Former "ex-gay" leader Alan Chambers charged with soliciting a minor
The former head of Exodus International, who later apologized for promoting "ex-gay" narratives, was arrested for trying to meet a 14-year-old boy
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The former leader of Exodus International, a Christian ministry that once argued they could “pray away the gay,” has been charged with trying to solicit a minor.
As if we needed another reminder that good judgment was never his strong suit.
Alan Chambers made headlines in 2012 when, as president of the largest and most well-known “ex-gay” group, he admitted that homosexual couldn’t actually be cured, that “conversion therapy” didn’t work, and that he personally believed gay people (who didn’t repent) could still go to Heaven. Chambers himself was gay, but he had always insisted he turned straight, got married to a woman, and adopted two children together. All this despite harboring same-sex attractions because of course he still did.
By 2013, Exodus International shut down entirely.
That same year, Chambers issued a formal apology about his role in promoting that harmful misinformation that ruined countless lives:
… And then there is the trauma that I have caused. There were several years that I conveniently omitted my ongoing same-sex attractions. I was afraid to share them as readily and easily as I do today. They brought me tremendous shame and I hid them in the hopes they would go away. Looking back, it seems so odd that I thought I could do something to make them stop. Today, however, I accept these feelings as parts of my life that will likely always be there. The days of feeling shame over being human in that way are long over, and I feel free simply accepting myself as my wife and family does. As my friends do. As God does.
Never in a million years would I intentionally hurt another person. Yet, here I sit having hurt so many by failing to acknowledge the pain some affiliated with Exodus International caused, and by failing to share the whole truth about my own story. My good intentions matter very little and fail to diminish the pain and hurt others have experienced on my watch. The good that we have done at Exodus is overshadowed by all of this.
Friends and critics alike have said it’s not enough to simply change our message or website. I agree. I cannot simply move on and pretend that I have always been the friend that I long to be today. I understand why I am distrusted and why Exodus is hated.
Please know that I am deeply sorry. I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced. I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents. I am sorry that there were times I didn’t stand up to people publicly “on my side” who called you names like sodomite—or worse. I am sorry that I, knowing some of you so well, failed to share publicly that the gay and lesbian people I know were every bit as capable of being amazing parents as the straight people that I know. I am sorry that when I celebrated a person coming to Christ and surrendering their sexuality to Him that I callously celebrated the end of relationships that broke your heart. I am sorry that I have communicated that you and your families are less than me and mine.
Was that sincere? I suppose. But even if there’s been growing acceptance (even among conservatives) that people don’t choose to be gay or lesbian, we’re still living in a country where right-wing zealots and evangelical Christians believe kids are groomed to become transgender, as if that too is a choice. Chambers’ apology may have been heartfelt but he was right to realize he wasn’t about to be forgiven for what he unleashed upon the world.
I probably hadn’t heard Chambers’ name mentioned in over a decade until this week, when he was arrested for allegedly trying to meet someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy. He had actually been talking to an undercover officer the whole time.
Orange County court records show that the charges against him include “solicitation of a minor via computer,” “transmission of material harmful to minors,” and “unlawful use of a two-way communication device.”
WFTV news got ahold of the affidavit which offers more details:
According to the affidavit, the detective identified himself [on Snapchat] as a 14-year-old boy living in Orlando.
The user identified himself as a 50-year-old man named “John David,” and told the undercover detective he lived in Orlando and later moved the conversation to text messages and Telegram, investigators said.
…
According to the affidavit, the user repeatedly discussed meeting and engaging in sexual activity with the person he believed was a teenager.
Investigators said the user also repeatedly expressed concern about the age difference and the possibility of getting in trouble.
…
When asked whether he communicated with any children, investigators said Chambers told them he communicated with one person he identified as a codename, who was 14 years old and whom he met on Snapchat.
According to the affidavit, Chambers told investigators they discussed meeting but would not specify why.
The facts aren’t looking great for him. Which is disturbing not just because of what he appears to have done but because, by all accounts, he had finally moved on from his past. In 2016, he delivered sermons at Washington National Cathedral and marched in Pride parades. More recently, he was an executive for a fashion company and still in the public eye. Even in recent profiles, he didn’t hide his past:
He says there that his post-Exodus life “has changed me—helped me become a better father, a better husband and a better leader.” (Which, I know, still doesn’t make up for the harm he caused.)
So what led him to pursue a child and not just use something like Grindr? Who knows. He didn’t speak for LGBTQ people before and he sure as hell doesn’t now. But you can bet conservative will attempt to use this as proof that gay people are groomers. Chambers was a useful tool for the right in the past and some things never change.
In that sense, it’s disturbing that this is how he’s resurfacing. He’s no longer someone who’s made peace with the damage he caused and has ideas for how to make amends for it. Instead, he’s someone accused of trying to exploit a child. He went from enemy, to pariah, to accused predator. There’s no redemption in that arc. After spending years fueling moral panics about LGBTQ people, he’s now accused of behavior far worse than the lies he used to spread.
But that’s also where conservatives should tread carefully. Chambers represents no one but himself. There are predators in churches and politics, as we know all too well, and there’s nothing the right can say about Chambers when they’re turning a blind eye to the Epstein files and their own megachurches.
What we should be talking about is the culture of repression and secrecy and fear that still exists among many people with same-sex attraction. That culture creates an environment for all kinds of poor decisions. In some ways, Alan Chambers is both an architect and casualty of that culture.
He has compounded the harm of his earlier actions. Consensual sex is fine, but not with a minor. That's rape.
The leopard didn’t actually change his spots, he just moved in a different direction.