Jul 29, 2005  |  By: EARTHA JANE MELZE  | COMMENTS     

Grown men, teen-agers and a few women rushed to the stage and bowed down in front of it, forming a mosh pit of cuddling, not slam-dancing.

“You want a miracle in your life,” intoned Rev. Jerry Falwell, the Lynchburg, Va.-based televangelist and conservative leader.

The lights were dim, a rock band played soft music as purple and blue spotlights patrolled the crowd slowly.

Men lined up in front of the stage facing outward toward prayer partners, and they embraced their weeping or silent counterparts who came forward asking to be delivered — delivered of their same-sex attractions.

“There’s not really a time frame now,” said Mike, the man assigned to accompany this reporter at all times during the meeting.

As sections of the crowd thinned, the guitar music continued and Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, encouraged everyone to take all the time they needed, “to do their business with God.”

Holding on to one another, swaying, they seemed in no hurry. With all the high emotion, dim lights and soft rock music, the auditorium felt a bit like a junior high school dance.

This was the Thursday evening, July 21, worship session of Exodus International’s annual weeklong Freedom Conference, held last week in North Carolina at the Baptist Ridgecrest Conference Center, near Asheville.

The organization evolved from the first Exodus conference in Los Angeles in 1976 at a gathering that attracted 62 men and women “affected by unwanted homosexuality,” according to the conference program and information on the organization’s Web site.

Exodus now claims125 ministries and says the organization has reached 400,000 people. Its purpose is to provide faith-based programs they say can enable gay men and women to change their sexual orientation to heterosexual.

Both the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association have condemned “reparative therapy” that seeks to change sexual orientation as ineffective and harmful to those who attempt it.

During the conference, which took place July 18-23 and attracted about 1,000 participants, this reporter was allowed to observe a portion of the events, if accompanied at all times by an Exodus volunteer.

During a news conference Thursday evening, Falwell, who was speaking for the first time at an Exodus conference, took issue with claims by other ex-gay advocates that even teens must at least consent to ex-gay “reorientation” for it to be successful.

The issue has been contentious ever since Zach Stark, a Bartlett, Tenn., teenager, touched off a nationwide debate by writing in his blog that his parents were forcing him to attend an ex-gay “camp” run by Love In Action, which is affiliated with Exodus.

Zach was scheduled to be released this week, and gay activists in Memphis planned a protest this Friday, July 29, to mark the occasion.

Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a psychologist and “sexual reorientation counselor,” criticized the approach of Love In Action and Zach’s parents, arguing that consent is critical to successful counseling, so parents shouldn’t force their children to participate.

Falwell urges parents to save gay kids
Falwell said parents must intervene. Allowing a teen to be gay is as dangerous as allowing a son or daughter to play on the interstate, he said.

The conference involved daily worship sessions, support group meetings and workshops ranging from “Starting & Refining an Exodus Ministry” and “Countering Pro-gay Theology” to “Freedom from Masturbation? It’s possible.”

In the exhibit hall, a DVD featured Sy Rogers, who has a ministry in which he chats about overcoming his desire to become a woman. He said he found Jesus and learned how to act like a man.

Though most of the books on display at the conference seemed focused on issues faced by males struggling with same-sex attraction, there was a small area devoted to women’s issues, including “Bridging the Gap — A Guide to Evangelizing in Women’s Sports.” The step-by-step manual gave instructions on how to identify lesbians on sports team and guide them toward Jesus and heterosexuality once a friendship is established.

‘Making Your Marriage Work’
Mike suggested attending a workshop on “Making Your Marriage Work.”

Frank Worthen, an Exodus founder, and his wife, Anita, offered tips on how the ex-gay male can marry a woman and meet the expectations of family and friends. They addressed a classroom packed with about 60 people, about half with what appeared to be their spouses.

“Men are ready for marriage when their desire to be protected becomes a desire to protect,” Frank Worthen said. “A man should also have three years of celibacy,” ...