Pastor cures teenage boys of their homosexuality by having gay sex with them. Wait, what?

Brent Girouex

Courtesy of UPI.com: 

A former youth pastor in Council Bluffs, Iowa claims he had sex with teenage boys because it was his duty "to help [them] with homosexual urges by praying while he had sexual contact with [them]." 

Brent Girouex, 31, was arrested on 60 counts of suspicion of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist after authorities found out about his actions. 

In February Girouex confessed to Council Bluffs police detectives that he had sexual relations with four young men starting in 2007 to help them gain "sexual purity" in the eyes of God. However, at least eight men have come forward with complaints that the pastor molested them. 

Girouex told investigators that the longest relationship he had with any of the victims lasted four years. He said that it started when the boy was 14 years old and that the "mutual" contact took place 25 to 50 times. The victim, who is now an adult, told investigators the real number of times was between 50 and 100 times. 

Three of the victims who came forward told authorities the sexual encounters took place at Girouex's house. They all said that they went there to be helped with "sexual purity." 

“When they would ejaculate, they would be getting rid of the evil thoughts in their mind,” Girouex allegedly told detectives. 

Achieving "sexual purity" by helping the teens ejaculate their "evil thoughts?" Damn, just when you thought you had heard everything.

I feel badly for these teens who I am certain believed they could trust a "Man of God." Once again the cloak of Christianity is used to lower the guard of the defenseless and allow predators to take advantage of the weak or youthful.

President of ministry that specialized in reparative therapies for gay Christians shuts it down and issues apology.

Courtesy of Freedom Requires Wings: 

Writing on the official website, Alan Chambers, the president of Exodus International, publicly apologized to the gay community saying he is "deeply sorry [...] for the pain and hurt" caused to so many by his ministry's practices. 

"Proclaiming freedom from homosexuality" since it's creation in 1976, Exodus was an umbrella organization which grew to include over 120 local ministries in the United States and Canada, and over 150 ministries in 17 other countries including the UK, France and Australia. 

In April, John Paulk, former chairman of Exodus, renounced his past involvement in the movement and expressed remorse for his actions.

Here is a portion of his letter:

Recently, I have begun thinking again about how to apologize to the people that have been hurt by Exodus International through an experience or by a message. I have heard many firsthand stories from people called ex-gay survivors. Stories of people who went to Exodus affiliated ministries or ministers for help only to experience more trauma. I have heard stories of shame, sexual misconduct, and false hope. In every case that has been brought to my attention, there has been swift action resulting in the removal of these leaders and/or their organizations. But rarely was there an apology or a public acknowledgement by me. 

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. 

 More than anything, I am sorry that so many have interpreted this religious rejection by Christians as God’s rejection. I am profoundly sorry that many have walked away from their faith and that some have chosen to end their lives. For the rest of my life I will proclaim nothing but the whole truth of the Gospel, one of grace, mercy and open invitation to all to enter into an inseverable relationship with almighty God.

I believe that if Christianity is to survive, and I am not at all sure that it should, that it needs to dramatically change how it interacts with the homosexual community, and it needs to keep its hands off of women's reproductive rights as well.

If it fails to do this, our children's children will someday read about Jesus along with tales of Jason and the Argonauts, the 12 labors of Hercules, and the resurrection of Osiris.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

What? You mean it's NOT part of gay "conversion therapy" to cup a man's scrotum in your hand?

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

Charging documents released this week indicated that 55-year-old Rev. Ryan J. Muehlhauser was accused of eight felony counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct on at least two men during sessions about how to “escape the gay lifestyle,” according to KARE. 

Muehlhauser was a pastor at Lakeside Christian Church in Cambridge, but met the men through Outpost Ministries, which claims it was “formed over 30 years ago to meet the needs of men and women making the decision to break away from gay life.” 

The first victim told authorities that Muehlhauser had “blessed” him by cupping his genitals. The pastor required the victim to arouse himself for “spiritual strength” and later instructed the man to get naked and masturbate in front of him, calling it “spiritual guidance.” 

Muehlhauser told a second victim that he would “loose everything” if details of the abuse became public. 

“To seek comfort and advice and to help address the pain they were experiencing only to have them experience a more horrific type of pain, sadness,” Isanti County Attorney Jeffrey Edblad said. 

The alleged abuse began as early as Dec. 31, 2010 and continued until at least Oct. 31, 2012. 

“You have a defendant who spends a significant amount of time working with and grooming victims, these are often cases that take place over a period of months and years. They don’t happen in a vacuum,” Edblad explained. 

You know my first instinct is to laugh, but then I think of these poor young men who are  being told they are creatures of sin, and are made to feel so damaged as human being that they are willing to subject themselves to this ridiculous superstitious nonsense only to find themselves victimized by the very people to whom they have laid themselves bare, and I am instead disgusted.

You know California recently banned this so-called "conversion therapy" for teens and I think it is high time that the rest of the country follow suit.

Where was it that Governor Jerrry Brown said it should be banished? Oh yeah the "dustbin of quackery." Sounds about right to me.

Are you as pissed off as I am about the fact that Marcus and Michele Bachmann charge YOUR government to provide Reparative therapy for gay men? Well now you can do something about it.

"Here's Shelly!"

From Credo Action:

It's bad enough that Bachmann and Associates, after denying for years they practiced ex-gay therapy, clearly encourages patients to pray the gay away. Our taxpayer dollars shouldn't be funding it. 

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees Medicaid, and the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), which distributes the funds within the state, should immediately pull public funds from Bachmann's clinic. 

Going to the Bachmann family for counseling is like attending a peace rally hosted by Dick Cheney. 

Their views are extreme, hateful and crazy. Michele Bachmann has called homosexuality "a part of Satan," and "a real issue of sexual dysfunction" while her husband Marcus has called gays "barbarians." 

And even as Michele Bachmann's family was collecting over $160,000 in Medicaid and other public funds, she was leading Tea Party calls for drastic cuts to the social safety net - especially to Medicaid which she has said swell the "welfare rolls" - and even voted to shut down the government rather than continue funding Planned Parenthood and the Health Care Reform Act.3 Tell Secretary Sebelius and DHS Commissioner Lucinda Jesson: Stop funding Bachmann's anti-gay clinic.

If you click the link provided at the top it will immediately take you to the Credo Action website where you can add your name to a petition demanding the following:

"Public money shouldn't fund a discriminatory, hateful religious agenda and medically-unsound ex-gay therapy. In light of recent investigations, please take action to immediately stop funding Bachmann and Associates."

I did it yesterday and, I have to say, it kind of gave me a good feeling.

CNN reporter Don Lemon manhandled by Marcus Bachmann. NO it's not what you think.

Courtesy of CNN:

After talking for about three minutes, Bachmann waded into the crowd filled with adoring supporters.

Moments later, as she tried to exit the area back to a waiting drive cart, Bachmann found herself in the middle of a mob of people: among them many supporters and members of the press including this reporter and CNN anchor Don Lemon. 

As both CNN staffers tried to question Bachmann, Lemon said he was pushed by two members of Bachmann’s staff. Lemon also said that Marcus Bachmann, the congresswoman’s husband, pushed him. 

“She came out, after speaking for just a couple minutes,” Lemon said. “There were other reporters and cameras there. And I asked her very respectful questions: ‘How do you think you did in the debate last night?’ and ‘How do you think you’re going to end up in the Ames Straw Poll?’ And her two campaign aides started elbowing me.” Lemon continued: “I told them, asked them not to elbow me. And then her husband Marcus started doing the same thing. And then he elbowed me into the cart. And I said, ‘You just pushed me into the cart.’ And he goes, ‘No, you did it yourself.’ 

“It was just, I don’t know, why they would choose to do that. We weren’t asking any ‘gotcha’ questions,” Lemon added.

Gee I wonder what got the Bachmann campaign so "wee'd wee'd up?"

Perhaps a reporter from Des Moines Register can clear this up:

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was 30 minutes late to speak at her scheduled soapbox event and spoke for three of the 20 allotted minutes. 

She said she was going to shake hands, but left the makeshift stage quickly when 17-year-old Gabe Aderhold of Edina, Minn., loudly questioned her husband, Marcus, about counseling techniques at his clinic to “pray the gay away.” 

Uh oh, it looks like the unscientific, and potentially damaging, "therapy" sessions that the Bachmann's use in their "pray away the gay" clinics might be a sore spot for the campaign to deal with. Well gee if I were a reporter in Iowa I know exactly which question I would keep bringing up.