Wanted:
Suggestions and volunteers to take the concept currently known as Ex-Gay Watch in new and distinct directions. Future affiliation with Ex-Gay Watch not required.
We currently receive far more news tips (all of them good) than we have time to investigate or write about. Also, because of our very limited time and labor, our focus tends to be too narrowly fixed upon the negative: half-truths, prejudices, and other immoralities of the current ex-gay political leadership.
Exgays and other sexually troubled individuals need more than just a daily reminder that their politics are self-defeating, their leadership misguided at best and intentionally unethical at worst. People struggling with sexual attraction and self-identification need:
- practical day-to-day advice to overcome depression, sexual compulsion, or the misunderstanding and hostility of relatives
- alternatives to the culture warriors’ unhealthy absolutes: asexuality vs. runaway promiscuity, far-right political correctness vs. far-left political correctness
- safety from harassment and discrimination as they seek to work through their struggles
- current scientific knowledge about sexuality
- tips for healthy friendships
- self-management: tips for making smart, healthy decisions for oneself
- social, religious and political policies that, unlike religious-right policies, would aid sexual strugglers in living responsible sexual and spiritual lives
I doubt it’s possible for one single web site to provide all these services; some of these services may target mutually exclusive audiences. My goal in raising these issues is to develop focus areas for separate and independent projects.
If you know of web sites that already serve some of these needs, or if you are interested in helping meet a particular need, please let us know. (Please also let us know if you feel XGW does a particularly poor or counterproductive job of meeting certain needs.)
Ex-Gay Watch can’t be all things to all people. But we can help link people together who have common goals and a desire to take action for healthier, better-informed, freer communities.
These are all excellent ideas. I would love to help, but I have no idea who to fit it in “part time”. My new website has shown me that working after-hours on stuff like this is a huge load.
I am willing to take on oppositional claims about homosexuality, including delving into their footnotes to show them where they’re lying.
Grant/Dale have shown themselves to be excellent (and very fast!) at this. I’ve got tons of journal articles in PDF that I can offer to the cause.
For those individuals from evangelical backgrounds who are looking for open, affirming, welcoming congregations in that “style of worship” (for lack of a better term), Evangelicals Concerned would be a good resource for you.
Oops I pasted the address in the URL and it came up “Anonymous”. Here is the address: https://www.ecwr.org/
Another link that might be helpful is The Institure for Welcoming Resources (https://www.welcomingresources.org/). This is a interdenominational or multidenominational organization.
To follow up on the ECWR link, the website https://www.welcomingchurches.com is a service of gaychristian.net, and is another good resource for all gay Christians, regardless of where they fall on the theological spectrum.
As a blogger, I’m willing to write every now and then on a topic if needed. I think I’ll be of more help to you suggesting that you contact a vlogger known as Brad (willingwarrior.com). He is a very popular vlogger who is currently thinking of ways to confront the ex-gay movement. I sure hope that you contact him, because I believe you guys could both help each other very much.
– Kevin