Images of the gay lifestyle portrayed in the media (for example the Gay Mardi Gras) are of fun, freedom, parties and happiness. But there is deep pain that often goes with the gay lifestyle. Pain which is not often discussed, but is well documented.

(http://craigjosling.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/pain-of-being-gay.html)

Sadly, many people come enter the gay lifestyle under the false impression that they have no other choice and that because they feel a certain way they must therefore act on it.  However, as Christian scholar Dr. Ravi Zacharias pointed out articulately, this need not be so

* (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CIw6ngIqaD0).

Sadly, when people are mislead by lies- even if they are mislead with the best of intentions and the greatest of ignorance- the consequences are massive, and sadly it does affect others.  This has been noted recently in discussions surrounding the adoption of children by gay couples:

Perhaps, like me, you’ve heard the argument that same-sex couples ought to be allowed to adopt children since there is a need. No child, it is argued, ought to be denied the right to loving parents. Implicit in this is the assumption that, somehow, there is a lack of loving heterosexual adoptive parents. Given the lack, why should we not allow homosexuals to adopt?

(http://davidould.net/?p=3901)

Research findings by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare here are very revealing, and they show that the supposed need is not as strong as many people make it out to be.  (The report of the URL can be found at http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=10737420776&tab=2).

Liberty exists not to target gay people and ‘make them straight’, but to help people who are same-sex attracted but do not want to live as a gay person.  They have a right to do so, and make well-informed choices.  If people do want to live as active homosexuals, then that is a choice that they are free to make, but we do not, and will not, coerce anyone not to make that choice.  However, if they do want to come out of homosexuality and live a life of integrity and Christ-likness we can help such people to exercise those choices.  A woman with an unplanned/unwanted pregnancy may be goaded into believing that abortion is her only choice but, not wanting to murder a baby, may very well decide that she wants to explore other choices, such as adoption or even raising the child herself.

This is not to say that coming out of homosexuality is easy.  Liberty is here to help people be holy (1 Peter 1:16), not heterosexual per se, and holiness is a much harder journey.  In order to get there, I have recently come across the website of an American group named ‘Homosexuals Anonymous’ for those who do wish to no longer live as gay men.  Their 14 steps are quite helpful, and while we do not use them in Liberty they are insightful guides:

The 14 Steps of Homosexuals Anonymous (http://www.ha-fs.org/14-steps.htm)

1. We admitted that we were powerless over our homosexuality and that our emotional lives were unmanageable.

2. We came to believe the love of God, who forgave us and accepted us in spite of all that we are and have done.

3. We learned to see purpose in our suffering, that our failed lives were under God’s control, who is able to bring good out of trouble.

4. We came to believe that God had already broken the power of homosexuality and that He could therefore restore our true personhood.

5. We came to perceive that we had accepted a lie about ourselves, an illusion that had trapped us in a false identity.

6. We learned to claim our true reality that as humankind, we are part of God’s heterosexual creation and that God calls us to rediscover that identity in Him through Jesus Christ, as our faith perceives Him.

7. We resolved to entrust our lives to our loving God and to live by faith, praising Him for our new unseen identity, confident that it would become visible to us in God’s good time.

8. As forgiven people free from condemnation, we made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves, determined to root out fear, hidden hostility, and contempt for the world.

9. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs and humbly asked God to remove our defects of character.

10. We willingly made direct amends wherever wise and possible to all people we had harmed. 

11. We determined to live no longer in fear of the world, believing that God’s victorious control turns all that is against us into our favor, bringing advantage out of sorrow and order from disaster.

12. We determined to mature in our relationships with men and women, learning the meaning of a partnership of equals, seeking neither dominance over people nor servile dependency on them.

13. We sought through confident praying, and the wisdom of Scripture for an ongoing growth in our relationship with God and a humble acceptance of His guidance for our lives.

14. Having had a spiritual awakening, we tried to carry this message to homosexual people with a love that demands nothing and to practice these steps in all our lives’ activities, as far as lies within us.

Liberty does not oppress anyone: we are here to inform people of their choices and to help them exercise those choices.  There is a better way than simply acting on one’s impulses: it’s very hard and painstaking, but the rewards far outweigh the drawbacks.

As is expected, much has been happening in the news recently on the issue of ‘gay marriage’ , with President Barack Obama and his Vice, Joe Biden, both going public in support of ‘gay marriage’.  There is evidence suggesting that he did this to woo financial backing for his re-election campaign (http://freebeacon.com/gay-for-pay/).  However, it has the potential to do lethal damage, in the long run, to Obama’s efforts for -election because it will alienate the traditional black Christian vote that the Democratic party has attracted in the past, as well as its blue-collar vote.  Even in California, one of the most liberal states in America, gay marriage has been rebuffed in two plebiscites and in North Carolina it was recently given a resounding ‘No’ (68% against).  The Australian PM, Julia Gillard (an ideological mate of Obama’s) has tellingly decided not to back gay marriage (http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/i-wont-vote-for-it-pm-stands-firm-on-gay-marriage-20120510-1ye2e.html).

More recently there have been some more promising developments in the discussion on gay marriage, including some terrific material that demonstrates that it, in fact, is not the fait accompli as the media and gay rights lobbyists are portraying.  Here are just some of the material:

1) Five Reasons to keep objecting to ‘gay marriage (the Gospel Coalition) -  http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2012/05/10/why-christians-should-continue-to-oppose-gay-marriage/.   The temptation, then, is for Christians go silent and give up the marriage fight … “We don’t have to change our personal position”, [Christians may say] “We’ll keep speaking the truth and upholding the Bible in our churches, but getting worked up over gay marriage in the public square is counter-productive. It’s a waste of time. It makes us look bad. It ruins our witness. And we’ve already lost. Time to throw in the towel.” I understand that temptation. It is an easier way. But I do not think it is the right way, the God-glorifying way, or the way of love.

- A Melbourne-based G.P. who is on the board of an equal opportunities organisation has declared the obvious and signed a petition saying that it is not healthy for children to be brought up in a home with two parents of the same-sex (http://video.theaustralian.com.au/2234154550/Equal-rights-doctor-opposes-gay-marriage).  This is consistent with medical data that demonstrates how harmful homosexual sexual practice is on those who actually do it (http://proverbspurple.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/homosexuality-and-plainly-packaged-cigarettes/).  Message: practising homosexuality is never harmless for those who do it or those who live around it.

- The petition that the above doctor signed is on a website called ‘Doctors for the Family’, which contains volumes of very telling research and information about the needs for children to grow up with parents fo both genders (http://www.doctors4family.com.au/).  It would be worth spending time reading it to get a well-informed opinion.

Really, the gay lifetstyle kills people and robs them of life, joy, and hope (just read the health statistics to see what this really means- http://proverbspurple.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/health_risks_of_gay_sex.pdf).

It is important here to keep in mind that it is not gay people who are the enemy: the real enemy here is Satan and the lies that he is proagating in this world about what it means to be a person made in God’s image and how people are to use their bodies for God’s glory.  The Devil wants people to believe that they can make their own reality and that what people do with their bodies is of no account.  That there are people in captivity to their sexual desires and do not know of God’s love and the possibility of choosing better alternatives is very sad.

So what is the alternative?  If homosexual practise and gay marriage are not serious alternatives, then is heterosexuality?  How can straight people or the church claim a moral highground when there is just as much sexual immorality in the straight and the ‘Christian’ worlds?  These are all good questions that demand serious answers and consideration and I want to respond to them here in due course.  However, simply because heterosexuality is not the antidote to homosexuality, neither is homosexuality the answer!  (Here’s a parallel: if a next-door neighbour shoots heroine- a very serious crime- does that mean it is okay for me to commit fraud because someone else is doing something illegal?)

We need to keep in mind that heterosexuality is fallen because our world is fallen due to sin, not because God made a mistake when He established a male-female marriage model or because some would like to think that God made all kinds of sexual expressions morally neutral.

People in homosexuality need to prayed over, loved, listened to, and brought to a living, loving relationship with God; not Bible-bashing on the one extreme and sexual openness on the other.  God occupies the middle ground: He knows why people sin (Exodus 6:9); but more than that, He actually cares about why and has done something about it (Romans 5:6-8), and as a result calls people to repentance and holiness.  That is, it’s about listening to God in obedience and trust and bringing to Him everything about one’s self, even one’s own sexuality.  Why?  Because without trusting obedience after coming to Christ no one will see God , Hebrews 12:14.

Gay marriage and gay families are not healthy on the basis of Scripture but more than that it hurts those doing it (http://craigjosling.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/pain-of-being-gay.html), children who live under it, and it affects greater society.  In the Old Testament book of Judges, where the Israelites worshipped foreign gods and phallic-looking poles, the sexual immorality accompanying it lead to social breakdown, civil war, and anarchy because the founding blocks of society were undermined (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges%2017-21&version=HCSB).  Without a doubt this is already beginning to take place, even in small ways in modern western culture because churches allowed it to creep in thinking that it never would.  However, on this issue one need not be a Christian to see the harm that will be done if gay marriage takes place.  This is not an overexaggeration or hyperbole, because even those with medical expertise who are not necessarily Christian are warning already against it.  This is all to say that this discussion is about what it means to be human and made in God’s image as God defines it.  Marriage and family are not the property of the state, humanity, or any other social group but of the God who made them all.

God bless,

Haydn (Liberty Pastoral Worker).

The last month been quite eventful, and Liberty really needs prayer for the following:

1. On Easter Sunday this year, April 8, the Sun Herald and the Sunday Age both published articles on ‘ex-gay’ ministries in Australia, including Liberty Christian Ministries, Beyond Egypt, and Exodus Asia-Pacific.  While the Herald article was somewhat more gracious in its coverage of Liberty, it also contained glaring inaccuracies and misrepresentations, particularly about Christopher Keane, who established Liberty: 

• Please pray that this article not impede people’s desire to seek freedom from homosexuality and that God may use what was intended for evil for His good purposes;
• Pray for Haydn, that he continue to stay strong and unwavering in his faith.  Pray for God’s strength in this time, where enemies both physical and spiritual are trying to undermine Haydn’s ministry.  Pray too that more people pray for Haydn so that he may continue his work for Liberty.
• Thank God that, in fact, the article has already prompted one person to contact Liberty to seek help from unwanted same-sex attraction!
• Pray for the other ministries mentioned in the article, including Beyond Egypt, Exodus, and Living Waters.  Some of the leaders of these ministries have received hate mail and even threats so please keep these people in your prayers.  (If you want to read more information on this, go to http://www.libertychristianministries.org.au/where-culture-clashes-with-gospel-of-hope/.) 
• Pray for our enemies, that they may come to grace as Saul became Paul, that they may resolve the anger in their hearts.  Help Liberty to love its enemies. 

1. Liberty will, on the 5^th of June, host a conference for pastors and pastoral workers (see details below) on how to help those with unwanted same-sex attraction (http://www.libertychristianministries.org.au/liberty-pastors-conference-june-5/).  Please pray that this be a fruitful event that David, the committee chairma,n and Haydn both speak well and that it be well-attended. 
2. Haydn will be finishing up at Wesley and moving onto another Bible college in July and will be studying part-time.  This is due to the Wesley Institute deciding not to continue offering Theology at a Bachelor’s level.  Please pray that Haydn go well in this. 
3. Pray for Liberty as it goes to churches, fellowships, and Bible colleges to deputise and meet with people one-to-one.  Pray for wisdom for those speaking/leading, as well as for those who are coming to Liberty for help.  Pray that people be fearless in seeking support.
4. Pray for those who are seeking help, that Liberty be well-resourced enough to meet needs.  Pray for those coming out of homosexuality, that they keep trusting in God and not backslide, even when it is so easy and tempting to do so.  How easy it is for those struggling to be jealous of those who are living in the sin which they are seeking to escape from, so please pray that those struggling find satisfaction in desiring God (Psalm 37:1-4).  Only He can meet our needs (Psalm 107:9).
5. Pray for our world, that it may know God’s will for healthy sexuality.  Pray for our community leaders including politicians, judges, clergy, and others, that they may know and practise God’s wisdom on sexuality and not what modern culture dictates.  Pray for our federal politicians when they vote on ‘gay marriage’, that it be a victory for God’s purposes in marriage (Genesis 2:20b-24).
6. Pray for Haydn’s family: himself, his wife, and daughters have all been quite sick over the last month.  Please pray that they be restored to full health. 

***

Pastors’ Conference (June 5)

If you do pastoral work full-time or part-time, provide counseling, or are a layperson who wants to help others, you may find yourself encountering people with unwanted same-sex attractions.  What do you say?  Do you just go to the Bible?  What do you do?  

Liberty has prepared a Pastoral Journey as a resource for you to use. This is a guide for reflecting on biblical passages and praying together and is for discipleship rather than a professional counseling resource. Haydn Sennitt our Pastoral Worker will explain how to use it and you will be given a sample copy at an afternoon conference on June 5th. David Peterson, who chairs the Liberty Committee, will also speak on ‘Renewing Hearts and Minds’.

• Venue: Illoura, Darling St. Anglican Church (85 Darling Street, Balmain East)
• Cost: $30 per head
• Date: Tuesday, 5^th of June, 2012
• Time: 2-5pm
• RSVP: as soon as possible, by the 22^nd of May at the latest.  Please email the Liberty office at lcmi@iinet.net.au or contact us at 9818-8111. 

Haydn Sennitt- Liberty pastoral worker.

Liberty has prepared a Pastoral Journey as a resource for you to use. This is a guide for reflecting on biblical passages and praying together and is for discipleship rather than a professional counseling resource. Haydn Sennitt our Pastoral Worker will explain how to use it and you will be given a sample copy at an afternoon conference on June 5th. David Peterson, who chairs the Liberty Committee, will also speak on ‘Renewing Hearts and Minds’.

• Venue: Illoura, Darling St. Anglican Church (85 Darling Street, Balmain East)
• Cost: $30 per head
• Date: Tuesday, 5^th of June, 2012
• Time: 2-5pm
• RSVP: as soon as possible, by the 22^nd of May at the latest.  Please email the Liberty office at lcmi@iinet.net.au or contact us at 9818-8111. 

Right to try

MICHAEL Lallo suggests that ”ministries are preying on gay shame”, based on the feeling of people who have tried to change [their homosexual tendencies] and failed.

Does the same premise stand for those who have tried to give up alcohol or illegal drugs and failed, for the thief who wants to reform or the paedophile? Are they damaged by those who try to help but fail?

What about the ones who succeed? Is it wrong to try to help someone out of their ”shame” of an addiction? Of course not, because the people who seek help know that what they are doing is wrong. Guess what? So do those homosexuals who try to leave their sexual addiction behind. Some do, some don’t, but they all deserve the right to try.

Peter Stokes, Bayswater (http://www.theage.com.au/national/letters/harmful-healing-20120414-1x0ei.html#ixzz1s4gAXNdg)

Well timed

At first, I thought an article about Christian groups helping same-sex attracted men and women to change was an unusual story to publish on Easter Sunday (”’Healing’ the gay worshipper”). But then I realised it’s the perfect story. Easter Sunday is about new life and hope that is offered to us all only because Jesus rose from the dead.

These groups may not work for everyone but the same could be said for any support group, Christian or otherwise.

But one thing is for sure: the love that took Jesus to the cross, and the power that raised him from the dead, are available to us all, whatever it is we want to leave behind or change.

Claire Smith Roseville

Michael Lallo and Jonathan Swan have produced a very one-sided argument. Their case studies included only practising homosexual men and no reformed homosexuals. Surely Haydn Sennitt’s life would have offered readers a chance to decide on the benefits of ministries that help people who genuinely seek help with unwanted same-sex attraction.

Treating any addiction is a long process, which is overlooked and cheapened by calling it a cure.

The only true cure for our disobedience to God (be it homosexuality or anything else) is salvation by Jesus.

Anna Mori Gold Coast

(http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/hinch-talks-back-about-motives-for-speaking-out-20120414-1x02m.html#ixzz1s4iICcbh)

The authors of the article noted that of all the ministries contacted that Liberty was the only one which responded.  Not too much should be read into this: it’s not that those ministries have nothing to contribute or are cowardly.  In fact, given the negative exposure that written up it is understandable that ministries like these are reluctant to respond to media requests!  I have recently been informed that one particular ministry leader has been receiving hate mail as a result of the articles, which goes to show how hate-inciting they are.

The Sun-Herald and associated Sunday Age articles contained many errors of fact and horrid distortions, caused not least because I was not fully quoted and the authors had no intention of covering the topic with genuine objectivity.  Doing that may not have sold as many papers, especially regarding such a hotbed issue as homosexuality.  I would like to respond to the false premises and distortions that appeared in the article and how none of them actually nullify or faithfully describe what we are doing at Liberty.  (If you wish to read what I actually wrote to the paper and how much they under-quoted me, you can do so here.)

1)  The article does not prove or rule out healing, as it relies on anecdotal and subjective accounts. 

The article was peppered with stories of people who had tried to overcome their homosexuality but had failed.  The most prominent of these was a man named ‘Shaun’ who had been through a Liberty support group 10-15 years ago, as well as Anthony Venn-Brown and Paul Martin (the latter two are both known haters of healing ministries like Liberty and have an axe to grind).  However, all these stories managed to prove was that attempts to be ‘cured’ of homosexuality had failed for those particular individuals.  At no stage in the article did ‘Shaun’, even in spite of his own failure to overcome homosexuality, say that because he failed that therefore others would.  Venn-Brown and Martin did say as much and Lallo and Swan tried to stretch the testimonies to make the point, but that is speculative and over-indulging.

Neither Liberty or myself have ever said that because one person has overcome homosexuality, that therefore all others who try to do so will do so.  So how, then, can Venn-Brown and Martin imply that others cannot overcome homosexuality because they had failed to do so?  For as many failure stories that they have, as many success stories can be produced.

Shaun’s story and those of the others cannot invalidate anything because it is simply one person’s experience/word against another’s.

2) Obscure methodologies?

Another issue with the article is that it took the healing methodology that Venn-Brown was exposed to in the 1970s and made it look like Liberty does the same thing.  This is entirely unfounded and what Venn-Brown experienced was nothing short of bizarre (such as being monitored by a mentor while having a shower in case he was masturbating).  In fact, before this article was published I had never even heard of such methods and never would I endorse them!  And I know for a fact that Chris Keane and Exodus Asia-Pacific have never endorsed such methods here in Australia.  But trying to juxtapose those methodologies with myself and Liberty as if that is what we practise is an obscene misconstrual.  Liberty does one-to-one meetings, church visits, phone contact, and support groups.

So no, I don’t watch my clients having showers to see if they are masturbating or not!

While I, in my response to Swan, quoted a longitudinal study which actually tracked efforts to overcome same-sex attraction (re. Yarhouse and Jones), none of my opponents were able to do the same, which demonstrates how weak their case is.  All they took with them was a scoffing attitude simply because they themselves had not experienced lasting change and have closed their minds to the possibility.

Finally, while some ‘ex-gay’ programs may have provided inadequate care or advice, an organisation like Liberty always refers people who manifest psychological damage to professionals.  We are not into ‘therapy’, but provide friendship, opportunity for prayer and reflection on biblical teaching about Christian discipleship and reliance on the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

3) Liberty is in the business of pastoring those with unwanted same-sex attractions

As I actually wrote to the journalist- who selectively chose not to publish many of my comments- we do not force anyone to get help if they don’t want it and if they choose to stop we respect their wishes.  If people want help they come to us and we respond.  There’s no pressure on anyone to get help, so if people wish to live an actively gay life then they are free to do so and Liberty does not harass them to change.  Change is entirely voluntary. This cannot be emphasised enough because it is completely true.

4) Multiple efforts were made to unfairly implicate Chris Keane

The journalist who interviewed me, Swan, repeatedly attempted to get me to divulge the contact details of Chris Keane despite my saying the first time that he had retired from Liberty and was consequently no longer contactable.  I believe this to be a concerted effort to undermine Keane.  In fact I attended a support group with Keane in 2001 (something I mentioned to Swan) and a Liberty conference in 1998 and I often had one-to-one meetings with Chris, and I know how he operated.  He would not have suggested that a person date a member of the opposite sex if they weren’t ready; if they were ready he may have encouraged them.  I know that he never would have urged anyone to do anything against their conscience.

I have known Chris and his wife Truda since 1998 and they are people of incredible warmth, integrity, good-humour, and lovingkindness and the way Chris was traduced in the Sun-Herald article was a gross twisting of his good character.

While Swan quoted only the title of Chris’ testimony, Choices, it was obvious that he hadn’t actually read it and referred to Chris as a former homosexual in inverted commas.  This was another gross distortion.  Chris’ testimony is a message of kindness from God, having left the gay lifestyle in his 40s before getting married to Truda in his older age.  Not many people can testify to this and both of them are very happily married now and enjoying retirement outside Sydney.  So in lieu of being able to speak with Chris directly and verify Shaun’s story, Swan has reduced himself to jumping to conclusions to make it look as if Keane was attempting to make someone depressed and suicidal. Chris is a former homosexual in the true sense of the word, and for Swan to say that he isn’t just by going by his own presuppositions is slanderous.

Having said that, I cannot speak on behalf of Chris or explain why Shaun’s experience did not work out.  No-one can really, except for the parties involved and God Himself, who sees all things.  But having known the Keanes and been involved with support groups with them, so much of the account in this article is hard to believe.

5) Does Liberty promise ‘cures’ and easy solutions to homosexuality?

No: it never has and, God willing, never will.  Liberty advocates that unwanted same-sex sexual desires can be overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life, as they identify through Christ and pray, persisting in a walk of holiness (1 Peter 1:16), and connect with a supportive church community just as Peter Jensen stated in the article!  It’s that simple.  Nowhere is this stated clearer than in Titus 2:11-14-

For the grace of God has appeared with salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager to do good works. (HCSB)

We believe in overcoming, cleansing, and healing, not ‘cures’ or ‘fixes’.  Change is often long-term and hard effort and more of a marathon than a sprint, as I acknowledged in my response to Swan.  Yet for Paul Martin in the article, this is just a ‘semantic’ word game.  However, it makes an enormous amount of difference when it comes to having healthy or unhealthy expectations of change and how likely a person is to last the distance.  Since Martin and Venn-Brown didn’t last the distance in overcoming their same-sex attractions it’s little wonder that they think the difference between ‘healing’ and ‘cure’ are just semantic.  But neither do they have the final word on it.

To be healed is to experience the love, grace and forgiveness of God in the midst of our brokenness; to overcome is to know his power to live increasingly in obedience to him, even though we may still continue to experience desires to act in ways that we know are contrary to what he wants for us.

Since Martin and Venn-Brown come from a pre-established position of attacking organisations like Liberty, it is little wonder that they attract others of similar persuasion and find that others have experienced depression and suicidal tendencies in attempting to overcome homosexuality.  (Equally so, if someone approached them trying to overcome homosexuality, they may be promptly warned against not doing so for fear of becoming depressed, so the person would be talked out of change even before they started!)  So by virtue of them finding others who have had the same experience as themselves in failing to overcome homosexuality, does that mean that therefore all who try to overcome will experience the same thing as them?  Their arguments are far from convincing proofs.

6) The churches that support Liberty are from every theological hue!

Many churches support Liberty, both those which are Sydney Anglican and a fair number who are not Sydney Anglican (Presbyterian, Pentecostal, charismatic, Catholic, Baptist, non-denominational).  Given Swan’s intention to get names and locations of churches which support us, only to ‘out’ and vilify them, would any church really be willing to stick their hand up to be identified?

7) Anthony Venn-Brown’s ministry is not genuinely Christian

Despite claiming to be a Christian, Anthony Venn-Brown truly unmasked himself in the article: “Venn-Brown believes ‘ex-gay’ programs inflict deep psychological damage, and says he will not rest until every last one has been shut down” (emphasis mine).  Personally, I believe Brown will not be resting for a very long time, but he is working against God’s healing power in the Holy Spirit.  This is important to understand because Venn-Brown has made a number of appearances at churches and seminaries claiming to be a Christian and yet rejecting God’s healing power.  His ‘ministry’ is not Christ’s word: it’s an attempt to push organisations like Liberty to the fringes and get churches to include homosexuality.  He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, to be blunt.

I have met Venn-Brown once in an ABC television studio in 2010, and it struck me on a personal note that for someone who claims to be Christian he seriously underestimates the Jesus he claims to believe in.  He expressed astonishment that I used Scripture to answer comments and objections when we published our respective testimonies, because “it’s too theological”.  It was a moment of revealing honesty because it divulged exactly what Venn-Brown is on about: justifying sin in the name of Jesus.  About 4-5 individuals I know who have gone through his ministry freedom 2[b] have ended up in gay relationships after first seeking to overcome it, and I have (conversely) counselled some individuals who have come out of that ministry and expressed much consternation about what they had experienced there.  It certainly is not Christian in purpose and style and those seeking to be involved in freedom 2[b] and Venn-Brown ought to be very wary and guard their hearts (Prov. 4:23).

I pray that one day he turn from error and embrace Christ as He is truly revealed in Scripture.  But in all honesty he is not a minister of Truth and I reject his assertions to the contrary.  This is why I have resisted his many unsolicited requests to have ‘chats’ with him.

—

The article was not all bad: it faithfully represented Liberty’s aims and it quoted me verbatim, even though it didn’t quote absolutely everything.  However, it leaves much to be desired.  It’s audacious in its attack on ministries like Liberty and very deliberate in trying to talk people out of seeking freedom from homosexuality and stirring up antagonism against Christians generally.  Much of it is actually defamatory and untrue and has lead to one ministry leader receiving hate mail and threats.  But rather than take the newspaper’s word for it, why not check Liberty out for yourself and make up your own mind with a genuinely open mind?

*

Haydn, Liberty pastoral worker.

However because of our financial limitations we are unable to fund this trip.  Haydn can apply for a scholarship from Exodus International to pay the conference fees.  But we need to find the money for travel and accommodation.  We estimate approximately $2,500 would be needed. 

Is there any generous supporter of Liberty who would like to help with this special need?  If so please contact Katrina at the office.   Perhaps you have some frequent flyer points you could give to Haydn to help him on his way?

David Peterson, Committee Chair