord when we have silenced you, ignored you or moved away from you and then acted as if you were the problem. You are not the problem; you are the voice of our God calling his church to repentance and humility. Thank you for having the courage to speak truth. May God have mercy on us all and oh may the day come when his church reflects the indescribable love and compassion of Jesus, even to the point of laying down our lives for his precious sheep.
Dated this 17th day of July, 2013.
You can read the full statement here. There are some interesting and diverse signatories; cross-cultural, cross-professional, cross-political, representing different denominations and branches of Protestantism. This is a strong moral statement and call to action by a group leading the way, not just with words, but by doing. It is interesting who hasn’t signed it so far. G.R.A.C.E. is looking for 10 thousand signatures, you can add yours here. If you give this to your Christian school administrator, a ministry or your minister and they chose not to sign – ask why.
