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.
A singer in an elite Vatican choir and a jailed Italian public works executive who served as a papal usher were let go by the Vatican this week amid allegations that they were involved in what prosecutors believe was an organized network of gay prostitution, Italian news media reported.
Ghinedu Ehiem, a Nigerian who sang in a choir that performs at St. Peter’s Basilica, was dismissed after the center-left daily newspaper La Repubblica reported Wednesday that he had procured men, including seminarians, for Angelo Balducci, a former member of the board of Italy’s public works department who was arrested and jailed last month on corruption charges.
After his arrest, Mr. Balducci was removed from his Vatican post in The Gentlemen of His Holiness, an elite group of ushers who serve at the Apostolic Palace when visiting dignitaries meet the pope, the ANSA news agency reported Thursday, citing Vatican sources.
Well, there’s not much I can really add to this. We have a rabidly homophobic Pope hell-bent on imposing his anti-gay views. Under his leadership there has been an upswing, particularly in America, of political activism in an effort to “purify” the church and keep discrimination against LGBT people legal.
Yet, the Pope’s lovely home is turned in to a red light district by staffers when he presumably is not looking. This is what you can sometimes expect with Vatican sexual values – which are often based on repression, the closet, secrecy, hypocrisy and dishonesty.
It is time Rome reevaluates its stringent rule book and stops living in Medieval times. They should join the modern age by:
1) Allowing openly gay priests
2) Allowing female priests
3) Allowing priests to marry
Until these common-sense changes are made, expect more tawdry headlines and shocking scandals, of all kinds, to flow from the musty chambers of the Vatican.
Rabbi Denise L. Eger warned the Jewish Community about convicted felon Arthur Goldberg (aka Arthur Abba Goldberg, Arthur A. Goldberg), who was a mini-Madoff on Wall Street before being jailed.
After his probation ended, Goldberg found a new group of people to con – gay Jews and their families. Goldberg co-founded Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH). Rabbi Eger took this slippery charlatan to task on her blog:
He was a financier who bilked people of millions of dollars. Even though he was disbarred he holds out his Law degree–Juris Doctor as some kind of credential. And yet he set up JONAH and pretends to be an expert. Far from it. The Ex-gay industry regularly uses outdated and disproven research to base its “therapy” upon. Goldberg and his ilk are the real frauds forcing their particular brand of lies upon desperate and sometimes very fragile people who desparately want love and acceptance while unable to embrace their full selves.
The truth is that God made us who we are. B’tzelem Elohim–we are made in the image of God. That is the truth that should win out for everyone. We in the Jewish community must expose such chicanery and lies that are done in the name of our tradition. And we must demand that con men like Goldberg that continue to practice their criminal behaviors of con jobs must be held accountable.
Once a con man always a con man. BEWARE!
Rabbi Denise L. Eger is the founding rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami: West Hollywood’s Reform Synagogue. She is a currently the Board President of the Southern California Board of Rabbis.
Arthur Goldberg’s damage-control campaign has begun, says Dave Rattigan of Ex-Gay Watch. His strategy is to portray himself as an innocent man who made a mistake, and is now the victim of a ruthless personal attack by the purveyors of the much-feared gay agenda.
Click here to read Rattigan’s excellent refutation, “I’m the victim: Arthur Abba Goldberg versus the world.”
By now, the world knows that Arthur Abba Goldberg was a big-time crook. After he left prison and his parole was up, he founded Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH). He also became a major player in the National Association for Research and Therapy for Homosexuality (NARTH) During his decade-long tenure he never revealed his sordid past.
He hid by slyly dropping the “Abba” from his soiled name. For 10 years, he has posed as a moral paragon and paraded himself around the nation as an “expert” on homosexuality. The truth is, he is just an ex-con up to his same old tricks. Except this time, his con game is “curing” LGBT people.
Today, I went into the bowels of a musty New Jersey library to retrieve old copies of The Record (Bergen) from 1989. I had to use microfiche, giving me flashbacks of my high school investigative reporting classes. Below is a crook photo of Goldberg from the July 18, 1989 issue of The Record under the headline, “SWINDLE: Bond Whiz Admits Guilt in $2B Fraud.”
The sub-headline is “Abracadabra is No Houdini.”
Sadly, Goldberg and his apologists are already spinning his criminality and moral turpitude. They are saying that his appalling past is being distorted by gay activists. And, they are claiming that his crimes are minor…..because we ALL know someone who tried to steal $2 billion dollars. More on that another time. For now just enjoy the newspaper clips.
Exodus Dithered While Scandal Raged, Placing Youth at Risk, Says Truth Wins Out
Truth Wins Out (TWO) revealed today that the nation’s largest “ex-gay” organization, Exodus International, officially cut ties with its Lansing affiliate Corduroy Stone after charges were made by an ex-gay survivor that the sessions included harmful and bizarre therapy. In August, Patrick McAlvey made the charges against Corduroy Stone’s Mike Jones in a Truth Wins Out video, yet it took Exodus until December to take action. Exodus’ dithering in the face of scandal cost precious time and may have placed additional youth in harm’s way, according to Truth Wins Out.
“For decades Exodus International has lent this predator some level of credibility,” ex-gay survivor Patrick McAlvey told Truth Wins Out. “Now they have finally realized how dangerous he is, but how many vulnerable folks have already been victimized because of Exodus’ support of this man?”
“Shame on Exodus International for dragging its feet when our children were at risk,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “Exodus was more interested in covering up the scandal than fixing it. This case shows that ex-gay programs lack standards and place vulnerable people in harms way.”
At the age of nineteen, McAlvey, who came from a religious background, was terrified that he might be gay. Feeling vulnerable and desperate to “change”, he placed his trust in Mike Jones and Corduroy Stone.
“He asked how large my penis was,” McAlvey explained of Jones’ therapy. “He asked if I shave my pubic hair. He asked what type of underwear that I wore. He wanted me to describe my sexual fantasies to him and the type of men I’m attracted to. On one occasion, he asked me to take my shirt off and show him how many push-ups I could do, which I did not do.”
“Mike Jones used to be able to say he was an Exodus International affiliate governed by a Board of Directors,” said McAlvey to Truth Wins Out. “Exodus has removed their affiliation and the Board of Directors has dissolved. Now he’s just some guy. He’s not a mental health professional. He’s not a pastor. He’s just some guy with made-up theories and outlandish techniques claiming he can help people change their sexual orientation. He is dangerous and I hope people steer clear of this predator.”
Truth Wins Out called Mike Jones today, but he declined to comment. Exodus’ headquarters in Orlando has not addressed the situation since August. Repeated attempts to reach Alan Chambers, Exodus’ President, have gone unanswered.
While boyfriend Travis Swanson struggles to free 23-year-old Bryce Faulkner from less-than-voluntary seclusion at an ex-gay boot camp, Faulkner’s antigay family members and a couple of friends appear to be conducting a Facebook campaign in support of Faulkner’s ex-gay reprogramming.
First, Faulkner’s mother Debra twice convinced Facebook to shut down a Facebook group that sought to locate and support her son. (Previous TWO stories.) Now two alleged friends or family members of Faulkner have started a closed Facebook group in support of his isolation and ex-gay re-education. The group introduction says:
Bryce Faulkner is many things to many people, but to Michael and myself he will always be one of the most caring, loving, generous people we have ever been blessed to know.
Contrary to what many people have heard, Bryce is not missing nor does he need to be saved or rescued. Bryce is safe, healthy and, most importantly, happy. Recently, he chose on his own accord to separate himself from the distractions from life that he believed were pulling him away from God. Seeking a spiritual reformation away from the worries and struggles of daily living, Bryce is in an environment where he has said he has come closer to the Lord than he has been in some time.
As recently as two days ago, Michael and I were both able to visit with Bryce. He appears to us as if a burden has been lifted from his shoulders, and he is at peace for the first time in a long time. Bryce was optimistic, joking and laughing through the majority of our visit. His outlook on life is something we admire and many strive to achieve, but he realizes there is still more to sort out as he plans his future.
The group description does not identify the group creator or Michael.
The claim that Faulkner is happily enjoying the isolation and amateur-led, shame-based counseling sessions that are typical at Exodus International boot camps is dubious: Numerous former ex-gays including Zach Stark have emerged from such boot camps to say that they were not there voluntarily and did not enjoy their stays, contrary to claims by relatives.
Swanson, for his part, continues to refute false information that has been released by Debra. In a lengthy interview with Quest, Swanson says: (Read More)
Grant Haas, reputed recipient of hushmoney from New Life Church following a sex scandal involving disgraced bisexual evangelist Ted Haggard, on Tuesday issued lurid accusations about Haggard and himself on gay author Michelangelo Signorile’s daily Sirius/XM satellite radio show.
At this time, Haas’ accusations — involving explicit sexual discussions, extreme drug abuse, and ex-gay sexual exploitation of the opposite sex — have not been independently corroborated.
In a new documentary set to air on HBO next month, a disgraced evangelical pastor comes clean. “The Trials of Ted Haggard,” directed by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s daughter Alexandra, was filmed with Haggard’s cooperation — and how.
You may recall that two years ago, Haggard stepped down from his post as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and was sacked as senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs after a former male prostitute alleged that the cleric paid him for sex and used illicit substances.
I have yet to see the documentary, but published reports say that Haggard speaks onscreen, speaks about his new life. The father of five remains in his marriage for the same of his children and apparently has been living with shame. While he doesn’t speak of his sexual improprieties in detail, he does admit to “sexual immorality” and says, “I really did sin.” Haggard tells of his longtime struggle with his same-sex desires, insisting that he never claimed to be heterosexual.
“The reason I kept my personal struggle a secret is because I feared that my friends would reject me, abandon me and kick me out, and the church would exile and excommunicate me. And that happened and more,” he says in the film.
He also reveals that while he purchased methamphetamine, he never used it.
Haggard’s wife Gayle speaks in the documentary as well, and offers what perhaps is the reason behind the couple’s participation in the production: “I know to restore the honor to our children is to help restore honor to their father.”
That may be a long, hard road. Right-wing Christian leadership isn’t treating Haggard with honor, and most GLBT people probably will say that a man who worked so hard against honorable treatment for us is not worthy of anything resembling honor. Many believe he’s getting his just deserts.
After the scandal broke, the Haggard family fled Colorado for Arizona, where the former preacher confesses thta he is having a tough time making ends meet as an insurance salesperson. ”At this stage in my life, I am a loser,” Haggard says.
I suspect Haggard is a loser only if he does not come to grips with his reality and learn to embrace it. If he can emerge from this crisis a better human being, then he will deserve to be honored. He doesn’t have to abandon his family to do it: Many gay and bisexual people end up in marriages with heterosexual partners. (Exhibit A: Me.) Sometimes those marriages work; often they do not. But the real losers are the misguided ones who work to diminish others. The Religious Wrong is filled hypocrites who divide people and spead a message that does not include anything Jesus would champion — things like forgiveness, compassion, and acceptance without judgment.
Haggard could choose to re-up as a fundamentalist Christian soldier — or he could take another road, one that leads to justice for all of God’s children and could help him right the wrongs he committed. That second path leads to honor. At this point in his now-difficult life, the choice is his.
You know what? I hope he makes the honorable choice — and I wish him and his family well.
“The Trials of Ted Haggard” is scheduled to run Jan. 29 on HBO.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, former clients of Mercy Ministries — an antigay residential program serving Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom — say they were denied professional psychotherapeutic or counseling services and granted only occasional, program-monitored visits to a general practitioner.
Instead of professional care, residents were dictated Bible verses, prayed at, and “exorcised” — and then denied support for appropriate follow-up care. Some residents say they required years of professional care to recover from abuse suffered in the program.
Mercy is a residential program for 16- to 28-year-old women that claims to offer “Christian counseling” to women who struggle with abuse, depression, eating disorders, unplanned pregnancy, and sexuality. Residents are monitored during their trips outdoors and denied access to family and friends for four to six weeks at a time. Some participants reside on-site for months.
Ex-transgender and former Exodus North America executive director Sy Rogers was reportedly featured often in the program’s in-house videos. Former clients who experienced no same-sex attraction say they were disturbed by the program’s preoccupation with stamping out “lesbianism.” Program rules forbid hugging and any other physical contact among clients.
Despite harsh rules and inordinate repetition of ex-gay rhetoric, “Mercy Ministries denies it runs an ‘ex-gay’ program,” according to the Herald.
Government agencies such as Centrelink have also been drawn into the controversy, as residents are required to transfer their benefits to Mercy Ministries. There are also allegations that the group receives a carers payment to look after the young women.
Corporate sponsors have since yanked funding — except for Gloria Jean’s Coffee, which continues to subsidize what appears to be an abusive cult-like environment:
Deeply felt ties bind Mercy Ministries, Gloria Jean’s and the Hillsong Church, connected through a complicated chain of directors and former directors – as well as donations.
Bene Diction Blogs On explains Mercy Ministries’ close ties to Hillsong, Australia’s largest pentecostal church, and finds the ministry planning to expand in Canada and the United States.
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.
From 
Rabbi Denise L. Eger 
Bryce Faulkner is many things to many people, but to Michael and myself he will always be one of the most caring, loving, generous people we have ever been blessed to know.
In a new documentary set to air on HBO next month, a disgraced evangelical pastor comes clean. “
