Religious Right Groups
Exodus Asia Pacific
| Group: | Exodus Asia Pacific and related ’save the gays’ groups - names have included Liberty, Restoration, Courage, Love in Action, Freedom, New Image, Sanctuary, Turnabout etc. |
| Leadership: | Dr John Meteyard, Chairman, Exodus Asia-Pacific (Nov. 2003). Over the years, the name most commonly associated with groups of this kind has been Peter Lane of Queensland. |
| Date formed: | Exodus-type organisations were inspired by an American body called Love in Action, founded in San Rafael, California in 1973. Exodus International (now Exodus Global Alliance) was founded in 1976 in the USA, the movement spreading to Australia by the early 1980s (possibly a little earlier). Exodus Asia Pacific itself was formed in 1987. |
| Area of operation: | These groups operate in several Australian states. |
| Estimated membership: | The ‘ministries’ which carry out this work seem to be quite small. As a general rule, they do not tend to draw much public attention to themselves. |
| Finances: | The groups are not wealthy, but do not seem to engage in much fund-raising either. Heavily dependent on voluntary work. |
| Main objectives: | ‘Our purpose is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by proclaiming His desire and incredible power to release people from homosexuality. Such freedom begins with repentance from sin, and faith in Christ as Saviour and Lord’ (Exodus Asia-Pacific Australia homepage). To this end, Exodus establishes and supports local ministries and ‘educates the church’. |
| Main activities: | ‘Visiting contacts in prisons and hospitals, keeping in touch with people in the bar/street scene, the follow-up ministry and counselling’ (Peter Lane, 23 May 1985). In other words, locating gays (a term shunned by these groups) and telling them that they are sinners and that God wants them to convert to heterosexuality. This also involves speaking at churches and public venues. |
| Links with other groups: | Connections with the Australian Festival of Light, Salt Shakers, National Alliance of Christian Leaders and other bodies. |
| Publications: | Books, pamphlets, videos, tapes and CDs, with titles such as Out of Egypt - Leaving Lesbianism Behind …’Great book for ladies struggling with lesbianism …’ |
| Sample quotes: | Inasmuch as we believe that the [homosexual] may not be responsible for the conditions which caused [their] confused identity, they are ultimately responsible for their response to homosexuality … We understand homosexuality to be a sin in the sight of God … Every repentant person committed to seeking a way out of homosexuality should become a fully committed, essential member of the local Christian church, being a necessary part of their need for acceptance as a new creation in Christ. (Exodus South Pacific Providing the Way Back for the Homosexual c.1995) |
| The Gay Mardi Gras Parade was again a public display of homosexual rebellion and seared conscience. (Restoration Ministries press release, New Life, 12 March 1987) | |
| Note that there is a certain amount of ultra-conservative opposition to Exodus’s approach when it comes to assisting gays ‘within the church’: First of all there should not be any practising homosexuals in the church … If the church needs to repent of anything today it is of allowing sinners to remain in its midst week after week unchallenged. (Greg Atkins, letter in New Life, 24 Feb. 1994) |
|
| Assessment: | The problem with this group of organisations lies mainly in their fundamental premise i.e. that homosexual behaviour is sinful; and in the way in which they are used by more extreme bodies. It is not uncommon to read a diatribe against ’sodomites’ followed by an unctuous paragraph praising the ‘healing’ work of these ‘missions to the homosexual’. Furthermore, international experience strongly suggests that sexuality is not an easy attribute to ‘change’, and it is therefore little wonder that these groups remain small. |
| Contact details: | P O Box 1882, Milton, Qld. 4064 www.exodusasiapacific.org |
| Several State and regional addresses can be found on the above site. |
