Alan Chambers (months after the fact) realizes he is once again relegated to irrelevancy…

Alan Chambers issues some half baked apology for throwing a hissy fit while at the same time reminding people that he exists and that he has “changed”

Not much change when the situation repeats itself over and over and over.

Alan chambers…
yawn…

Here is the translation:

God has amazing things in his plan for people. But sometimes we settle for less than what he would have for us. Yet he doesn’t belittle us for choosing something else; he gave us the right to do so.

Set aside, for a moment that it’s Alan and consider just what it means – in that particular religious community – to say what he said. Look at the language he chose. No sin, no immorality, no rejection, just the mild and vague ‘settle for less than best’ like we’re talking brand of hot-dogs.

Now, it might not be the “It Get’s Better” message that appeals to you or me, but it is exactly the message that needs to be heard by the young Alans out there who don’t want to be gay, fear for their soul, and who think that now God hates them too.

To tell her that even if she choose to become a radical militant homosexual activist, God still loves her and that the bullies are still wrong can truly be a revolutionary life-saving statement.

God’s approval is by far the most effective argument on the side of those who would have a same-sex attracted young person seek to commit to reorientation or celibacy.

Alan just took it off the table. That, folks, really is a selfless act of kindness.

My friends, there are times we’ve argued among ourselves about being thankful, or at least not angrily critical when such things are said or done by our opposition.
That ANY change in tone is acceptable because the opposite is so damaging and difficult to counter.

I don’t know of many straight allies other than myself that regularly post here but let me say this: I’ve learned that it really doesn’t take a thing like courage or strength to BE an ally. All it takes is…respect. And even better, love.
Chambers has relied on something exceptionally bad to sustain himself: the libel of gay people and the confusion and expectation that it’s gay people who can and must change.

He’s part of the set up that gay kids have to confront and who have to CONSTANTLY and exhaustively defend themselves. The damage was done before they were born.

And he still won’t concede that he’s part of the problem and gives WAY too much power to those still with the knowing influence over the damage.
Chambers is trying to put a Band-Aid on a major hemorrhage. And there is no person more tiresome who see that their gesture won’t really work, but don’t care and hope that no one will really notice.
So that if criticized, it’ll look like gay people are ungrateful after all. Especially to people like him. He thinks he’s accomplished something important and wonderful.
When I’ve said this before, being one’s sexual orientation ISN’T an accomplishment.
It’s an accomplishment to be true to it, despite all the threat to your life and well being in doing it.
And that accomplishment then goes to gay folks, not people like Chambers.

He’s a weak person, that made a weak attempt at something WELL after some well deserved criticism came his way. He simply couldn’t take the heat. And that is the part of his character that is so not surprising.

All of the above are mile-markers of our victory. Further this stance is more consistent with his statement regarding David Kato’s murder (or is 10 months too long to remember martyrs?) here)http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2011/01/27/30100

And consistent with his ministry’s walking away from Day of Truth (or is that too far in the past to remember too).

All of this points to an attitude of a man who is tired of being used by more extreme fundamentalists to justify violence against gay people. If we’re all going to exist in this country together this IS WHAT EX-GAY MINISTRIES WILL LOOK LIKE!!! In a free society there is no way to completely eradicate ex-gay ministries. Only time and truth will overthrow them.

Further, it took courage to back away from a position which was popular in his echo chamber. He will certainly catch flack for this from his “allies.”

Remember this is THE FACE of ex-gay ministries. He’s been the face of ex-gay ministries for a number of years now.

Here is the face of ex-gay ministries laying out a compassionate way for evangelicals to approach the issue of bullying. Before all we heard was: “They [gay kids] deserve it.”

Look, we’re always going to be living in sin in these people’s eyes. At least now they’re addressing the fact that they have done a poor job educating their children on how to treat other children.

This is huge.