Stories That Change The World #34 – Undercover Mama Bear

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20/20, Al Mohler, Anne Paulk, camps, conversion therapy, David Lane, Expose, Franklin Graham, Greg Laurie, James Dobson, Janet Parshall, Jerry Fallwell Jr., Jim Daly, John Piper, LGBT, LGBT Youth, LGBTQ, Mama Bears, Michael Brown, reparative therapy, Robert Jeffress, Roger Jimenez, stories, Stories That Change The World, Tony Perkins

Stories have the power to change the world … they inspire us, teach us, connect us. This is the thirty-fourth installment in the “Stories That Change The World” series.

I have a private Facebook group for moms of LGBT kids. We have more than 1,600 moms in the group. The group was especially created for open minded Christian moms of LGBT kids who want to develop and maintain loving, healthy, authentic relationships with their kids. Our unofficial nickname is Mama Bears because are both cuddly and fierce when it comes to loving and protecting our kids.

One of the bonuses of the group is that many of the moms become LGBT advocates and pour their hearts into working to make the world a kinder, safer place for all LGBT people to live.

Janie Romine is one of those Mama Bears.

Janie recently went undercover in order to help a reporter from ABC news investigate conversion therapy camps for LGBT youth. She was recruited by ABC News and the work she did helped create a documentary that aired on 20/20.  The documentary exposed horrific abuse and torture of LGBT youth that takes place at these camps.

I asked Janie to share, in her own words, what she discovered while doing the undercover work and pretending to be a mother who was considering sending her son to the camp.

“Parents cannot visit once their kids are enrolled. All correspondence and communication is monitored and censored.

It’s a money making venture so just like privatized prisons there is no incentive for a quick turnaround. The minimum commitment is 2 years. One boy had been there since he was 12, turned 18 the week after we were there and was being put out since his family didn’t want him back.

The Bible and the belt were what Brother Gary said he used to get the kids on the right track. However there was a room without windows at the top of the stairs that we weren’t allowed to enter and I suspect it was used for isolation, perhaps even more than that.

The tuition is $1,750/month and the families must supply suits and ties and work clothes as the boys grow.

Sending birthday gifts and Christmas gifts aren’t allowed. Only cash or gift cards can be sent and I suspect those are never given to the boys.

I wasn’t aware at the time that Brother Gary had a criminal past but I was also not surprised. I don’t believe he had any credentials or a college degree. I believe he was a self professed pastor.

Because he operates under the guise of being a church facility his income (which exceeds $500k annually) is tax free.

There is always a waiting list – because that many parents are that messed up.

Because parents keep sending their kids to him and the money keeps pouring in, Brother Gary believes God is endorsing his work.

The kids at the camp are made to work 16 hour days, 7 days a week.

Brother Gary informed us the kids go to school 4 hours a day, which he said was “mostly the Bible and a little math” and claimed the state considers his teaching as complete and transferable. They get Jesus and Geometry.

The kids are basically trained to be manual laborers. They have no exposure to the arts or science or anything in the outside world. There are no phones or internet or cable tv. They are literally held as prisoners by people who appear to be religious zealots but may be nothing more than people using religion as a weapon for their own pleasure and personal gain.

Surely Jesus weeps.” – Janie Romine

The fact that camps like this exist is horrifying and disturbing. It is hard to read Janie’s description but it is something that needs to be known.

I was glad to hear that one of the so called pastors was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison, but, I think it is important to point out that there would not be a market for these camps if churches did not teach that all same sex relationships are sinful.

As long as we have churches, Christian leaders and Christian organizations teaching that the bible condemns all same sex relationships there will be Christian parents looking for a way to “help” their kids.

So, in conclusion, I want to include a list of people who I consider to be indirectly responsible for the torture and abuse that go on at these camps. These people have a lot of influence and many Christian parents listen to what they teach. I personally hold them responsible for the pain and suffering that so many LGBT youth endure. No matter how kindly or lovingly the message is delivered it is damaging and leads parents to harm the children that they love and cherish.

Franklin Graham

Tony Perkins

James Dobson

Robert Jeffress

Anne Paulk

Michael Brown

Janet Parshall

Greg Laurie

Al Mohler

John Piper

Jim Daly

Roger Jimenez

David Lane

Jerry Fallwell, Jr.

And any other pastor, Christian leader, church or Christian organization that holds the position that all same sex relationships are sinful.

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Serendipitydodah for Moms is a private Facebook group created as an extension of the Serendipitydodah blog. The group is private so only members can see who is in the group and what is posted in the group. The group was started in June 2014 and presently has more than 1,400 members. The space was specifically created for open minded Christian moms who have LGBT kids and want to develop and maintain healthy, loving, authentic relationships with their LGBT kids.

For more info email lizdyer55@gmail.com

 

 

 

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Franklin Graham wants to know what I think

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Christian, Facebook Group, Fox News, Franklin Graham, LGBT, LGBTQ, Moms of LGBT, Moms of LGBTQ Kids, Serendipitydodah for Moms, Todd Starnes

Franklin Graham is at it again. This time he has shared Todd Starnes (from Fox News) Facebook post and asked “What do you think?”

So, I told him what I thought.

I wrote ….

 

“I’m glad you asked “What do you think?” because as soon as I saw what you posted I wanted to tell you what I think.

You know what I think … I think Todd Starnes and those who are supporters of his statement come off as insensitive, uninformed and uncaring people … certainly not like someone who has spent any time trying to learn about transgender people or gender dysphoria – certainly not someone who is trying to be considerate of trans people who are living in the margins and are at risk of being brutally attacked verbally and physically every day of their lives – certainly not someone who is trying to represent the generosity, hospitality and love of Jesus Christ … that is what I think.

I have a Facebook group for Christian moms of LGBT kids and posts like this crush our hearts into a thousand tiny pieces. Posts like this remind us that there are many people who call themselves Christians who could give a flying flip about our kids or our family and what we must endure and fear and live with.

For God’s sake people … where is the love and kindness that you are supposed to be portraying as representatives of Jesus Christ???

Get with the program people or at least stop spreading your callous, cold, cruel statements under the banner of Christianity!!”

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The Facebook group I mentioned is private so only members can see who is in the group and what is posted in the group. The group was started in June 2014 and presently has more than 1,000 members. The space was specifically created for Christian moms who have LGBT kids and want to develop and maintain healthy, loving, authentic relationships with their LGBT kids. For more info email lizdyer55@gmail.com

Stories That Change The World #16 – An Important Message for Franklin Graham

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#LGBTQFamilies, children, Christian, church, faith, family, Franklin Graham, gay, God, LGBT, LGBT Youth, LGBTQ, Moms of LGBT, Moms of LGBTQ Kids, parent, parents, relationships, same sex relationships, Serendipitydodah for Moms, Stories That Change The World, Story

Stories have the power to change the world … they inspire us, teach us, connect us. This is the sixteenth installment in the “Stories That Change The World” series.

Yesterday morning Franklin Graham announced he was going to share an important message for LGBT people and today he posted his message. It was full of harmful theology that makes loving mothers keep their lgbt kids as far away from church as possible. Here is “an important message for Franklin Graham.”

Dear Franklin Graham,

I have a private Facebook support group for Christian moms of lgbt kids. The group presently has more than 800 members. The love and support that exists in the community we have together is priceless. The group is not about trying to change our kids or treating them like they are broken because of their sexual orientation. The group is about us helping each other learn to develop and maintain healthy, loving, authentic relationships with our kids and inspiring one another to play a small part in making the world a kinder, safer, more loving place for lgbt people to live into the people they were created to be.

So many of the moms in the group have left the local church because it was no longer a safe place for their family. It was a place that marginalized and shamed them and their lgbt kid. It was a place that set up hopelessness and despair in the hearts of their child. It was a place that refused to re-examine their theology regarding same sex relationships even though their theology was producing death instead of life … spiritual death, relational death, emotional death and even physical death.

Good theology should produce good fruit – good theology should produce good psychology.

When our theology is producing hopelessness, despair, self loathing, self destruction and self harm it is time to stand up and say “we must have something wrong!!!”

Your message to lgbt people today was irresponsible and harmful. If you understood anything about lgbt people and their families you would at least know that posting a public message like that could potentially push a young lgbt person to the brink of doing something harmful to themselves. I can’t fathom why you would act so carelessly. It is truly beyond my understanding.

If you can’t bring yourself to become better informed, to have more compassion and love for lgbt people and their families and to act more responsibly then at least be kind enough to let these families walk away in peace and find Christian fellowship and community that is safe and life producing somewhere else.

Your post has already been liked by more than 60,000 and shared more than 25,000 times. Your influence is substantial and you are doing so much harm. You will be held accountable for the harm you do. Please stop!

And remember … the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love … and love does not produce death.

 

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There are more than 800 moms of lgbt kids in my Facebook support group. It is a place where moms of lgbt kids find and give a lot of support and share a lot of information. If you are interested in joining the private Facebook group for moms of lgbt kids send an email to lizdyer55@gmail.com and put“Mom’s Facebook Group” as the subject.