The San Francisco Chronical has an article about a protest of ex-gay ministry Desert Stream and their seminar in the heart of San Francisco.
An evangelical Christian minister from Missouri, who came to a San Francisco church to teach gays and lesbians how to become straight, was greeted Saturday by a protest led by a gay theology student who said the preacher’s conversion therapy was so psychologically damaging that he twice attempted suicide when he tried it.
The Bay Area Reporter also covered the seminarians and ex-ex-gays that came to protest the message of brokenness.
Maria Caruana and Todd Ferrell of San Francisco’s Freedom in Christ Evangelical Church came out to join the protesters, wearing purple “Christian + Gay = OK” T-shirts. Ferrell was there, he explained, “To let people know that there are people out there that have found freedom and have a great relationship with God. I don’t think that he intended my life to be in a quandary about change for 40 years. What happened is that I found freedom just by accepting myself and accepting the gift that God gave me as a gay man and suddenly peace and joy and all of the things that I didn’t have before that I was fighting, finally came.”
Additionally, there is video here of the effort.
Living Waters (TM), SALT (TM), Crosscurrent (TM), & The River (TM), all apparently trademarked names under which Desert Stream Ministries (TM) conducts programs.
It is quite a thriving business and seemingly so simple (PDF).
I was going to point out that the way the Way of Life Fundamentalist Baptist Information Service describes Fuller Seminary, it’s rather surprising that Comiskey came to the conclusions he did.
I didn’t recognize how out-of-the-ordinary Desert Streams was until I googled the names Lynn provided. There are some really questionable and unorthodox practices and beliefs to be found in studying Payne and Wimber, especially.
I am surprised that any mainstream Christian denominations would take this group seriously, but then “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” it seems.
Ministers of Desert Stream/Living Waters will use and exploit any GLBT person who is vulnerable and not fully aware of what these programs are promoting on same-sex love and God’s UNCONDITIONAL love for all people. They will blame you if they feel attracted, use you and say it was a “sexual slip in their sobriety” because the only love and expression of that “accountable by GOd” to them is heterosexuality. My life met with one of these ministers and I am writing recovery based work so I will one day be able to provide therapy to those harmed by these ministers and the programs. Homosexuals Anonymous is another sister group to these types of programs. Hazelden is not in support of their borrowing from their Christian based 12 step tradition.
Ministers of Desert Stream/Living Waters will use and exploit any GLBT person who is vulnerable and not fully aware of what these programs are promoting on same-sex love and God’s UNCONDITIONAL love for all people. They will blame you if they feel attracted, use you and say it was a “sexual slip in their sobriety” because the only love and expression of that is “accountable by God” to them is heterosexuality. My life met with one of these ministers and I am writing recovery based work so I will one day be able to provide therapy to those harmed by these ministers and the programs. Homosexuals Anonymous is another sister group to these types of programs. Hazelden is not in support of their borrowing from their Christian based 12 step tradition. Check out Beyondexgay.com and truthwinsout.com.