Exodus Should Immediately Shut Down Scandalized ‘Ex-Gay’ Group Desert Stream, Says TWO
Truth Wins Out today called on Exodus International to shut down Desert Stream Ministries (DSM) following new revelations of sexual abuse with at least one minor. The admissions were made last week on the blog of DSM’s leader, Andy Comiskey (pictured), who is also the creator of the ex-gay program Living Waters.
“Exodus should swiftly move to shutter Desert Stream Ministries to protect young people from the sordid and tawdry atmosphere revealed by Andy Comiskey,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “Exodus has a history of turning the other cheek when confronted with inappropriate behavior in its affiliates.”
On March 8, Comiskey wrote a blog post entitled “Falling Mercies” where he says DSM had been, “cast out of our home church”, Vineyard Anaheim, as a result of “a darker strain of sin in our own ranks.” He goes onto reveal that this sin was, “a longstanding staff person from Desert Stream had sexually abused at least one teenager who had sought help from us.”
Comiskey alleges that he was a victim of seven-figure blackmail from the relative of one of the abused boys. This led to, “a scourging of our entire ministry through police interrogations, the naked bulb of insurance agents and their lawyers, and Vineyard elders who for good reason wanted to know what was really going on in Desert Stream Ministries.”
As a result of the investigation, Comiskey says DSM was “torn in two” and that “we the righteous became the scum of the earth–not only the defender of victims, but the predators.”
In his post, Comiskey seemed to care little for those harmed by DSM and tried to come across as a victim saying, “News of our tragedy, now official on police and court records, attracted our accusers like vultures: ‘Do they change homosexuals or create them?’”
Comiskey claims that, “At the end of 3 years, the case was settled. Our insurance covered most of the costs.” He rightfully thanks the media for not covering the story and allowing his ministry to continue. “Not one story was printed about the tragedy,” writes Comiskey. “God spared us. His mercy leveled and sustained DSM.”
“Comiskey is mocking the mainstream media for not serving as the public’s trusted watchdog,” said Besen. “I hope news outlets understand that inaction has allowed this ministry to continue its operations. Given these revelations, it would be an optimum time for the media to investigate this story.”
For reasons possibly related to this scandal, Comiskey moved Desert Stream from Anaheim to Kansas City, Mo., several years ago, where it currently remains in operation.
This is not the first time Desert Stream has been in trouble. In 1998, The Los Angeles Times reported that one family sued Desert Stream alleging that a minister had sexually abused a teenager while the youth was undergoing therapy to turn him heterosexual. Besen’s book, “Anything But Straight”, discusses a newsletter that says:
“At the end of 2000, we faced an unusual number of Desert Stream-related leaders who fell into sexual sin, or who at least demonstrated a colossal lack of wisdom in their social choices…several were placed on different plans of discipline and restoration.”
In February 2008, Truth Wins Out produced a video featuring ‘ex-gay’ survivor Jaylen Braiden, who claims an Exodus team leader at Desert Stream took him advantage of him.
Comiskey is one of the most influential ex-gay activists and groups use his curriculum, “Living Waters”, across the globe. Comiskey is the author of “” and calls homosexuality “spiritual disfigurement.” His book also indulges in “spiritual warfare”, calling homosexuality satanic.
“Satan delights in homosexual perversion because it not only exists outside of marriage, but it also defiles God’s very image reflected as male and female….Another related source of demonization is the homosexual relationship itself….that attachment and communion are indeed inspired, but the source is demonic.”
So far, Exodus has failed to comment on Desert Stream’s troubles, nor has it moved to either suspend or close down DSM. After stonewalling for more than six months, Exodus finally cut ties with Lansing-based Corduroy Stone last after charges of impropriety were made last year by Patrick McAlvey in a Truth Wins Out video.
“It sends the wrong message when Exodus remains silent on issues of such gravity,” said TWO’s Besen. “We urge Exodus to investigate and take proper action against one of its key ministries so more people are not harmed in the future. We also can’t fathom how Comiskey has kept his job in light of this scandal. It is truly mind boggling.”
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that defends the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community against anti-gay misinformation campaigns, counters the so-called “ex-gay” industry and educates about the lives of LGBT people. Our goal is to help individuals be true to themselves and lead genuine lives of honesty and integrity.
TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen to Appear at Just Love Counter-Conference on Saturday, March 6
Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director, Wayne Besen, will join nationally recognized gay and lesbian advocates to oppose Exodus International’s “ex-gay” road show, Love Won Out, which travels to La Mesa’s Skyline Church on Saturday. On the same day as the Exodus event, a counter-conference will be held, Just Love, which will expose the ex-gay industry and educate people about the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
“Sexual orientation is not a choice, but thanks to conferences like Love Won Out, some people do choose to embrace prejudice and discrimination,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out and author of Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth. “You cannot pray away the gay and the sooner people learn to accept themselves, the better off they are.”
On September 19, 2000, Besen photographed the ex-gay founder of Love Won Out, John Paulk, in a gay bar in Washington, DC. He also has shadowed Love Won Out, organizing or participating in protests or counter-conferences wherever Love Won Out’s road show appears. The last one was in Birmingham, Alabama in November 2009.
Just Love will take-place at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral (2728 6th Ave)from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Sessions will be conducted by experts including the former co-founder of Exodus International, Michael Bussee, who is now an outspoken critic of the group he helped start. Other notable speakers include, ex-gay survivor Daniel Gonzales, Jim Burroway, Editor of Box Turtle Bulletin and Amity Buxton, founder of the Straight Spouse Network (SSN), which supports straight spouses whose partners came out as gay. There will also be a session for leaders of the faith community led by Louise Brooks of California Faith for Equality and the Human Rights Campaign.
“We refuse to be defined by misinformation, junk science and religious bigotry,” said TWO’s Besen. “Just Love will set the record straight on the ex-gay industry and provide factual information on our lives. We will dispel stereotypes, shine a bright light on the lies and send the message that gay people are fine just the way they are.”
Wall Street Felon known as ‘Abba Dabba Do’ Reemerges As ‘Cure’ Gays Guru
A Truth Wins Out (TWO) and South Florida Gay News (SFGN) investigation revealed today that a Wall Street criminal mastermind who was convicted in 1987 of “fraud of spectacular scope” has secretly reinvented himself as a moral leader who “cures” gay and lesbian people. Known as “Abba Dabba Do” in the financial world, Arthur Abba Goldberg was sentenced to 18 months in jail for bilking poor communities with complicated bond schemes and served six months in prison.
“We have long considered Arthur Goldberg a con-artist, but our investigation shows he is also an ex-con,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. ”His diabolical past mirrors his dishonest present-day work with the ex-gay industry. Whether it was shady deals on Wall Street or shading the truth on gay issues, Goldberg is someone who lacks credibility and can’t be trusted.”
“Mr. Goldberg’s silence today about his illegal conduct yesterday is a clear indicator that 18 months in prison 20 years ago has not inhibited his willingness to deceive others in order to advance himself today,” said SFGN Publisher Norm Kent. “You free yourself by admitting your wrongs, not erasing them. Goldberg is hardly in a position to be advocating how gay men and women should be authentic with their own lives when he is a fraud with his.”
Upon completing his parole, Goldberg dropped his conspicuous middle name, Abba, and co-founded Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH) in 1999. He is currently the president of Positive Alternatives to Homosexuality (PATH), an umbrella group for “ex-gay” referrals and the Executive Secretary of the notorious National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). He is also the President of Congregation Mount Sinai, a temple in Jersey City and a Principal for the International Center for Gender Affirming Processes (CGAP). Goldberg is a key ex-gay industry insider and viewed as an architect of its strategy and message machine, says TWO and SFGN.
In 1989, Goldberg plead guilty in federal court in California and Illinois to three counts of wire and mail fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The accusations he admitted to include his participation as the engineer of a phony bond and investment scheme, which netted his Wall Street investment firm nearly $11 million in illegal fees.
The U.S. Attorney who handled the case at the time, K. William O’Connor, told the court at his sentencing that Goldberg’s crime was “a fraud of spectacular scope.”
The SEC banned Goldberg and his firm from ever selling securities again. In addition to his prison term, Goldberg was disbarred in both New Jersey and Connecticut. Despite that, he lists himself as a Doctor of Laws today on the website of NARTH.
Additionally, Goldberg is the author of “Light in the Closet” (Red Heifer Press), which promises to “explode the gay gene mystique, offering hope, compassion, direction and vitally needed information to gay strugglers, their families, friends, and surrounding community.” JONAH also plays a key role in supplying clients for Journey into Manhood Weekend, an ex-gay boot camp, where participants are taken deep into the woods to supposedly discover their masculinity. Goldberg is not gay, but has an openly gay son who reportedly lives in the New York City area.
“We conducted an investigation into Goldberg’s dark history to shine a little light in his own closet; to tell the world the truth about who Goldberg really is, and how he has never owned up to his sordid and tawdry past.”
Although Goldberg (in The Record 1989) often claims that he has been deeply involved in civil rights issues, his case revealed a deep insensitivity to minorities. An October 1, 1989 story in the Philadelphia Inquirer reveals that Goldberg jokingly described a bond issue the firm had underwritten in Guam as “selling bonds to the cannibals.” He also sought out poor minority communities, such as East Saint Louis, as targets for his conspiracies.
“Simply by concealing his middle name and omitting his dirty deeds from his biography, Goldberg was able to mask his past as a mini-Madoff,” said Besen. “The real Arthur Abba Goldberg is an unsavory character who lacks the credibility and integrity to portray himself as an expert on gay and lesbian issues.”
In an interview, one of Goldberg’s former clients suggests that his past moral deficiencies are reflected in his current work. He says that Goldberg is manipulative and exploits those who are despondent and desperate to conform, so they can fit in and be accepted by their friends and family members.
“Arthur Goldberg takes advantage of the vulnerability of religious Jews by promising them the opportunity to heal from their homosexuality and be able to live a life within the community they grew up in and fulfill the expectations they had of themselves and of their families,” the former client told TWO and SFGN. “When speaking to Arthur Goldberg, he uses false statistics of changing hundreds and thousands of men and women and other such numbers as an 80% success rate, which is misleading and false.”
Based in Fort Lauderdale, South Florida Gay News is the premier information source for the region’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
(Research team: Wayne Besen, Norm Kent, Michael Hamar,
Jerry Wong) (Read More)
After assuring LGBT activists and leaders for two years that a controversial website would be removed from its computer servers, Michigan State University said last week it will continue to host the website of the ex-gay ministry Corduroy Stone.
In an email, David Gift, vice provost for libraries, computing and technology at MSU, told Michigan Messenger that the university’s hands are tied because Mike Jones, who runs the site that promotes therapy as a way to convert gay individuals to a straight lifestyle, is a retired university employee.
Wayne Besen, executive director of the national organization Truth Wins Out, which opposes the ex-gay movement, also called on the university to remove the website:
“Michigan State should cancel Jones’ e-mail address and immediately stop hosting his site. It gives the false impression that the university endorses a dangerous form of therapy that was just condemned by the American Psychological Association.”
Besen is particularly familiar with Corduroy Stone because when he was in Grand Rapids earlier this year to speak at an event at Grand Valley State University aimed at countering the national ex-gay conference held locally. While there, he met Patrick McAlvey, 24, of Lansing, who says he was victimized by Jones and the Corduroy Stone programs. He even went so far as to do a video interview with Besen, which was posted last month on YouTube. And Besen features McAlvey’s story on his website.
“As both a graduate of Michigan State University and a recovering victim of Mr. Jones’ “ex-gay” therapy I find it sickening that the Corduroy Stone website continues to be supported by MSU. It is horrifying to think that taxpayer money, including my own, is supporting Mr. Jones and his strange and dangerous “work” with Corduroy Stone,” said McAlvey in an email to Michigan Messenger. “I am disturbed that this use of MSU server space could be be mistakenly interpreted as lending Corduroy Stone some sort of credibility it certainly doesn’t deserve and in reality does not enjoy.”
I often end speaking engagements on the so-called “ex-gay” myth by comparing the charade to a play. I tell audiences that “ex-gays” are “like actors playing a role and in the end the final curtain of reality comes crashing down.”
It turns out that in Atlanta, a very surreal curtain will soon be lifted to reveal a bizarre play that promotes “freedom” from homosexuality and trashes gay life. Southern Voice, Atlanta’s LGBT publication, says that “Once Upon a Dream,” liberally uses the words “faggot,” “queer” and “abomination” in a negative way. It will show at the 14th Street Playhouse, conveniently nestled in Midtown, Atlanta’s gay neighborhood.
The show’s producer, Toni Henson, told Southern Voice in an e-mail that her production company wants to partner with area churches “to reach out to 155 million practicing homosexuals as we launch this unique, bible-based Christian ministry through this dramatic stage play.”
Wow, 155 million homosexuals in a country of 3oo million. One would think Gay Pride would have been a bit more crowded given such a surprising surge in our population. Hmm, now we know how Exodus leader Alan Chambers came up with his peculiar figure of “hundreds of thousands” of ex-gays – he must have employed Henson as his statistician.
Henson’s e-mail goes onto say: “‘Once Upon a Dream’ tackles the tough Issue… 1) Is FREEDOM from homosexuality possible? 2) Can I be gay and Christian? 3) How is same sex marriage & the pro-gay agenda affecting the church? 4) What are the risks if my church does outreach to gays?”
I guess that if one considers “freedom” self-denial, then it is possible. We can only imagine what risks there might be to a wholesome church if it reaches out to cootie-ridden homosexuals. And, what do you bet that the manufactured gay agenda they present won’t include the items:
I. Full Equality Under The Law
II. Being Left Alone And Free From Annoying Religious Zealots Who Promote Offensive Plays That Distort Out Lives
There is one thing Henson got right — seeking advice from “ex-gay” activist and Drama Queen, D.L. Foster, who is best known for his habit of drawing Hitler mustaches onto the pictures political opponents. In June 2006, Foster even drew one on yours truly. According to Exodus testimony, Foster had once engaged in orgies, drank and was hooked on poppers (is that even possible??), until he turned on basic cable late one evening:
“I slumped down in front of the TV and flipped it on,” wrote Foster. “When the screen came into focus, I saw an amazing sight: a badly beaten man dragging a heavy wooden cross through the streets of a city. Suddenly, the man stopped, and looked up at me as blood trickled down his face. Then he said, ‘I did this all for you.’ I began to weep uncontrollably as I realized Jesus had spoken to me.”
Given such a theatrical conversion, the play should be entertaining, to say the least. Instead of poppers, Mr. Foster can eat popcorn and watch his twisted vision of Biblical Broadway come to life. And, maybe Henson will win a Tony of Intolerance for her efforts to slime the GLBT community and promote simplistic and fictional versions of our lives.
…A former Lutheran pastor who underwent therapy and hypnosis in an attempt to become heterosexual is to speak at a psychotherapy conference in London in May.
Pink News is reporting that Maris Sants is to appear at the joint Pink Therapy and UK Council for Psychotherapy conference, “Working with Gender and Sexual Minorities”.
The Pink News article says the conference, scheduled for May 15th and 16th, will look at how homophobia in health care and mental health services continues to impact on lesbian, gay and transgender people and other sexual minorities.
Stephen Langa, a leader of Uganda’s antigay vigilante movement, utilized the philosophy of ex-gay guru and longtime PFOX president Richard Cohen during the March 5-7 conference which launched Langa’s campaign of renewed violence.
Richard Cohen falsely teaches that bad parents and abuse are responsible for homosexual attraction. He has been banned for life from the American Counseling Association for inappropriate and unprofessional conduct with patients. His “treatment” methods include full-body man-to-man cuddles and symbolic beating of one’s parents.
Cohen has thus far offered no comment regarding the use of his false teachings to promote violence against gay Ugandans.
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) is teaming up with various anti-gay legal groups to intimidate GLBT campus organizations in high schools, colleges and universities. They are threatening to sue if these organizations don’t distribute the bizarre theories of Richard Cohen.
It is hard to believe, but Cohen is the former President of PFOX. They still promote his books and training sessions. And, if you ask for a speaker – they will likely send you Mr. Cohen – who was expelled for life from the American Counseling Association. If PFOX tries to get into your school, simply show administrators this clip of Cohen from the documentary, “Chasing the Devil.” It is clear, based on this clip – and his record – that disseminating PFOX’s material may put students at risk. Any responsible school that protects its students will not allow PFOX near its campus.
“Crystal Christian” is an exciting new play with music that examines the million-dollar therapy industry of the so-called ex-gay ministries. The play itself attempts to tackle the misuse of the word unnatural in regards to sexual diversity, as well as indict the questionable methods of the ex-gay ministries’ ‘reparative therapy’. The play finds hypocrisy swarming inside the evangelical pageant, where shame is a virus. It would be hysterical if it weren’t so horrifying.
The Magic Theatre has offered to host First Sprout Theatre for a week-long workshop in mid-August that will culminate in three shows over the weekend of August 15-17, 2008 at the Magic Theatre Northside Space, Fort Mason Center, Building D.
August 15th – 8pm
August 16th – 8pm
August 17th – 2:30 pm
Tickets are ten dollars, cash only at the door of the Magic Theatre’s Northside Space. Every show is two for the price of one. Please email: firstsprout@gmail.com, to reserve seats for any of the three performances.
In typical fashion, Exodus and Focus on the Family are fooling future victims with false advertising, pie-in-the-sky promises and semantic games. In hyping the Asheville event, Focus on the Family wrote an article that claimed the following:
** For 33 years, Exodus has been spreading a message of hope and freedom to a world impacted by homosexuality.
I would agree that Exodus is spreading a message of hope. Indeed, the entire organization is all about “messages” – even if their slick words conflict with the dark reality experienced by most of the people who will attend the group’s conference. The sad truth is, anyone can offer “messages” – but are these messages backed by substance or simply empty promises that will cause needless pain and suffering? The statistic-free Exodus refuses to show whether its rhetoric matches reality – because it doesn’t. In my view, the Exodus message machine borders on consumer fraud.
** Exodus President Alan Chambers said, “There is a biblical alternative, that we can find freedom from homosexuality.”
Once again, Chambers is word-smithing to make it appear as if Exodus is offering a magical cure. Chambers pathologically denies this, but wide-eyed, new conference-goers will surely see Chambers’ words as offering a new life as a heterosexual. After all, “freedom from homosexuality” implies that the alternative is heterosexuality. Anyone who says otherwise is flat out lying and exploiting people.
** Jeff Johnston, gender issues analyst at Focus on the Family, attended his first Exodus conference more than 20 years ago. It helped him gain victory over homosexuality, and he said he wants that message of freedom to spread. “You have some churches saying, ‘Homosexuality is OK; that’s how God made people,’ ” he said. “Exodus is proclaiming (the) truth and helping people find freedom.”
Johnston is also guilty of manipulating words to make conference attendees believe they will become straight – which they won’t. He is saying that people will “find freedom” and the text supports this by saying that Exodus helped him “gain victory.” For the vast majority of people paying their hard earned money in Asheville, victory means an opposite-sex spouse that they are actually attracted to. It means that when they are at the gym and see an attractive person of the same-sex, they will feel nothing sexual.
Exodus cannot promise such a transformation, and is thus immorally preying on people by offering promises they can’t deliver. Why doesn’t Exodus simply tell people the truth. Here are few honest slogans:
1) “Marry someone you aren’t attracted to and learn to have sex with them!” (Alan Chambers, Instructor)
2) “Improve your acting skills by playing straight! Free Haircuts!” (Melissa Fryrear, Instructor)
3) “Learn the Joys of Lifetime loneliness and Celibacy!” (Randy Thomas, Instructor)
Until Exodus is honest with people, they are nothing more than immoral sleaze merchants who peddle snake oil to the highest bidder. They ought to be ashamed. And, yes, Alan, Jeff and Randy – I’m talking directly to you.
As a result of the investigation, Comiskey says DSM was “torn in two” and that “we the righteous became the scum of the earth–not only the defender of victims, but the predators.”
For reasons possibly related to this scandal, Comiskey moved Desert Stream from Anaheim to Kansas City, Mo., several years ago, where it currently remains in operation.
TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen to Appear at Just Love Counter-Conference on Saturday, March 6 
A Truth Wins Out (TWO) and South Florida Gay News (SFGN) 
Alternatives to Homosexuality (
The U.S. Attorney who handled the case at the time, K. William O’Connor, told the court at his sentencing that Goldberg’s crime was “a fraud of spectacular scope.”
Although Goldberg (in The Record 1989) often claims that he has been deeply involved in civil rights issues, his case revealed a deep insensitivity to minorities. An October 1, 1989 story in the Philadelphia Inquirer reveals that Goldberg jokingly described a bond issue the firm had underwritten in Guam as “selling bonds to the cannibals.” He also sought out poor minority communities, such as East Saint Louis, as targets for his conspiracies.
