Clarification to Recent Blog Post: Ex-gays Afraid to Come Out . . .
Posted by Stephen Black at May 15, 2008 9:30 AM and is filed under apology,silencing christians,exodus international,Exodus,ex-gays,clarification,ex-gay watch 
First I would like to publicly apologize to Wayne Besen
for making the snide remark about him at the end of my post, it was
un-Christ-like. My uncalled for remark was: "However Besen’s narcissism
will deceptively cause him to wear the quote as a badge of honor."
This statement was unnecessary and made out of exasperation. We will never
agree and quite frankly I am sad for him. I should not have entered into
the same sarcasm I disdain. Sarcastic hateful blogs are just revealing of a
broken lives.
Wayne emailed me with a demanded for an apology. His demand was based that I was a spokes person for Exodus International. I am not employed by Exodus International , and I was not speaking for Exodus on my blog. This is a distortion. I merely posted my thoughts about something I see going on in our cultural, on my own personal blog.
Wayne communicated that I asserted that the ex-gay watchdog groups were Nazis. This is not the truth either. There is no statement in my blog that attaches gays to Nazis. To the contrary, I was speaking about the political and cultural environment that I believe we are in and pointed to the Silencing Christians documentary. This was not about gay bloggers; actually they don't have that much power. I also mentioned a direct quote from a friend about the next demonic anti-Christ movement; we have seen before in our history akin to pre WWII and the Nazis regime coming into power. However, it certainly was a sensational blog post for Wayne.
The week before I posted my last entry, I had been robbed. Someone came into my office and stole my wallet with $80 cash, a $600 hand-held PC scheduler, and a $4000 laptop. I was in an adjacent office when they brazenly walked in the back door of our offices and stole the items. This leaves anyone feeling a little violated. My home address is unlisted because of what I do in ministry. Yet they were able to get a lot of personal information and they now know where I live. Months prior to this, a gay identified person had been coming to our offices anonymously dropping off packets of information to 're-recruit' me back into the gay community. A long story here, but bottom-line: it is all very disturbing. There ARE people watch and stalking others who make a stand in the community for righteousness, especially when it is politically incorrect and taking a stand against the affirmation of the sin of homosexuality in our culture.
Since the sharing of my testimony at the "Freedom of Speech Rally – Rally for Sally" I have been made more aware of groups like "Ex-gay Watch (XGW)." There is a list of blog roll buddies on their site. The very little I have read is very disturbing to me. It isn't paranoia. It is in fact very saddening.
Ex-gay Watch (XGW) did not like that I used the word, "STALKING" in my recent post. We cannot agree on the definition of stalking. There are several levels of stalking. The word stalking to me represents someone who is in fact watching me, and desiring my demise. I was asked to remove the word stalking; and after the civil communication, I removed it.
There are many groups of gay activists, political groups, and bloggers I am finding out about on the Internet. They are very watchful. It is very disturbing to me; gay activists watching ex-gay ministers and ministries keeping tabs. There are suggestions to follow me and take photos of me and other leaders in comment lines. You have to keep a sense of humor about all this and laugh! An ex-gay watch paparazzi? What's next? Cheese!
It does seem a bit creepy and weird. You
wanna say, "get a life!"
However, what would we think about a group of bloggers who called themselves the Alcoholic Anonymous Watch? Watching and waiting to see if any AA leader or alcoholic slips up. The bloggers writing and scoffing at the alcoholics for trying to stop being an alcoholic. Snide sarcastic remarks over and over on their blogs; we would weep! Yet, there would be others who would get very angry. I think most people would be sick with grief. Plays, books and long lists of gay bloggers now growing on the internet, scoffing at those who leave homosexuality.
ANOTHER CLARIFICATION:
I must admit, I really regret using the word KLAN. I should have used the word CLUB in my last blog post. This was certainly an error in writing. I apologize for the connection to the Klan. I was not intending to say that the XGW group or Wayne was like the KKK. The idea of the KKK was not in my blog, but the word klan was and I was thinking clan. I am an Irish man! Live and learn, as I am
not trying to provoke unnecessarily, and this did. It was an error.
There are many gay activists bloggers specifically watching and talking about ex-gays and ex-gay ministries. There is long list of bloggers (go see their blog roll and then each site has their own blog rolls) being ever so watchful. It is disturbing of the growing number of bloggers who desire the demise of ex-gay ministry. Our ideologies are in total contradiction to one another. It is their constitutional right to have their opinion. I thank God that I can still have my constitutional right to believe the Bible as well. I also have the right to communicate that I FEEL like I am being watch and stalked by unscrupulous people as is evident by the recent activity here at our offices with over $4600 of equipment stolen and with a Tinky-Winky Valentine to boot! (An unidentified person who says they are gay, loves me and wants me to accept myself has been dropping off notes through the back door of our offices. On Valentines Day, I received a Tinky Winky note. Very Creepy!).
I really do find it sad that there are people unwilling to talk about leaving homosexuality because of the hostility that now exists in our culture. These groups are doing a good job at silencing people, but not this voice.
Wayne emailed me with a demanded for an apology. His demand was based that I was a spokes person for Exodus International. I am not employed by Exodus International , and I was not speaking for Exodus on my blog. This is a distortion. I merely posted my thoughts about something I see going on in our cultural, on my own personal blog.
Wayne communicated that I asserted that the ex-gay watchdog groups were Nazis. This is not the truth either. There is no statement in my blog that attaches gays to Nazis. To the contrary, I was speaking about the political and cultural environment that I believe we are in and pointed to the Silencing Christians documentary. This was not about gay bloggers; actually they don't have that much power. I also mentioned a direct quote from a friend about the next demonic anti-Christ movement; we have seen before in our history akin to pre WWII and the Nazis regime coming into power. However, it certainly was a sensational blog post for Wayne.
The week before I posted my last entry, I had been robbed. Someone came into my office and stole my wallet with $80 cash, a $600 hand-held PC scheduler, and a $4000 laptop. I was in an adjacent office when they brazenly walked in the back door of our offices and stole the items. This leaves anyone feeling a little violated. My home address is unlisted because of what I do in ministry. Yet they were able to get a lot of personal information and they now know where I live. Months prior to this, a gay identified person had been coming to our offices anonymously dropping off packets of information to 're-recruit' me back into the gay community. A long story here, but bottom-line: it is all very disturbing. There ARE people watch and stalking others who make a stand in the community for righteousness, especially when it is politically incorrect and taking a stand against the affirmation of the sin of homosexuality in our culture.
Since the sharing of my testimony at the "Freedom of Speech Rally – Rally for Sally" I have been made more aware of groups like "Ex-gay Watch (XGW)." There is a list of blog roll buddies on their site. The very little I have read is very disturbing to me. It isn't paranoia. It is in fact very saddening.
Ex-gay Watch (XGW) did not like that I used the word, "STALKING" in my recent post. We cannot agree on the definition of stalking. There are several levels of stalking. The word stalking to me represents someone who is in fact watching me, and desiring my demise. I was asked to remove the word stalking; and after the civil communication, I removed it.
There are many groups of gay activists, political groups, and bloggers I am finding out about on the Internet. They are very watchful. It is very disturbing to me; gay activists watching ex-gay ministers and ministries keeping tabs. There are suggestions to follow me and take photos of me and other leaders in comment lines. You have to keep a sense of humor about all this and laugh! An ex-gay watch paparazzi? What's next? Cheese!
It does seem a bit creepy and weird. You
wanna say, "get a life!" However, what would we think about a group of bloggers who called themselves the Alcoholic Anonymous Watch? Watching and waiting to see if any AA leader or alcoholic slips up. The bloggers writing and scoffing at the alcoholics for trying to stop being an alcoholic. Snide sarcastic remarks over and over on their blogs; we would weep! Yet, there would be others who would get very angry. I think most people would be sick with grief. Plays, books and long lists of gay bloggers now growing on the internet, scoffing at those who leave homosexuality.
ANOTHER CLARIFICATION:
I must admit, I really regret using the word KLAN. I should have used the word CLUB in my last blog post. This was certainly an error in writing. I apologize for the connection to the Klan. I was not intending to say that the XGW group or Wayne was like the KKK. The idea of the KKK was not in my blog, but the word klan was and I was thinking clan. I am an Irish man!
Live and learn, as I am
not trying to provoke unnecessarily, and this did. It was an error. There are many gay activists bloggers specifically watching and talking about ex-gays and ex-gay ministries. There is long list of bloggers (go see their blog roll and then each site has their own blog rolls) being ever so watchful. It is disturbing of the growing number of bloggers who desire the demise of ex-gay ministry. Our ideologies are in total contradiction to one another. It is their constitutional right to have their opinion. I thank God that I can still have my constitutional right to believe the Bible as well. I also have the right to communicate that I FEEL like I am being watch and stalked by unscrupulous people as is evident by the recent activity here at our offices with over $4600 of equipment stolen and with a Tinky-Winky Valentine to boot! (An unidentified person who says they are gay, loves me and wants me to accept myself has been dropping off notes through the back door of our offices. On Valentines Day, I received a Tinky Winky note. Very Creepy!).
I really do find it sad that there are people unwilling to talk about leaving homosexuality because of the hostility that now exists in our culture. These groups are doing a good job at silencing people, but not this voice.
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