Pastor Ryan Jay Muehlhauser
According to KSDK in Minnesota, Pastor Ryan Jay Muehlhauser of the Lakeside Christian Church in Cambridge has been arrested and charged with eight felony counts of criminal sexual conduct on two men. The assaults allegedly occurred over a period of two years.
The victims reported that they met Muehlhauser two years ago at an event held by Outpost Ministries. Outpost claims to “help the sexually and relationally broken find healing and restoration through relationship with Jesus Christ.” Until recently they were a member of Exodus International, but a comment on their Web site claims that they have “withdrawn from Exodus International due to theological differences, specifically regarding salvation and sanctification.” The differences referred to presumably come from the recent changes at Exodus.
Earlier this year, we reported that Outpost had shut down based on information from Exodus President Alan Chambers. This doesn’t seem to be the case as their site also contains references to the newly established Restored Hope Network (RHN), established as a splinter group to Exodus.
The assaults allegedly occurred during sessions in which is sounds as though the victims sexual orientation was the issue. The descriptions of the “therapy” as well as the offenses, are all too familiar.
Victim ABC said in counseling sessions Muehlhauser “blessed” him by cupping his genitals outside of his clothing several times and that Muehlhauser asked the victim to arouse himself in front of him and called it, the victim said, “spiritual strength.”
The victim also reported that Muehlhauser would have him strip naked for more “spiritual guidance” and have him masturbate while Muehlhauser prayed over him.
It is unclear so far what kind of role ex-gay therapy might have played in Muehlhauser’s work at Lakeside Christian Church. Until a few days ago, he was listed as a “senior pastor” on the staff page of their Web site, but is now missing completely. The church has never come to our attention, but unfortunately there are far too many out there practicing this rogue form of “therapy” and, with tragic frequency, many are also using their encounters to satisfy the very urges they claim can be eradicated in others.
There is no doubt that some who read this blog still find themselves at odds with their sexual orientation. We are here to inform, not coerce. But if you should end up in some sort of ministerial or therapeutic setting where you are being asked to do or say anything that you find uncomfortable, please don’t feel you must submit. No matter who the person is or why you are there, just leave, and report them if necessary. No legitimate counselor or minister will ever put you in such a situation.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a time when homosexuality and gay people are still confronted with archaic and contradictory standards of acceptable conduct. On the one hand, young gays and lesbians are forced to repress their very natural and healthy urges regarding love, affection, forming romantic bonds and being allowed to openly associate with another gay person and gain socially supportive networks.
This repression only tends to manifest later as obsessive behavior, and sometimes inappropriately or that’s unhealthy.
And then even MORE of what led to it, is piled on. All in the name of ‘holiness’, or ‘freedom from the slavery’ of homosexuality.
And then there is vulnerability to charletons, and others obsessed like this counselor is.
Even I get frustrated and offended at straight people who bald faced lecture gays on being able to change. And have no restraint when it comes to telling gay people what they are and should do about it.
I can only empathize with how a gay person must feel when that happens. And I can’t imagine what huge amounts of patience and courage and maybe compartmentalizing it has to take to keep from exploding.
This kind of crime only exacerbates the stereotype that gay men are obsessed with sex. So unfair when so much repression is a self fulfilling road to pathology.
all ex gfay does re cures is to drive these people deeper and deeper into the closet of shame and fear. Evnetually, for some of them, they lose control and anything can happen.
Exactly what happened with the catholic church and its renaming into the “chruch of the endelss hidden molestation of children.
Of whome the German pope did the unthinkable – he UNexcommunicated Bishop Willismason, a holocaust deniier
He also is guilty from the top down, of hiding the molestation of children.
BTW not only AHit… but Himmler, Goebbels , Dr. Mengele, and Eichmann were catholic, all went to catholic schools supported by tithing by the govt from the people
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/erbe/2009/02/05/pope-should-excommunicate-holocaust-denying-bishop-williamson?msg=1 – comments
https://www.irishcentral.com/news/Pope-Benedict-accused-of-masterminding-Catholic-Church-sex-abuse-cover-up-91038229.html#ixzz1lf7MasmO
Regan, I couldn’t agree more. It’s the lifetime of repression and rejection that causes them to seek inappropriate (at best) sexual outlets. The same principle applies to the straight world but at least their sex-obsessed pathologies are generally seen by society as “natural.”
Whether it be priests, pastors, boy scout leaders, “straight” husbands and fathers, etcetera, who get caught in compromising and criminal situations like this, there is an distinct difference between them and those who honestly accept and are open about their same gender orientation. They are free of the need to hide their nature, making them harmless in comparison.
But for those who don’t know better, the two are easily conflated, making room for the anti-gay industry to step in and exploit that conflation by making ambiguous implications that homosexuality itself is the cause of increased promiscuity and molestation in relation to heterosexuality.
Quite ironic given the explicit pattern of reasoning and examples that amply illustrate that it is the repression and not the expression of one’s homosexual orientation that give truth to those blanket stereotypes.