Ex-poster-boi of the ex-gay movement John Paulk (not to be confused with Johan Paulk, google at your own risk) has opened up a Portland, Ore., catering business, the website of which can be found here. Most notably the “accolades” section of the website includes praise from Jim Daly as well as Carrie Gordon Earll, both of Focus on the Family.
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The asparagus photo on the accolades page is quite interesting.
The Moon looks pagan to me, perhaps even Satanic!
In all seriousness though, I applaud John for going out and getting an honest job.
He’s not hurting anyone, he’s getting paid for providing a service.
If Alan and Randy over at Exodus would follow his example and be ‘ex-gay’ and shut up about it, then the world would be a better place.
And let’s not forget Amy Tracy (ex-Focus) who’s now ministering to hustlers in Chicago.It appears you can remain religious, but begin to recover your honesty, when you leave Focus on the Family. From Emmaus’s FAQ:
Now’s there’s some statements that Focus would never sign up to… I’m thinking redemption is possible after Focus, ???(Note: Emmaus comments provided for illustrative purposes only. No commnents or support for Emmaus is implied or suggested. OK.)As for Paulk himself — who cares, and good.Should have done it years ago, and saved everyone the grief.Perhaps he’s now got a career in an area he’s at least knows something about.It’s a fair bit harder to fake the “product” too. I hope Paulk finds his current clients are generally pleased by that, unlike his previous Exodus clients.And if Paulk ever finds himself back into hustling — from either side — he can always give his old buddy Amy a call… 🙂
Good for John. I wish him success and hope that this new/old career fills him with satisfaction.
I also liked the design of the website. Now would be a likely time for me to say something snarky about how ex-gays are supposed to avoid “gay things” like graphic design and cooking, but I’ll be nice 🙂
I did have to chuckle about his listing his GPA and his not realizing that Portland residents already know that they live in Oregon. But it always takes folks a while to get their website right.
Oh, and why on earth would anyone name their business the same name as a restaurant best known for being Nicole Brown Simpson’s last meal? Ick!
But I think his business is a good idea and if I lived in Portland I might even give him business. Well… only if he didn’t try to preach to me. After all, his slogan is “Remember, at Mezzaluna; we don’t merely want to feed your body, we want to feed your soul.” And my soul just doesn’t want any feeding from John Paulk.
But maybe he’s trying to niche market. If he’s going after fundy clients, feeding their soul (while feeding them sole) might appeal, as would kudos from the wingnuts. And it will certainly drive away any business from busy gay men wanting a chef (who John might find too tempting).
OK, now for the snarky comment (it is Friday, after all)…
Evidently, Amy Tracy did not take advantage of John’s low-fat diet meal plan.
OK.. I’m sorry. I’ll be good now.
OK…not wanting to be seen as someone who can’t take a joke or anything…but…I don’t think it’s kind to make fun of anyone’s weight…I don’t care if they’re ex-gay or not. Sometimes I can’t decide what it’s worse to be in our culture…gay or fat?
“Sometimes I can’t decide what it’s worse to be in our culture…gay or fat?” How about gay and fat.
At first I thought this said POLAND. They certainly have a great attitude towards gays there.
Sorry, Christine. It was kinda mean.
Wow, that looks like a genuine smile on his face.
I totally agree with Scott–at least he’s got an honest job and is doing something that will really help somebody out. I hope he feels much better about himself–I actually feel happy *for* him.
Well, what can I say, I was searching the internet for John Paulk as I was hoping he could help me as I am a christian and do want out of the lifestyle, surprisingly, I was somwhat dissappointed to hear of his mistakes, but not all that surprised we are in fact only human. For hte record, just because someone slips and makes a mistake does not mean that what he stood for was a lie. It still is the truth. John, people still do believe in you and what Jesus can do. Perhaps, someone else will step up to the plate, or John will come back to what he stood for.
In Christ’s love…
Aric,If your faith is opposed to, and more important, than establishing your life as gay then the answer is very simple: don’t.Be celibate. Or force yourself.You’ll find no arguments here from anyone.If, however, you are hoping to change your sexuality from gay to straight you are undoubtably setting yourself up for a life of failure and disappointment. If you do contact Exodus (or whoever), ask them what their “success rate” is. After you have your answers, feel free to come back here and ask if they have been honest with you.The issue with The Lie of John Paulk has nothing to do with Paulk living his life anyway he choses. He’s as entitled as the rest of us to do that. He’s entitled to be as ridiculous or delusional as any of us. And he’s given the same opportunity to hurt and distress the people in his life, or be honest with them, as we all are.The Lie is that John Paulk was promoted by Exodus, and willingly pushed himself in front of the cameras, to sell the idea that gay sexuality can be changed to straight sexuality. And therefore, so the hidden message goes, gay people are just willful sinners who deserve no respect for their selfish choices.The Lie of John Paulk was the falsehoods that he helped spread about the lives of other — decent and honest — people.Paulk was, of course, rapidly replaced with another few individuals who claim exactly the same as Paulk once did. I have little doubt they will one day suffer the same, and unfortunate, fate: but that’s their problem, not mine. Or yours.
Boy to Attend Kindergarten as a Girl
A counselor claims the student believes he is the opposite sex. from staff reportsCitizenLink(Focus on the Family)July 12, 2006Excerpt:
A recent story by Roberto Santiago on the transgender child is here.
Interesting that they used him to comment. I wonder where the rest of their ex-gay for pay crew was.
Are they trying to rehab his image?
“He’s going to be ridiculed and made fun of in school by other peers, no matter how tolerant it is.”
But not nearly as much as if he claimed that he was now heterosexual… but was photographed cavorting in a gay bar.
Just a thought.
I have to admit that I was initially skeptical when I read a brief articles about the 5-year-old transgendered kindergartener. However, Santiago’s article gives the impression that the parents, health care professionals, and school administrators have really thought this through and are taking some sensible precautions:
“At the school, teachers and the principal are prepared. The child will use unisex bathroom facilities, will be addressed by a unisex name – not Pat – and has been asked to dress in gender-neutral clothing, such as shorts or pants and a shirt.”
So, they seem to be careful about not forcing the child into a gender role.
What’s not clear to me is how this story was leaked to the press. If the parents and school are so interested in protecting this child’s privacy, how did the media hear of the story?
I can’t believe Paulk is arguing that, ” He’s going to be ridiculed and made fun of in school by other peers, no matter how tolerant it is.”. Apparently, Paulk thinks ridicule is a legitimate reason to segregate children with differences.
If the child is ridiculed it’ll be because of the efforts of anti-gays like Paulk. How low can you be to say the problem is the child wanting to be a girl, not the ridicule itself. The solution is to get rid of the ridicule, not to force a child to be something he/she doesn’t want to be.
I daresay, unless some “moral” person had blown the story, no one would have even known that a 5 year old TG was living as the opposite sex. They also quoted Dr. Throckmorton in the story. His quote is particularly unenlightening.