The Episcopal Church has a history of heading down the fast road of apostasy. Their acceptance of homosexuality, abortion, witchcraft, and its departure from biblical Christianity  has led it into the ecumenical movement of interfaith and the one-world false religious system. Retired Bishop William Swing has a vision of forming a United Nation for Religion which would result in a one world religion.

 Who is Bishop William Swing ?

MONTGOMERY – Apparently rattled by a looming press conference of African American pastors today in front of their Montgomery, AL offices, the Southern Poverty Law Center issued a terse and racially tinged blog post  intended to offset the impact of the spoken truth.

The protest was led by Raleigh-Durham based pastor Dr. Patrick Wooden. With him, over a dozen ministers and leaders —almost half from the city– rallied directly below the offices of the SPLC at 400 Washington Ave. Speaker after speaker praised the organization of their good works in the past only to decry the downward spiral the organization has fallen into under  gay-controlled extremism.

Media coverage included local ABC, NBC, CBS and the Montgomery Advertiser.

Stung by the sharp rebukes of Tim Johnson president of the Fredrick Douglas Foundation , DL Foster founder of GCM Watch and Rachel Conner representing Abiding Truth Ministries, the SPLC later issued yet another apologetic blog post attempting to explain away the hypocritical inconsistencies exposed to the public.

In light of the SPLC charge of that the protestors were a group of blacks manipulated by two white men, Johnson pointed out how ironic  that the SPLC was founded by two white men  (Morris Dees and  Joesph Levin, Jr.) who used the suffering of black people to get rich.*

The second posting landed online with knee-jerk feel to it although its author, Mark Potok, is a celebrated award-winning  journalist.

Mark Potok, editor of the SPLC’s Intelligence Report and this blog, responded to the accusations: “Our listing of anti-gay hate groups is completely unrelated to religion, Christianity or the Bible. These groups are listed because they repeatedly lie in an effort to defame LGBT people, an exercise they’ve been extraordinarily successful at. The idea that we are criticizing these groups because they represent Judeo-Christian morality is simply ludicrous.”

The SPLC does not identify anti-gay hate groups based on their religious views. Instead, the SPLC lists anti-gay groups on the basis of spreading known falsehoods and demonizing propaganda against LGBT people, such as the claim that gay men largely orchestrated the Holocaust.

Potok’s self-indulgent explanation is a sloppy lie. If hate is determined by unproven defamation, numerous homosexual websites and organizations would be on the hate list based solely on criteria. But the criteria is a sham because the real target is the religious beliefs of Christians who oppose homosexuality and are effective at doing so.

Potok acts as the SPLC’s glorified hatchet man.  Refugee Resettlement Watch described him as “part of an extreme leftwing cabal at the Southern Poverty Law Center and we know from this press release (of his own work) at the Huffington Post that he is really running scared (or running low on funds).  And, we know he even looks like a looney leftie from his photo”

Fighting poverty or running a racket?

RRW said it reviewed the Southern Poverty Law Centers most recent Form 990 (2006). Take a look at how dedicated the SPLC is to helping enrich themselves on the suffering of disadvantaged people.

*”They sure are fighting poverty—among their Board members anyway.  Their CEO made $334,886 in salary and compensation that year.  Potok made a measly $140,000 in comparison.  The Southern Poverty Law Center took in almost $45 million in 2006, spent millions on lobbying, and its assets are over $226,000,000.  Oh, and their so-called ‘Poverty Palace’ office building cost almost $100,000 to clean that year.”

Its big business for the SPLC to keep up the drama of their “hate-watch” lists. Since the klan and many white supremacy groups have been nuetralized, the SPLC needs new villians.  New villians bring in more money and more prestige. Apparently the need for new, reliable streams of income led them to partner” with the cash-rich gay rights cow. Anything to keep the money rolling. Even inventing new villians.

Tomorrow. Lord willing,  I will be part of a coalition of pastors and leaders who will challenge  discriminatory and damaging practices of the Southern Poverty Law Center who have allowed unbridled homosexual activism to co-opt an otherwise noble history. The following is a press release about the event. —DL Foster

MONTGOMERY, Alabama – A coalition of African American pastors and pro-family Christian and Jewish leaders is holding a press conference at noon tomorrow (the day after Martin Luther King Day) outside the headquarters of the Southern Poverty Law Center — to protest the SPLC’s smearing of pro-family groups that oppose homosexual activism as “hate groups”:

WHERE:  Outside the SPLC headquarters, 400 Washington Ave., Montgomery, Alabama

WHEN:  Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, noon, Central Standard (Montgomery, AL) Time

WHO:  Scheduled speakers:

• Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH), Chicago, IL ;
• Dr. Patrick Wooden, pastor, Upper Room Church of God in Christ (COGIC), Raleigh, NC;
• Rev. DL Foster, founder, Gay Christian Movement Watch, Atlanta, GA;
• Matt Barber, Director of Cultural Affairs, Liberty Counsel, Lynchburg, VA;
• Tim Johnson, Fredrick Douglass Foundation, Washington, D.C.;
• Rachel Conner, representing Scott Lively’s Abiding Truth Ministries (smeared by SPLC as a “hate group”)
• Pastor Glen Sawyer, New Mt. Zion Church of God in Christ, Elizabeth City, NC
• Pastor Wil Nichols, Victorious Praise Fellowship COGIC, Durham, NC
• Pastor Jon Robinson, Kingdom C.O.M.E. Ministries, Clairton, PA
• Pastor Kenneth Jefferson, Greater Harvest COGIC

The following pro-family leaders and groups will issue supporting statements:

• Rabbi Yehuda Levin, Rabbinical Alliance of America, Brooklyn, NY;
• Laurie Higgins, Illinois Family Institute (smeared as “hate group”)
• Arthur Goldberg, author, “Light in the Closet: Torah, Homosexuality, and the Power to Change,” New Jersey;
• Linda Harvey, Mission America, Columbus, OH
• Brian Camenker, Mass Resistance, Boston, MA (smeared as “hate group”)

Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans For Truth, which is sponsoring the press event, recently interviewed Pastor Wooden, who said that the SPLC’s gambit of labeling mainstream pro-family groups that oppose homosexual activism as “hate groups” is seriously damaging the SPLC’s credibility. Wooden also debunked the “civil rights” analogy used by “gay” activists, saying it is wrong to compare “my beautiful blackness” to changeable homosexual perversion.

LaBarbera said the SPLC is engaged in a thinly-veiled, one-sided campaign to demonize adherents of traditional Judeo-Christian morality. He noted that despite the considerable hatred and anti-Christian bigotry emanating from homosexual activists (e.g., Dan Savage’s vile hate-site, Santorum[dot]com), the SPLC has never labeled a “gay” organization or website as “hateful.”

Friday night I was a guest on the Barry Morgan show which aired on CJAD 800 in Montreal, Canada. The topic was is homosexuality a choice. On the other side of the debate was gay activist Richard Burnett. You can listen to the audio here.

There’s a new pecking order of  gay christians in town. As defined by the gay christian network (GCN), individuals who believe you can be gay, have unrestricted sex and the whole nine are called “Side A” gay christians. The ones who believe you should just call yourself gay but refrain from sex for an unspecified amount of time are labeled “Side B” gay christians. But after a visit from Alan Chambers, the public face of Exodus International to a GCN conference Jan 6th in Orlando, we are prompted to add one more class of gay christian and name it “Side C”.

The C is for compromised, confused, careless and carnal. One thing is ironically clear: statements about homosexuality by Alan Chambers rarely result in clarity.

Over a roughly two hour period, Chambers rattled off a stream of statements seemingly more in sync with trending progay theology than the biblical position Exodus claims to uphold for the last 30-odd years.  In response to a question about the Exodus slogan “change [from homosexuality] is possible”, Chambers said:

“The majority of people that I have met, and I would say the majority meaning 99.9% of them, have not experienced a change in their orientation or have gotten to a place where they could say that they could never be tempted or are not tempted in some way or experience some level of same-sex attraction. I think there is a gender issue there, there are some women who have challenged me and said that my orientation or my attractions have changed completely. Those have been few and far between. The vast majority of people that I know do still experience some level of same-sex attraction.”

Reflections, Reactions and Rebranding

The aftermath of Chamber’s appearance with the self declared homosexual christian group set off a firestorm of support, sharp criticism and everything in between.

Randy Thomas, a former Exodus official: “This isn’t shocking to me because Alan has always had a heart for those that oppose the work of Exodus and the truth of Alan’s testimony (which directly and indirectly represents thousands of us in some way shape or form.) I trust Alan and know his strength of conviction is completely wrapped up in God’s redeeming grace … I wasn’t worried for him or them. I was actually quite proud of him.”

Haydn Sennitt, a Syndey based ministry leader: “However, being outnumbered on such a huge scale would have put psychological strain on him to obfuscate, weaken his position, say things which- in hindsight- he might regret.  In the first 5-6 minutes he did exactly that: his first comments were to joke about drinking martinis and smoking cigarettes at an Exodus conference and laughed at a joke by the ‘gay Christian’ conference convenor that tacitly mocked Exodus conference attendees.  I was shocked. ”

Debbie Thurman, Christian journalist and former lesbian,  “I commend Alan for his honesty and clarity. Is that [Chamber's statement] an earth-shattering statement, as some are interpreting it to be? Not for me, and not really for Alan. “I have said similar things before. The fact of the matter is that 100 percent of humanity is fallible and we will be until death parts us from our flesh,” he told me. “I cannot speak for others who say that temptation or attraction don’t equal orientation. As a layman with regard to that issue, I tend to link them all together, and that is where that 99.9 percent, non-scientific/anecdotal/experiential statement comes from,” Alan added.

Exgaywatch, a blog that primarily criticizes Chambers and Exodus: “Playing to both sides on this issue of gay Christians is not new for Exodus International. In March last year, Chambers enthusiastically affirmed the existence of gay Christians in an interview with the Oprah network’s Lisa Ling, only to water down his statements when challenged by his conservative evangelical constituents. What is new is that some gay Christians are now taking him at his word.”

Nakisha Thomas, an Orlando based ministry leader:  “I was a supporter of Exodus in the past. I had a wonderful time when I attended the national conference and encouraged my church to join their network. However – I am severing all ties with them because as the Bible has instructed – I have gone to the group privately on several occasions. I have reached out with witnesses – but I believe now is the time to warn the church of the danger of embracing an organization that will lead people into confusion and not to the light.”

Just who’s side is he on?

Imagine the president of Pepsi going  to a meeting of Coca Cola employees and saying to them that he only knew about 3 people who really liked Pepsi.   That probably would never happen in the dog-eat-dog cola wars, but Exodus’ president  expressed the same sentiment to the GCN who are admittedly hostile to the message of change, Exodus’ signature mantra.   The meeting was reported by the antichange website Exgaywatch,  and has subsequently sparked sharp debate even among homosexual activists. Chambers reportedly requested to be a guest on a panel session with the Gay Christian Network. For more about the GCN and its founder Justin Lee read here.

The panel discussion moderated by Lee also featured former Exodus leader John Smid, former Exodus leader Wendy Gritter and former Exodus leader Jeremy Marks. All of the aforementioned  now advocate prohomosexual theological positions.

While some are attempting to spin the appearance as “bridge building” and “being light among darkness”, the discussion doesn’t confirm that. Chambers didn’t spread light, he compromised truth to gain some sort of emergent church-like unity. Can supporters of Exodus now expect some reciprocal appearance by a gay christian at the Exodus “Freedom” conference?

If you want to review the entire 3 hour discussion, feel free: part one, part two

Flipside

Aside from the appearance itself, Chambers statement is problematic for several reasons:

1. The monkey wrench in mature discussions about change from homosexuality is the  “sexual orientation” theory. You can not argue biblical truth by attempting to juxtapose it with cultural ideology.  Sexual orientation is a linguistical misnomer created by the gay community to frame homosexuality as an immutable trait.  But the bible speaks from a different perspective. It tells us without equivocation that there is nothing that cannot change by the power of God. Not even death is permanent under his supernatural power. What’s more the Gospel itself is HOPE for change from whatever binds us. That Chambers cannot follow the biblical script is a sign of spiritual immaturity. And spiritually immature people have no place attempting to lead such a critical ministry outreach.

2. Chamber’s comments are a betrayal of biblical truth namely: (a)change or deliverance is fundamental biblical truth,  (b)the process whereby a person is changed once they confess and follow Jesus Christ is sanctification and (c) the ultimate consummation of change which occurs when Christ returns is (glorification). There is no separate trajectory for those who struggle with same sex attractions. The stark difference between the bible and gay christian theology is the definition of the word sin. They believe homosexuality is not a sin, the bible says it is.

3. Change in “sexual orientation” is a false –not to mention unbiblical– goal. The bible doesn’t make “changing sexual orientation” the goal of the Christian because there is no such thing. If God required the homosexual has to change his “orientation” then the heterosexual would have to likewise change his. But this is foolish carnality on display.  Biblically, there is only one “orientation”. Man to woman and woman to man in covenant marriage. Anything else is sin. Thus, our goal is to reject sin and embrace original intent holiness. Chamber’s assertion that 99.9% of people he’s met have not changed their “sexual orientation” is either a brazen lie or its a stunning testament to the failure of Exodus.  Its my belief that our goal should be the same goal as every other believe: to be holy. Our goal should be God’s goal for us, since we are his children.

4. Sexual orientation has no bearing on temptation. Temptation is allowed by God and used a tool to sharpen, strengthen and test the believer’s devotion to God’s standards. Temptation is not a sin and never will be. If it were,  Jesus Christ himself would be a sinner. Unfortunately, in the unyeilding black-white world of gay theology, even the slightest glimmer of  homosexual temptation is viewed as proof that the individual is still homosexual.

As a recognized “leader”, Chamber’s serial inconsistency has deeply affected the quality of ministry to individuals seeking freedom from homosexuality through faith in Christ. Chambers is quoted on a NARTH website as saying “I am one of tens of thousands of people whom have successfully changed their sexual orientation.”. But now, almost no one has changed? Not even him? This type of schizophrenic commentary is damaging and a disgrace to the legacy of the great pioneers of the freedom movement.

Be it resolved: The Exodus board should relieve Alan Chambers of his duties until he has satisfactorily completed comprehensive bible study.

The Christian Research and Apologetics Ministry (CARM) has an interesting chart on its website tracking the theological drifting of denominations who have ordained women.

The evolving chart lists such liberal denominations as the Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Presbyterian Church USA and the United Methodist Church who have “progressed” from the ordination of women to sanctioning abortion and performing homosexual ordination.
Is there a connection? While CARM’s chart is certainly no open and shut case, its interesting to observe the theological trajectory of the mentioned denominations.
The United Church of Christ, arguably the most rabidly progay Christian denomination, was not listed as ordaining women, but they do. See here. In fact, the UCC says it has been ordaining women for the last 150 years. It began ordaining open homosexuals 38 years ago.

Charter Matt Slick said, “This chart is not yet fully completed.  We released it to help demonstrate the trends of denominations who ordain women.  Notice that after the chart are the links to document the positions.”

Diagnosis: CARM needs to get this chart finished.

See the chart’s listings so far here.