Exodus International Leaders Says Gay People Will Be in Heaven

July 10, 2012 By

by Nathan A. Cherry, 07/10/2012

The head of Exodus International, Alan Chambers, is under fire for stating that he believes active homosexuals can go to Heaven. As a result, some are calling for his removal as the organizations president. The debate over homosexuality has many sides, and  many faces. But one irrefutable biblical truth is that no one living in unrepentant sin can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, if homosexuality is sin – and clearly according to the Bible it is sin – there is no way for an unrepentant homosexual to be saved and go to Heaven. No one disputes that those struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions can be saved and go to Heaven, and no one would doubt that a homosexual refusing to act on his sinful inclinations but rather choosing to deny the flesh and refuse to indulge in homosexuality in obedience to Scripture can be saved and go to Heaven. But the idea that a proud, unrepentant homosexual, living an openly gay life can be saved and then without repenting and turning from homosexuality can go to Heaven is unbiblical and wrong. Click here to read the original article.

About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Filed Under: Marriage Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Do People With Unwanted Same-Sex Attractions Deserve Help?

March 12, 2012 By

by Nathan A. Cherry, 03/12/2012

road signThe push to normalize homosexual behavior and affirm it in our society is a cultural debate that will rage for years to come. For many the debate has been over before it begun thanks to deeply held religious beliefs. For others there is a moral opposition that doesn’t stem from any particular religious affiliation, they simply don’t believe homosexuality is right. But what about those with unwanted same-sex attractions?

I believe our society, media, movies, liberal politicians with an agenda, are serving to muddy the waters on this issue and causing greater confusion. As gender lines continue to be blurred the casualty of this social war is a large number of people with same-sex attractions that are simply confused and want to be rid of these uninvited feelings.

And while agenda-driven politicians and liberal pundits push sheep-in-wolf’s clothing solutions like explicit sex-education beginning in elementary schools. The effectiveness of comprehensive sex-education is questionable, and perhaps contributes more to the problem than the solution.

With the elimination of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” the way has been paved for liberal, sexually depraved groups to prey on our young soldiers. As if the duty of serving their country wasn’t emotionally taxing enough (think PTSD), now our service men and women must defend themselves from internal attacks by gay-rights groups. I can think of nothing more damaging that causing sexual distractions for our soldiers as homosexual advocates and their organizations seek to further undermine marriage in our military.

All that aside for a moment I want to get back to those dealing with unwanted same-sex attractions. If I were to imagine one group that would enthusiastically advocate for tolerance and understanding for those dealing with unwanted same-sex attractions it would be homosexual groups. Homosexual groups have long claimed discrimination, bias, and hate from those that do not accept their place in life. So it stands to reason that this group would eagerly support tolerance and compassion for anyone dealing with unwanted same-sex attractions.

[Read more...]

About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Filed Under: Marriage Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Study Homosexual Activists Don’t Want You To See

October 7, 2011 By

New study concludes it is possible to walk away from homosexuality.
by Nathan A. Cherry, 10/07/2011

Martinsburg, WV – By now you’ve heard someone argue in favor – and against – the idea that a homosexual person can change their sexual orientation (through reparative therapy and other methods) and walk away from the homosexual lifestyle. It’s a contentious debate for sure. Opponents of reparative therapy argue that the method is inherently harmful to patients and overall ineffective. Proponents of reparative therapy and groups like Exodus International need only share their own stories or point to the countless numbers of individuals helped through their efforts.

But the debate continues.

A newly published study in one of the most respected peer-reviewed medical journals seeks to further strengthen the case for reparative therapy. Though media and news coverage of the story has been minimal at best, several outlets are covering the groundbreaking study. One article says:

“Psychologists Stanton L. Jones (Wheaton College, IL) and Mark A. Yarhouse (Regent University) have just published in the respected, peer-reviewed Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy the final results of their longitudinal study of individuals seeking sexual orientation change through involvement in a variety of Christian ministries affiliated with Exodus International. The results show change to be possible for some, and the attempt not harmful on average. These results stand in tension with the supposed professional consensus; more information is available at www.exgaystudy.org.” Click here to hear an audio clip from Citizenlink on the study.

Many homosexual advocacy groups and, as of late the American Psychological Association, maintain that reparative therapy is harmful and ineffective and should be avoided. Some have even called for it to be outlawed. These groups contend that it is impossible for a homosexual to be anything else and that those claiming to be “ex-gay” are living a lie. Such claims are not only patently false, they are biased and discriminatory. The fact is, homosexual advocates don’t want to believe it is possible to be “ex-gay” because it would undermine their efforts to legitimize homosexuality in American society; as well as efforts to redefine marriage.

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About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Filed Under: Marriage Tagged With: , , , , ,

One Man’s Perspective: A Recap of the Exodus Equipping Event

May 13, 2011 By

by Nathan A. Cherry, 05/13/2011

Martinsburg, WV – I, like many in the room was  moved by the authentic love for people exhibited by the Exodus International speakers that had come for the equipping event in Morgantown, WV. This organization has been much maligned in the media for their efforts to reach out to people struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions. They have been called intolerant, bigoted and a hate group. Yet anyone sitting in the packed room on this Tuesday in May knows that nothing could be farther from the truth.

The truth, in fact, is that this group has been unfairly slandered and labeled by a biased media propaganda machine that seeks to advance a radical homosexual agenda. Anyone that spends even a few minutes with the people of Exodus International will sense a passion for helping people and a love for those that are hurting. These are not people filled with hate. These are people filled with compassion for those struggling with the same unwanted same-sex attractions they once struggled with.

One very important key to understanding this ministry is found in the key word “unwanted.” Exodus International does not believe it is possible to help someone that does not want help. They are not out rounding up people that are perfectly happy living their gay life. Rather they are standing ready to help those that come to them wanting to be rid of their “unwanted same-sex attractions.”

This is perhaps the most important aspect to Exodus International and its most often overlooked and ignored by the media, liberals, and pro-gay blogs. The people coming to Exodus International are miserable, unhappy, and seeking to be rid of the same-sex attractions they are experiencing. To deny them help is the same as denying a drug addict or alcoholic seeking help.

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About Nathan Cherry

Nathan Cherry is the chief editor and blogger for the Engage Family Minute blog, the official blog of the FPCWV. He serves also as the Regional Development Coordinator as a liaison to the pastor's of West Virginia. He is a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-religious freedom conservative. He is also a husband, father, pastor, author, musician, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Filed Under: Marriage Tagged With: , , , , , ,

One-Day Seminar: Homosexuality and the Church – REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

April 26, 2011 By

With over 30 years of experience in providing ministry support for those dealing with unwanted homosexuality, Exodus International will be sharing what we’ve learned and experienced with Leaders within the Body of Christ at a special Youth and Student-Focused Equipping Event at CMA Church in Morgantown, WV.

For many years now, Ministry Leaders have approached us desiring more information and education on how to effectively address this hot topic within our culture and minister to students struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions. We’re now excited to be offering this unique one-day training event in your area.

This event is open to all Pastors, Ministry Leaders, Lay Leaders, Small Group Leaders, Student Leaders, Seminary Students, Educators, and Counselors.

The cost is only $20 in advance and $25 at the door! (Registration includes lunch)

Reserve a spot for you and your team today by clicking here!

About Jeremy Dys

Jeremy Dys is the FPCWV's President and General Counsel. In addition to his duties of providing strategic vision and leadership to the FPCWV, Dys is the chief lobbyist and spokesman. Dys is regularly featured in local, state, and national print, radio, and television outlets. He lives close to Charleston with his wife and growing family.

Filed Under: Marriage, Religious Freedom Tagged With: , ,

Inequity in the App Store. Whatever.

March 23, 2011 By

For those of you with a love affair with Apple, have you been following the developments with the app-store and “offensive” apps being deleted?

As a matter of full disclosure, I love Mac.  I personally own a Mac Mini and just bought an iPad 2.  For work, I could not survive without my iPhone and MacBook Pro.  They are great, intuitive machines with not a little bit of the “cool” factor.  More importantly for this small business: these machines work.  As I heard an IT director say while waiting in line to buy the new iPad, “I spend all day fixing PC’s at work.  When I get home, I just want a computer that works.”

Still, my favor for Mac is frustrated by their willingness to be bullied – for that is precisely what it is – by activists that oppose a single word of disagreement from their ideology.

It started with the ousting of an app for the Manhattan Declaration last December.  Activists hated that a very broad majority of the religious community the world over dared to hold to the Orthodox belief that marriage is, and ought to remain, between one man and one woman.

Now, as of yesterday, it is an app for Exodus International.  Not an organization that has managed to steer clear of controversy, Exodus International exists to mobilize, “the body of Christ to minister grace and truth to a world impacted by homosexuality.”

Of course, that “sinister” mission is opposed by several who hold to a worldview strongly oppositional to that idea.  Hence, when Exodus International released their iPhone app on March 8, activists quickly launched a campaign to petition Apple to remove it.  According to one report:

The petition on the website change.org said the Christian group was using “scare tactics, misinformation, stereotypes and distortions” of gay life, and promoting “the use of so-called ‘reparative therapy’ to ‘change’ the sexual orientation of their clients, despite the fact that this form of ‘therapy’ has been rejected by every major professional medical organisation”.

via Apple under fire for ‘gay conversion’ app – Telegraph.

It’s not worth discussing the merits of the change.org petition.  Apple has made their decision to remove the app (at least for the time being – other apps have been removed and shown up again) and shown themselves more than willing to be intimidated by screaming activists.  It’s their company and they have a right to do as they please.  I get that and, while I’m disappointed in their decision – severely disappointed – they have that right.  (And before you demand I return my iPad, iPhone, or MacBook Pro, show me another computer company that is any better.)

Instead, I was curious if the standard Apple has laid down applies both ways.  So, I did a quick search.  The picture below paint a telling story.

[Read more...]

About Jeremy Dys

Jeremy Dys is the FPCWV's President and General Counsel. In addition to his duties of providing strategic vision and leadership to the FPCWV, Dys is the chief lobbyist and spokesman. Dys is regularly featured in local, state, and national print, radio, and television outlets. He lives close to Charleston with his wife and growing family.

Filed Under: Marriage, Religious Freedom Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Engaging Essentials

October 11, 2010 By

September Suicides – Exodus International offers a roundup of some responses and statements around the blogosphere in reaction to the loss of life at their own hands by two individuals in September.  Both claimed to have lived in a homosexual lifestyle and both were the subject of a seeming total lack of compassion by their friends and neighbors.  Now what?  Exodus considers that question too.

Gustavus Maximus – Jordan Lorence, in typically pithy fashion, highlights what a great deal parents seem to be getting in funding higher education these days.  Favorite line, “Gustavus Adolphus College is a private school, so under our Constitution it is free to teach whatever error and depravity that people are willing to pay to receive.”

WV Supports I and R – WV Watchdog highlights an interesting new study showing that a near supermajority of West Virginians favor a more open, direct democracy over the current system.  We wonder how our work at www.WV4Marriage.com has affected the attitudes and actions of our fellow statesmen.  For our part, we are big fans of the initiative and referendum idea.

Should Christians Legislate Morality – Dr. Wayne Grduem continues his conversation about why he wrote his book, Politics According to the Bible, and what his goals were in the writing of it.  Follow the suggested videos for more with Dr. Grudem:

About Jeremy Dys

Jeremy Dys is the FPCWV's President and General Counsel. In addition to his duties of providing strategic vision and leadership to the FPCWV, Dys is the chief lobbyist and spokesman. Dys is regularly featured in local, state, and national print, radio, and television outlets. He lives close to Charleston with his wife and growing family.

Filed Under: Engaging Essentials, Marriage, Religious Freedom Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Engaging Essentials

September 30, 2010 By

Less than 2% of Britain – That’s how many folks self-identify as either homosexual or bisexual.  Quite a fair bit less than the usually touted 5% to 7%.

Pro-Life Apologetic – Do you sometimes feel like you have no idea how to debate the issue of abortion?  Try this flow chart on for size.

Divorce: An Evangelical Scandel – Al Mohler has some harsh words for the church regarding the issue of divorce.  Snip:

Evangelical Christians are gravely concerned about the family, and this is good and necessary. But our credibility on the issue of marriage is significantly discounted by our acceptance of divorce. To our shame, the culture war is not the only place that an honest confrontation with the divorce culture is missing.

Divorce is now the scandal of the evangelical conscience.

Judge Walker Retiring – The judge who overturned 7 million voters who voted for Proposition 8 has announced his intention to retire.  Convenient timing, don’t you think?

Pulpit Freedom Sunday – This past Sunday was the day.  Our friend Erik Stanley gives a brief report on how it went.

About Jeremy Dys

Jeremy Dys is the FPCWV's President and General Counsel. In addition to his duties of providing strategic vision and leadership to the FPCWV, Dys is the chief lobbyist and spokesman. Dys is regularly featured in local, state, and national print, radio, and television outlets. He lives close to Charleston with his wife and growing family.

Filed Under: Engaging Essentials, Life, Marriage, Religious Freedom Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Engaging Essentials

August 26, 2010 By

Colson on Summer for Marriage Tour – Chuck Colson reflects on the recent summer for marriage tour sponsored by the National Organization for Marriage.

GOP Not Always Right – Stories like these confirm why we are a nonpartisan policy and advocacy organization.  We have friends and detractors in both major political parties and continue to press both parties to demonstrate their commitment to the truly conservative values of life, marriage, and religious liberty.

Is Your Doc an Athiest? – Might be worth asking.  Your life may depend on it.

Homosexual Eugenics – It’s easy to claim there is no ‘gay gene,’ but that hardly ends the debate.  As Exodus International points out, whether homosexual behavior is a genetically driven orientation is an irrelevant question.  I urge you to inform yourself on this critically important point.

APA Considers Sex Orientation Change – An important update from Family News in Focus.

Bonus Video – Kristin Tremba’s powerful testimony on the impossibility of squaring homosexual behavior with conformity to Christ:

Living Water: Labels from The Well on Vimeo.

About Jeremy Dys

Jeremy Dys is the FPCWV's President and General Counsel. In addition to his duties of providing strategic vision and leadership to the FPCWV, Dys is the chief lobbyist and spokesman. Dys is regularly featured in local, state, and national print, radio, and television outlets. He lives close to Charleston with his wife and growing family.

Filed Under: Engaging Essentials, Life, Marriage, Religious Freedom Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Engaging Essentials

August 4, 2010 By

Prop. 8 Decision Today – The judge who presided over whether Proposition 8 was a constitutional effort to define marriage as one man and one woman will release his opinion later this afternoon.  Marriage advocates (and democracy itself) holds their breath.

Disenfranchising – Randy Thomas highlights the newest tactics being used by the progressive, liberal movement in and outside of academia to intimidate those counselors who profess a Biblical worldview.

Erasing the Gettysburg Address – Travis Barham of the Alliance Defense Fund highlights efforts to footnote the constitution and censor “under God” from reprints of the Gettysburg Address.

Abortion Funding Leaks in Obamacare – Congressman Doug Lamborn of Colorado writes at The Foundry of the various holes within recent health insurance reform that allows the government to increase funding for abortion on demand.

Basil for Governor? – File this under (1) what not to wear on national tv, (2) the case for basic media training, (3) what gives democracy a black eye, and (4) how not to make a campaign video.

About Jeremy Dys

Jeremy Dys is the FPCWV's President and General Counsel. In addition to his duties of providing strategic vision and leadership to the FPCWV, Dys is the chief lobbyist and spokesman. Dys is regularly featured in local, state, and national print, radio, and television outlets. He lives close to Charleston with his wife and growing family.

Filed Under: Life, Marriage, Religious Freedom Tagged With: , , , , ,
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