(PREFACE) I need to make something perfectly clear here. I am no longer associated with GCN (having left in early 2010 for a second time and have no intention of ever going back). There were a number of various reasons why I left GCN but that is not the heart of the matter for my blog at this time.
On Friday, January 6, 2012, many Gay Christian Network (GCN) conference attendees learned that Exodus International public figure, Alan Chambers would be attending the GCN conference that took place in Orlando, Florida. Much to the very unpleasant surprise, Justin Lee, the Executive Director/Founder of GCN dropped that little bombshell on the conference attendee's during the Friday morning session of the conference, blindsiding many and causing a great deal of pain and grief for others, many of whom have been hurt and victimized by Mr. Chambers' so-called ex-gay/reparative therapy group, Exodus. As a former member of GCN, I was stunned and shocked that Justin and GCN's board would keep this information a secret until the last possible moment.
Last night, during the panel discussion, a Facebook and real life friend of mine, Kathy Verbiest Baldock was sending updates on the panel discussion throughout the evening. We learned at the outset that questions for Mr. Chambers had to be submitted prior to the panel discussion which was led by Justin himself. As was evidenced by the comments from others who were posting via Kathy's updates, it became abundantly clear that many were angered and understandably upset that Mr. Chambers was invited in the first place. Also, many, including myself questioned Justin's integrity and transparency when it came to deciding that Mr. Chambers would be a part of the conference. I did learn that Exodus is based in Orlando, so I'm mildly guarded about how much Mr. Chambers was paid to be on that panel other than having his parking ticket paid for perhaps WITH GCN money, money that is given and donated to GCN via GCN's donation link on their website. I just hope that Justin had enough sense to not promise any monies to Mr. Chambers for his appearance on the GCN conference other than having his parking ticket paid for. But I digress.
While Kathy was posting updates throughout the evening, it became very clear that Mr. Chambers was not going to own up to the damage he's done to thousands of LGBT human beings over the 30 years that Exodus has been in existence. It also became clear that Mr. Chambers was speaking out of both sides of his mouth confusing some but not fooling all. Many think that Mr. Chambers will likely take what happened on Friday, January 6, 2012 to a Christian television network and basically rip GCN to shreds for all the world to see. What Mr. Chambers does not know (or maybe he does......I don't know for a fact if he does or not) is that the entire panel discussion was taped and should he try to dispute anything that was said, GCN does have that piece of artillery in its arsenal with which to turn the tables on Mr. Chambers and end up making him look like a fool with the very words he said at the conference being used against him. Mr. Chambers has just bitten off more than he can chew and he may lose any political and financial clout should the entire nearly 3 hour panel discussion come to light.
But the real heart of this blog is really about Justin Lee and GCN's board of directors and their decision to keep Mr. Chambers' appearance a secret until the last possible moment. As one Facebook friend, Gail Dickert said, "I would be mindful that Justin may post an apology. After watching his video, he appears to be a man who got in over his head with an idea and really isn't even remotely ready for the consequences. I have a little bit of grace for that... hoping to hear him say something about lack of discernment or the like." I could not agree with her more on this. For more information on Gail and her website, please go to this https://www.facebook.com/homospirituality and check out the work that she is doing.
Justin did not think this through very carefully and certainly did not weigh the consequences of what his actions may have done to a number of conference attendees. What he really AND the board of directors for that matter should have done is disclosed Mr. Chambers' appearance on the GCN website when it came time for GCN members to register for the conference. Had they known this ahead of time, I suspect that many would have chosen to bypass this year's conference. In all honesty, who wants to sit in a huge banquet hall and listen to Mr. Chambers spew more of his lies? I certainly wouldn't. As someone else also said, Justin has NEVER gone through ex-gay/reparative therapy and therefore did not know what kind of damage his decision to bring Mr. Chambers on board for the panel discussion might end up doing to those who've been emotionally, mentally and financially raped by Mr. Chambers and other organizations like his. Yes, I used to word raped because that is what it should be called. Hindsight is 20/20 and I think Justin will learn that it was a monumental mistake to invite Mr. Chambers to the GCN conference this year.
In closing, I am reminded that we as Christians must forgive those who have wronged us. We must forgive Mr. Chambers for the years that his organization and others like his have done to thousands of LGBT human beings, even if he does not fully apologize for what he's done. We ALSO must forgive Justin and the GCN board of directors for their ill-conceived and ill-advised idea to bring Mr. Chambers on for this panel discussion. Many have said on FB and I'm certainly sure on GCN that this was not the venue for this type of discussion and a very small minority think it was the right venue for the discussion. I'm in the majority on this one. As another FB friend posted this Scripture within the confines of the discussion on Kathy's FB page, Matthew 18:15 says in KJV (I chose the KJV as that is the version that I use the most), "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother." This discussion should have been done in private, not in a public way like it was on January 6, 2012. With that said, a lot of very hurt people are going to have a very difficult time seeing past what Justin and the board at GCN decided to keep Mr. Chambers appearance a secret and dropped it on the conference attendees with barely any advance notice (try about less than 8 hours notice). Will this blow up in Justin and GCN's board of directors' faces? You bet it will! I hate to say this, but I strongly suspect that GCN will lose a very large number of its membership as well as financial support from its membership after this debacle. Justin needs to face reality here. He made a huge blunder here and it may cost him the website and the financial dollars to keep his website up and running. As a now outside observer of what took place last night and having been a member of GCN in the past (signed on in 2006, left in 2007, returned in 2009, and left again in 2010), I've seen GCN and Justin as well commit some pretty big mistakes. But this one definitely takes the cake. Justin owes the membership of GCN a very contrite apology AND explanation for his lack of discernment regarding this matter. He's got a tough row to hoe in order to get back into the good graces of many members on GCN.
With all of that said, I now invite you to share your thoughts on what I wrote and what my thinking was/is on this very delicate issue. Please be sure to post comments here or on my FB page. I will also be sharing this on my twitter account as well. It should be interesting to see what everyone thinks about my thoughts and scathing report of Justin Lee and GCN's board of directors decision to bring Mr. Chambers on board for last night's panel discussion.
