Right Wing Churches Still Support Exploitative ‘Ex-Gay’ Programs
In 2012, Exodus International, the world’s largest “ex-gay” ministry, began to crumble. The movement, which had existed since 1973, convulsed when then-Exodus President Alan Chambers announced at a Gay Christian Network conference that “the majority, meaning 99.9% of them [Exodus clients], have not experienced a change in their orientation.” This was a damning admission coming from a high-profile organization with the motto, “Change Is Possible”.
Exodus’ financial backers were furious that Chambers, for once, blurted the truth. The Family Research Council and Focus on the Family summoned him into their respective offices to demand Chambers return to spouting the party line, that people could “pray away the gay”.
Under immense pressure, a deeply conflicted Chambers alternated between walking back his admission and moving forward towards the undeniable fact that the “ex-gay” industry was a noxious experiment that had failed. It was during this tumultuous era, a year before Chambers shut down Exodus, that I gave him the nickname “Tortured Chambers.”
I knew Chambers was deeply troubled, full of contradictions, and wrestling with internal demons. However, I only learned this week the depths of his depravity. Chambers was arrested after an online sexual relationship with a police officer he thought was a 14-year-old boy, with the intention to meet the phantom child.
Chambers sent sexually explicit material during the illicit conversations, including pictures of his torso and genitals. The affidavit states Chambers made references to “forbidden love” and asked the undercover cop, “Is it bad that I want to make love to someone who is 14?” The police also unearthed messages from secret email accounts that Chambers allegedly used to solicit male sex workers.
“Today our detectives stopped a predator before he had the chance to harm a child,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on X.
What first jumps out is the mind-blowing hypocrisy. Chambers, 54, made a career out of wagging his finger at others and demanding they “change their lifestyle.” The Exodus leader placed billboards that read, “Change Is Possible, Discover How.” He self-righteously elevated himself on a pedestal, using his carefully curated image as a role model for those who wished to be heterosexual, all while harboring a deep, dark secret.
The charlatan wrote books condemning LGBTQ people, including “Leaving Homosexuality”, which offered tips for sexual transformation. What he omitted from his book was the “tip” of his penis, which he allegedly sent to a cop/kid.
At times, Chambers was excessively preachy and harshly judgmental, writing in one newsletter:
“One of the many evils this world has to offer is the sin of homosexuality. Satan, the enemy, is using people to further his agenda to destroy the Kingdom of God and as many souls as he can.”
Like many sociopaths, Chambers could be charming. I’ve known him for approximately 25 years. We first met at a conversion therapy conference I was reporting on, and subsequently sparred in the media and at demonstrations that Truth Wins Out organized to protest Exodus’ quackery.
When I wrote my first book exposing the “ex-gay” industry, “Anything But Straight”, Chambers and his wife Leslie graciously took me to their evangelical church and hosted me at their attractive Orlando home. In 2019, I interviewed Chambers on camera for Truth Wins Out and publishing our interview in our publication, “To The Dark Side and Back”. I tell the story of Exodus’ downfall in my 2023 book, “Lies with a Straight Face.”
Interestingly, unlike other former “ex-gay” leaders, Chambers never fully came out of the closet and embraced the LGBTQ community. Sure, he admitted being attracted to men, but he remained a conservative, church-going Christian who stayed married to his wife. He peddled the tale that he was such a deeply committed evangelical, that he chose to ignore his gay feelings to remain in a “biblical” marriage.
Now, with the hideous scandal in full view, his peculiar choices make more sense. He was attracted to barely pubescent boys, so what was the point of coming out? The LGBTQ community involves consensual adult intimacy, so perhaps this was an arena where his desires could not be fulfilled. He likely reasoned it made more sense to continue being regarded as a pious man of God, respected in his church community, while pursuing his illegal transgressions on the side.
His churchy front worked until it didn’t. The police pulled him over last week and the final curtain of reality came crashing down on his sickening side show. At first, I was stunned by the news, simply because I knew Chambers for so many years.
Then, I thought back to his speeches at Exodus. His church testimony was a narrative where he claimed that he used to “lie, cheat, and steal” before becoming a born-again Christian. His intention was to show that God had mercy and could “heal” even the worst reprobates. In retrospect, his speeches were telling confessions of his true character, rather than an inspirational tale of Godly transformation.
Once a prominent member of Orlando’s conservative Calvary Assembly of God, it’s an understatement to say that Chambers was a supreme hypocrite who didn’t practice what he preached.
