Ex-Gay Watch’s investigation into Pastor Matthew C. Manning has failed to find evidence for his miraculous healing claims. But more disturbingly, it has revealed a history of accusations, charges and at least one plea of no contest for sexual offenses.
Matthew C. Manning is the founder and president of Lighthouse World Evangelism Inc (LHWE) in Santa Rosa, California. An earlier version of his website describes him this way:
Matthew was delivered from homosexuality in 1989 and miraculously healed from HIV/AIDS in 1994. Matthew’s experience not only enables him to minister effectively to those seeking deliverance from homosexuality, but to all people seeking to know Jesus Christ in a deeper way.
Background
Ex-Gay Watch reported briefly on Manning in 2003 when Mike Airhart mentioned the claims of healing from AIDS/HIV and his difficulty in obtaining any official documentation to verify those claims. Some months later, a comment was left on both posts by the “Legal Department of LightHouse World Evangelism Inc” protesting Airhart’s observations, but providing no new facts.
Since that time, LHWE has released a long promised DVD, my eyes see You, which claims to depict the story of Manning’s miraculous deliverance and healing, including a dramatic attempt on his life by a man Manning says he later prayed with in a prison ministry (and who has supposedly since died of AIDS related infections). A preview of the DVD is available, while a “free” copy can be obtained for a $30 donation.
Matthew C. Manning and Exodus President Alan Chambers in 2007
Manning has also appeared on numerous Christian broadcasts, including at least five episodes of The Joni Show, at various times alongside Exodus President Alan Chambers, former ex-gay spokesman John Paulk, and Focus on the Family ex-gay speaker Mike Haley. More than any other factor, however, an early CBN 700 Club broadcast (video) featuring Manning’s story seems to have made him known to a larger audience. Nearly every person with whom we talked acknowledged that they discovered Manning from that single show. It was originally broadcast on June 25, 2002, and then offered by CBN for a donation of $20.
We made a dedicated search to confirm the key elements of Manning’s story. To date we have found nothing that would accomplish this. Certainly Manning must realize that incredible claims of this type require equally incredible proof — nothing short of a complete and open medical study would seem warranted. We are open to any new facts or leads, and even sent an email to manning days before this post to ask if he had anything to add to the discussion. He has not replied but we have other requests outstanding.
During our search, we did find some public documents concerning Manning, and we spoke with some people who have had contact with him. The picture that has emerged from these findings convinced us that reporting to our readers was the only responsible action left. This decision came after much counsel and reflection, and we believe everything that follows is well supported by the public record.
Charges in 1998
On February 24, 1998, charges were filed with the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles at the San Fernando Courthouse, accusing Manning of one count of violating CA Penal Code 647(a),
Who solicits anyone to engage in or who engages in lewd or dissolute conduct in any public place or in any place open to the public or exposed to public view.
and one count of violating CA Penal Code 602(P).
Entering upon any lands declared closed to entry as provided in Section 4256 of the Public Resources Code, if the closed areas shall have been posted with notices declaring the closure, at intervals not greater than one mile along the exterior boundaries or along roads and trails passing through the lands.
We will learn from the summary of a future jury trial (next) that there was an incident in 1998 involving Manning and an officer Martinez at Hansen Dam. Keeping in mind the second count, it may be worth noting that Hansen Dam has a public park and a series of walking trails. These charges are listed as being “dismissed or not prosecuted.”
Charges in 2000
On August 30, 2000, a complaint was filed with the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, accusing Manning of one count of violating CA Penal Code 647(a).
Who solicits anyone to engage in or who engages in lewd or dissolute conduct in any public place or in any place open to the public or exposed to public view.
An arrest warrant on that charge was issued a day later through the North Hollywood area LAPD. It isn’t clear what happened in between, but on March 9, 2001, private attorney Jeffrey Cohen pleaded “not guilty” on Manning’s behalf as he was not present. The record notes that a bench warrant was recalled at that time, but we do not know why it was issued, or if it was the original warrant. The record is abbreviated, not a full transcript. Also unknown at this time is why the incident for which Manning is charged is listed as occurring almost three months prior (June 6, 2000).
Manning chose trial by jury and eventually spent about a week in those proceedings. During that time there were references to a prior incident in 1998 with an officer Martinez at Hansen Dam (discussed above). It is important to note that Manning’s counsel apparently wanted to entertain testimony from a defense witness, Jhayne Eddy, to discredit Martinez. The judge found this line of testimony essentially without merit, but also forbid the people from cross examining on the earlier incident. Jhayne Eddy appears to be another attorney in that area and we can speculate that he was the attorney representing Manning in the 1998 incident, though we don’t yet have those records to be sure.
The trial was short but lively, with the people at one point asking the judge to rule on possible charges of jury tampering by Manning, both inside and outside the courtroom. We don’t have an account of what was said or done to prompt this, but the judge decided that the jury had not been tainted and carried on with the trial. In the end, the jury acquitted Manning on the single count of the indictment, and that was that.
Charges in 2005
On September 2, 2005, a complaint was filed with the Superior Court of California, County of Sonoma, accusing Manning of one count of violating CA Penal Code 243.4(e)(1).
Any person who touches an intimate part of another person, if the touching is against the will of the person touched, and is for the specific purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification, or sexual abuse, is guilty of misdemeanor sexual battery, punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
The complainant is listed as “John Doe” but we have since determined his identity. He was approx 22 years old at the time, and still lives in the area. We have contacted him and may provide his personal account at a later date if he allows it. He appears understandably reticent concerning such a personal matter. We should note that he identifies as straight.
No jury trial this time. On November 30, 2005, again represented by Jeffrey Cohen, Manning pleaded “No Contest” to a single count of violating CA Penal Code 647(a), a lesser count and the same he was charged with in 2000. He also escaped a listing on the sexual offender registry. The record does not specify whether or not adjudication was withheld, but such plea agreements are not uncommon for this type of offense because the victim is often reluctant to make the issue public. We understand that, in California, if one adheres to the conditions of such an agreement, adjudication is often withheld. However, it is not clear if that is the case with this type of crime.
Some of the other stipulations, one in particular, may provide a clue as to the nature of the incident. Manning was ordered to stay away from the victim for one year, but he was also ordered to stay away from one of the the 24 Hour Fitness locations in Santa Rosa for the same length of time. It seems reasonable to conclude that the “lewd act” occurred there, though we can’t yet state this as fact.
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More information from our research will be presented in a separate post in the next couple of days. Until then, we would like to assure anyone who might have had their own experience with Manning that they may contact us safe in the knowledge that their confidentiality will be respected. You may contact this writer at david@exgaywatch.com with any pertinent information.
Supporting Documents
funny, i am an out gay man, and I’ve never been arrested and charged with those kinds of offenses. Or any other kind, for those of you who are interested, tohugh I have gotten aobut five moving violations in 40 years of driving.
In Manning’s defense, it appears that charges were upheld in only one. Still, one must note that someone– the RC’s? –say that you must avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
I’d be very curious to be a fly on the wall of Manning’s mind.
Hmmmm. So Manning is delivered from homosexuality. Yet it seems that at least one gym member needed to be delivered from Manning.
It’s not just rhetoric on tv shows, this guys is actually tearing families apart.
https://momforeverhoping.blogspot.com/
Ever more proof that it’s for the most part the “straight” closet cases that troll parks for “lewd behavior,” and not the out and sexually honest queers.
Exactly right, Emily. How often do we hear about out, happily partnered gay people getting arrested for public sex?
If he has a miracle cure for HIV he needs to share it with the rest of the world. Why hasn’t his miracle cure been written up in Science Journals? Who do we need to contact from the medical community to varify his claims?
My personal opinion on this is that he, and the rest of the ex-gay ministries like his, are living in a pseudo-reality. My knowledge of these type of individuals is that they feel they have a free licence to boldly lie as they believe they can do so for the greater cause. Their cause is to convert LGBT people to justify their own convictions by any means possible – falsifying information included. In my opinion, they are not “living in Christ” but rather living in a fantasy world where God’s love is conditional. They have a free licence to sin, lie, cheat on their spouses (either by actually having physical contact with another man or just fantasizing about one), and no matter what they do they are ammuned to sin because they are “washed in the blood of the lamb.” A perverse form of religion in my opinion.
Thanks for the work you do in continuing to shed light on these people who do so much harm on the psyche of people who are struggling to accept their sexuality.
Alan Chambers affirms the validity of Matthew Manning’s story in the YouTube clip. Has he made any public or other statement re: Manning’s legal record or accusations of impropriety?
The stories of Zechariah and Joshua – along with their mother’s corresponding blog pleading for justice and truth – are chilling. I have known people who believed for years that they were sexually abused – after having suppressed ‘memories’ come to light through manipulative counsel – whose families were torn apart by accusations. In time, they came to see that they were abused – not by parents but by a counselor. I can’t know what the truth is for Zechariah and Joshua – but I am deeply suspicious based on the legal record presented here. Adopting adults as a way of ‘rescuing’ them from an abusive family sounds bizarre – and in my opinion is in itself a violation of professional ministry boundaries.
Is LHWE an affiliate of Exodus?
I’m an out & proud gay man and I don’t get as much action as he does!!
I am thankful that Matthew Manning is being brought into the light. He is a fraud! The stories of Zechariah and Joshua are completely unbelievable. How can one be abused by all family members and friends? Why would these adult men be adopted by Manning? Is aother part of Mannings control? My heart goes out to the real families of Zechariah and Joshua.
Oh boy, HIM…. we started several years ago on HIM, and guess what???
Nada. That’s a clue. A good, solid clue. Youse all know what we’re like 🙂
Personally we find nothing at all believable about the story he is hawking for money about the traps. Every one of his ‘moments’ curiously aligns to the ‘Come To Jesus’ sermon he is actually spruiking. That, and the fact he defies all medical knowledge. I grew up next to a loony type of pentecostal who claimed to have seen someone grow their leg back. At His Command. The evidence for that event is also best described as ‘scant.’
You’re dealing with a mind-set here, a type of person — not with reality.
But… if anyone is willing to waste their time asking Matthew Manning for ‘documents’ or ‘evidence’ you can have this brief list:
1) If true, there would be many documents and reports etc within the Coast Guard system (including many medical reports). None have been sighted by any independent expert. The DGMC has a very high reputation — they don’t lose paperwork of that nature.
2) If true, please find “Kyle”. A serial murderer of gay men in San Francisco who died in late 1993, in San Quentin. Apparently.
3) pester the ‘Letterman Army Hospital’ and ask for ‘Dr Samuelson’. You’ll trip over an ‘convenient’ fact.
4) while you’re at it… find out who ‘Dr Michael Thompson’ is, and who he associates with. Of course, first find out how he’s messed up with all this.
5) There is not a single medical case of someone going from a T-cell count of 20 to “over the 1200 mark” … overnight. If such a case had occurred in January 1994 the staff at DGMC would have clawed one another to death to be the first to announce it to the World. Oddly, they were, and remain, silent. Find out why. (hint: you won’t, because they will not have any clue who or what you are talking about).
You want more, you can ask, we’ll dig it out — but we personally have come to think Matthew C. Manning can be described in one word. It starts with “D”. It ends with “head”.
And, actually, having now read his disturbed interjection into the middle of seemingly average families… we think starting his name with other words beginning with “F” and ending with “…ing menace” would too kind. The man is a grubby bloated maggot.
ps Hi to everyone. Been awhile. Work. Holidays. Birthday. Dead PC. Time flies 🙂
Sorry…
DGMC = David Grant Medical Center.
Munchausen’s!
Just to be clear, there are no recent incidents in this “new report,” is that correct? The most recent incident was in 2005? I’m asking because the Examiner.com website is citing your “new report” as if the subject of the report had just been charged, and that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Mark, the records we have obtained show the last incident was the one in 2005. We reported this as his “troubling legal record” and not a “new report.” It could certainly be considered new to the overall discussion about Manning, but not something that just happened.
Does anyone else smell a skunk here? Adopting two boys – one comes to him for “biblical counseling” while trying to get away from an abusive family and the younger brother follows? Geez, this is really sick. What I’d like to know is how many teenage boys has Manning counseled – especially teens who identify as gay, bisexual, or transgender and who were struggling. This is sick, sick, sick. I’ll echo many of the comments already posted – how many healthy partnered gay men are charged with lewd and lacivious behavior? None that I know of. So much for “ex-gay” ministries – Ted Haggard can attest to that!
My nephew is one of Manning’s “adopted” sons. Any and all efforts by family or friends to see or talk to him, even email him are met with threats of restraining orders and accusations of physical and sexual abuse. There is nothing pastoral about Manning other then the sermons he posts on his website. This family will probably never get over the pain his evil ministry has caused but maybe some other family will be spared.
The Manning story raises interesting questions.
1. Was a rape kit done on Manning after his assault by “the serial killer?”
2. Since Manning was one of the only living witnesses who saw “the serial killer’s” face, did he testify at the man’s trial?
3. If Manning did not testify at “the serial killer’s” trial, why would one his surviving victims who lived in the area not testify?
4. When was “the serial killer’s” trial?
Manning’s story, as told by The 700 Club, seems too full of coincidences and improbabilities to be true. It sounds more like a tale manufactured to impress a charismatic audience preconditioned to believe without any evidence.
The 700 Club did a masterful job of slanting the story, for example, by having a guy dressed like a doctor examine papers alleged to be Manning’s medical records.
As a Christian I don’t dispute that God can and does work in miraculous ways but in Manning’s situation, his repeated arrests over the years belie his claim to be delivered from homosexuality.
One can’t help but wonder how many homosexual contacts he has had where he didn’t get arrested.
Finally, can anyone point me to a list somewhere, of ExGays who make a living claiming to be delivered from homosexuality, who’ve been arrested for solicitation or have been caught frequenting gay bars?
Rick, I don’t know of such a list. The nearest thing to it that I can think of is Mark E. Pietrzyk’s “The Ex Files: Not Your Usual Gays” on Independent Gay Forum. I’m quite hopeless at inserting links – whenever I try to do it, my posting either gets rejected or comes up without the link – but if you Google the phrase “Not your Usual Gays” you’ll find it without difficulty.
can anyone point me to a list somewhere, of ExGays who make a living claiming to be delivered from homosexuality?
Hi Rick — you can start here at ExGayWatch. That’s why we’re here.
Other than that — if you want a “list” you can simply go to the Exodus International website. And download anything.
You can start with Alan, the CEO, and trawl downwards. Basically they all make a living out of it — and in Alan’s case a very generous one that he otherwise would be probably incapable of achieving, as far as education/experience or skills are concerned. Alan Chambers is, flatly, uneducated. Yet, he says he claims to be an ‘expert’ about the most complex of human traits. Alan pulls in $95K+ per year, which is not bad for someone who is qualified to scrub floors as far as sexuality is concerned.
(Then again, Jessica Simpson makes money out of her ‘singing’; so things are plainly not based of justice.)
After you have found what any of them currently claim, shove their name into any search engine and you’ll soon find a history that contradicts what they are saying today. All of them. Each and every one of them. Look closely, and they all eventually contradict themselves. And not in a good way.
If you need more, ask (email the editor). David loves directing questions like this to us, and only slightly less than we enjoy getting them.
As for the direct questions 1 to 4: they all rely on one assumption, and that assumption appears to be unwarranted. So, the answer is basically no to all of them.
(And good luck finding out who “Kyle: is!)
As a word of warning, as you’ll also soon find when dealing with professional ex-gays — the word “Christian” is a way of appealing for funds, and not an indication of honesty.
You and I know they’ll burn in hell for that, but they appear to be less concerned 😐
cheers, G&D
As a person living with AIDS, I find his claim to have been “cured” to be insulting and disturbing. Watching Alan try to go along with it on the air, though, was almost worth price of admission. He was saying one thing, but his face was turning white.
Great work David! I look forward to hearing more.
I’d love to see investigation into his HIV claim – particularly whether he actually had HIV. Did he give any blood donation or such during that time?
@Steven – I re-watched Alan’s reaction. I didn’t pick up any embarrassment.
@ William and grantdale – Thanks guys! I’m compiling a list of exgays who, while claiming to be “cured” or “healed” and leading exgay ministries, slipped back into homosexuality.
I think it is important to highlight the fact that even the MOST motivated people who have the most to lose if their “orientation change” didn’t really take, still seem incapable of genuine orientation change.
Manning’s arrests occurred AFTER he was heterosexually married and the biological father of several children.
Its curious because drug addicts who get saved and drunks who get saved, often DO get delivered from their addictions and do not re-offend.
But for reasons which ExGay ministries can’t explain in a reasonable manner, homosexuals, especially those leading ExGay ministries, often drift back into that from which they profess to have been delivered.
The one explanation which makes sense, that sexual orientation is essentially unchangeable, is the one explanation which they can never embrace because it would destroy their “ministry” and their livelihood.
If you have a Link to a story about an exgay leader who claimed to be healed of homosexuality but was caught like Manning, thanks for sending me the Link through my website.
@ Steve: I would love with all my heart to believe that Alan Chambers or anyone else involved in helping Matthew Manning promote himself has at least the decency to be embarrassed.
I have other things to say, but those have been said for me.
Jayelle, maybe I’m reading what I see into Alan’s face. But surely he knows this clown was not cured of AIDS. That’s the problem with being in the spotlight on a show where “God can do anything.”
Any outlandish claim is like any other and they have to go along. But I could be wrong. Maybe Alan is this cynical.
The thing that struck me the most was when I stepped back and calculated his age of “conversion”. He said he was 19 y/o at the time and had been “gay” for 7 yrs., i.e., since 12. I’m not a child developmental psychologist, but from what I remember of my college studies and reading current articles this is a period of experimentation for almost all young people. Maybe not all kids go thru testing SSA but those who do generally settle on gay or straight at about 19 anyway. …And this garbage about having been cured of AIDS — a unique, one-of-a-kind “miracle” that has absolutely no substantiation. Any medical practitioner or even “faith healer” who had any knowledge about this “cure” would be breaking down doors to appear on every talk show in the universe.
he was delivered from homosexuality…what is he a pizza?
AsChristopher hitchens recently said, what is presented without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
It is a sad day when our culture is so hell bent on destroying others. Matthew Manning, and other pastors, do not deserve to be ridiculed and destroyed on the internet. I would put money on the fact that no one on this website knows him personally or has ever tried. That being said, stay out of something that has nothing to do with you. Believe whatever you want, but judgement day is coming and each one of us will have to pay the consequences for our actions. The way that we judge is the way that we will be judged. I’d hate to be labeled something that I’m not just because I did that to someone else.
Jesus is real, His healing power is real, and Jesus can and does lead people out of destructive lifestyles.
Christian-
It seems clear that you prefer to ignore Manning’s repeated, sex-related arrests in gay cruising areas. And while castigating those who’ve posted here as “being hell bent on destroying others,” you warn us “to stay out of something that has nothing to do with you.”
Since folks like Manning insist gays need to change from homosexual to heterosexual, its odd that you prefer to ignore evidence that Manning has not, in fact, changed.
I cannot speak for the other posters but I am a washed in the blood of the Lamb, born again, Spirit-filled, Bible believing Christian.
I have no wish to see Manning destroyed but I do wish he would stop promoting his fake change ministry when he himself has not changed.
Christian: think before you write.
“It is a sad day when our culture is so hell bent on destroying others.” As so-called Christians have been doing to gay people for centuries, all in the name of saving us from what…ourselves? They love us so much, they’ll tell any lie, no matter how vicious, to make sure our lives are as difficult and unpleasant as possible.
“I would put money on the fact that no one on this website knows him personally or has ever tried.” But we do know he has been arrrested several times for soliciting. I don’t know one out gay man who has EVER been arrested for that.
“judgement day is coming and each one of us will have to pay the consequences for our actions. ” I doubt it, since this has been promiosed for 2000 years, but who’s counting? On the other hand, we can only hope so. I would love to see the look on Jerry Falwells face when JC tells him about judging not, looking not for the speck, doing as you would be done by, and so forth. that alone ought to be worth going to hell for.
“Jesus can and does lead people out of destructive lifestyles.” My “lifestyle” is not destructive, unless you count being exposed to the love of these so-called Chrsitians whose major goal in life is to inform me of what is wrong with my life without bothering to fix their own first. There are plenty of Christians on this very site who will inform you of the same. And obviously, Jesus has failed to lead Manning out of his destructive lifestyle– as he failed to lead Ted Haggard, Paul Barnes, Lonnie Latham, a good portion of the catholic clergy, and a host of other so-called christians who seem to get themselves arrested all of the time. You might check out joemygod.com on mondays for a weekly roundup of the whos’s who on the police blotters.
Unless, of course, unless lying,deceiving others, theft, child molestation, rape, and getting arrested repeatedly for solicitation is the new definition of healthy.
Manning appears to be bent on threatening the life and health of those whom he encounters during his cruising.
Does anyone seriously believe that this conservative evangelical carries condoms with him — and uses them every time?
When he’s not cruising — when he’s cashing in on the Christian speaker circuit — Manning sends the false message to closeted gay people and would-be ex-gays that you can behave unsafely and then pray the AIDS away.
To Christian who wrote:
“It is a sad day when our culture is so hell bent on destroying others.”
“I would put money on the fact that no one on this website knows him personally or has ever tried.”
Unfortunately I do know Manning personally.
I have had many sad days as a result of the lives he has destroyed.
My husband and I have spent many hours driving up to Santa Rosa’s court house to fight restraining orders he has encouraged my 2 sons, who now go by the names of Zechariah and Joshua, to take out on us.
The hideous stories of family abuse and the adoption of young male adults only show his need to control.
Why would a minister adopt adults?
How do you convince 2 loving young men to hate their parents?
His ministry is sick and twisted.
There is nothing honest or true about him.
Ex -homosexual, healed of aids? I think not.
He can spew bible passage after bible passage, but he is no christian.
Shame on Randy Thomas and Alan Chambers for not condemning this man and warning the public to stay away from him.
Christian/(Manning follower/Manning himself),
Nobody is hell bent on destroying you. There is very little moral judgment being passed in this article. All this blog has done is matter-of-factly shine the light on the truth to the claims you have made. You claim to be healed of homosexuality, yet you grope men in the hot tubs at fitness clubs. You claim to be healed of HIV, yet you provide zero evidence for this. You claim to advocate Christian virtues, yet you refuse your followers to contact their families for years at a time.
There is a vast difference between a personal attack, and exposing a hypocrite with truth and reason and evidence. Anyone can quote bible gibberish all they want, but a real Christian would be morally and intellectually honest enough to see that Manning is a fraud and a liar and a spewer of hate.
Mike,
Randy was asked about this.
This was his response:
“my Post-gay paradigm workshop”
sigh.
Please read my blog.
This will help you understand what Matthew C Manning is really about.
There are many details I haven’t felt comfortable writing about just yet, but there will be a time.
Matthew C Manning is evil in the guise of Christianty.
LOL, a free copy for $30, kind of sums it all up: another rackateer pastor, fraud and pick-pocket, exploiting people’s credulity to feather his nest.
That timeless citation from Thomas Paine’s Age of Reason springs to mind once more: “Is it more probable that nature should go out of her course or that a man should tell a lie? We have never seen, in our time, nature go out of her course. But we have good reason to believe that millions of lies have been told in the same time. It is therefore at least millions to one that the reporter of a miracle tells a lie.”
If you’re going to do a serious investigation into Manning’s extraordinary claims, you might as well investigate witches and tooth fairies too.
Emily, I was aware of what Randy said: They have already had years to talk with him privately. He and Exodus refuse to criticize him — period — and they refuse to warn parents and prospective ex-gays about a dangerous predator.
They pretend they don’t “need” to since they’re “not affiliated.” As if that’s an excuse.
They also want to “change” us and make our lives as difficult and unpleasant as possible becasue they “love” us so much…
….as if THAT’s an excuse.
I heard an ex-gay speaker once claim that he was also healed from being HIV+, although he hinted at it rather than stating it outright. He was talking at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary at the invitation of Dr Robert Gagnon. I think he was a “counselor” in Indiana.
Being undetectable and being cured are two very different things. These people need to know that.
It’d be nice if one day there is a reality show on ex-gay ministries. They could title it: Prophets of False Hope – The Ex-Gay Ministries Reality TV.
I think the only reason they don’t have one is because it would be too offensive for even the most hard-core anti-gay, homophobic bigot. And even if it wasn’t offensive to that type of person, they’d have a heck of a time trying to explain all the dodo that goes on in and around these ex-gay ministries.