Picture This…

His heart is racing with fear and anxiety.

The last thing he wants to do is talk about his struggle with homosexuality. However, his conviction is incredibly strong, and he wants help.

Mustering up all the courage he can, he steps out.

“Excuse me, Pastor, do you have a minute to talk with me?”

The pastor’s verbal response says yes, but his body language sends the message that he’d rather not. With his stomach in knots, he confesses his struggle with homosexual thoughts and temptations.

Barely into his confession, the pastor suddenly interrupts.

“Let’s pray about your problem right now.”

The pastor prays binding “the foul demon of homosexuality” and commands Satan to flee. He “pronounces victory” over the man’s battle with homosexuality. Concluding the prayer, he glibly pats the man on the back and walks away.

What has just happened here?

The pastor has walked away, and the man is thinking to himself, “I don’t feel a bit different.” In fact, he feels violated.

He leaves church hoping that somehow his struggle with homosexuality will just disappear. It didn’t and it won’t just go away.

Eventually, the man believes that it isn’t safe to share his struggle with anyone. Ultimately, several years later, he finds himself in his first homosexual relationship.

Stories like this are all too common.

Many men and women feel that they have nowhere to turn. Often when they muster up enough courage to finally seek help, their experience turns out to be a negative one. Secular influence, on the other hand, encourages them to embrace their homosexual identity.

Anyone who has been in Christian ministry, even for a short period of time, undoubtedly knows that same-sex attraction even affects Christian men and women.

So, what can you do to help? What is a good approach?

First, some words that will most definitely hurt instead of help.

– “I can’t believe it. This is so unlike you.”
– “This is just a phase you’re going through.”
– “Just try to be straight. I know this nice boy/girl you could date.”

What to do…

1) Avoid using labels. Homosexuality may not be ‘the issue’ at all. Some individuals (especially youth) will assume they are gay simply because they engaged in experiments with someone of the same sex. No one should label their self-based on his or her experiences or thoughts.

2) Avoid trite sayings. The individual confiding in you is sharing his/her deepest, darkest secret. Clearly, if it is important to them – make it important to you. Trivializing what is being shared with you only intensifies the problem.

3) Acknowledge what they are sharing. “Thank you for confiding in me. You must really be having a very difficult time with all of this going on in your mind” is an excellent way of letting the person know you just heard what they have shared. Let the individual know that what has been shared does not – will not- change your relationship.

4) Demonstrate your care, concern, your love. Do not hesitate or be afraid to touch the person who confesses their struggle. A tender hand on the shoulder or a hug speaks volumes. Consider confessing some of your own insecurities or struggles. This helps him/her to see and know they are not alone.

5) Finally, “BE THERE!”
The greatest ministry to individuals struggling with sexual identity issues or not – is your time. They all want to know that you genuinely care about them, and you will be there for them, that they will be loved and accepted, and that they have security in your friendship.

We are Christ’s ambassadors, called to reconcile a lost world to God (2 Corinthians 5:20). It’s up to you and me to reach men and women with the unwanted brokenness of same-sex attraction, providing truth and a way of escape.

Never, ever, ever, ever minimize the importance and significance of your presence. It speaks volumes!

You may feel unqualified and incapable of offering anything of value, but often times it only takes a willing heart and someone to just BE THERE!

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

His Way Out has been faithfully ministering to men and women seeking a way out of sexually broken lifestyles since 1994. We could not do it without the support of Christians like you. Every dollar that you give to His Way Out Ministries helps to further this vital ministry. Won’t you take a minute to prayerfully consider a monthly donation to His Way Out? Please consider making a one-time donation or set up a secure monthly PayPal contribution on our donation page at https://www.hiswayout.com/donate/. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

“It is time, actually long, long overdue, we stop talking about members of the gay community and start talking to them.”

In order to effectively communicate God’s love to the same-sex attracted, one of the most important prerequisites for anyone – church or individual – is to be clear on your motivation and your message. Why do you want to reach gays? Do you truly love them as Christ loves them? And what exactly is your message?

If you think the primary Christian message for homosexuals is to “love the sinner, but hate the sin,” I encourage you to read on.

Here’s the setting…

You are sitting in church, listening to your pastor. You are following along and taking notes on the very relevant topic of same-sex attraction because what is being shared is not only relevant to our culture but to you personally.

Sitting in church surrounded by fellow believers you are pretty comfortable and content. But now, you have the task if not the monumental challenge of facing the son or daughter that sees nothing wrong with homosexual practice and is involved in a same-sex relationship.

You are now the one that gets to flesh out the truth you now know. How is that done? What do you do? What don’t you do? What does representing Christ Jesus in this matter look like?

First and foremost, let’s put even this crisis in its proper context.

Embrace the promise of Romans 8:28 that God makes everything – even calamities – work for our good.

• My first encouragement is learn as much as you can about the causes of homosexuality. Simply knowing it is wrong is not even close to being enough.

• Don’t run the matter into the ground every time you see your son or daughter. Often, there can be a good reason(s) for not dealing with a problem right now.

• Do everything you can to keep the lines of communication open and maintain your relationship. If you feel you have been batting your head against the wall seeking resolution of ‘the problem,’ take a rest. It may not be God’s time to deal with the issue.

• Make sure your son or daughter is aware of your belief and position regarding homosexual practice. Heaven knows, God can deal with and use our mistakes, but He cannot deal with our inaction. Be clear and precise.

• Do not argue about homosexuality. The very moment the conversation erupts into anger – drop it! Badgering will only produce pushing the individual the wrong direction. Many problems and issues in life are often solved very indirectly; not when we are consciously dealing with them, but when we are going about our normal lives.

• It is imperative to distinguish between “acceptance and approval.” It is important to separate, both in our own minds and to our loved ones, their individual worth from the acts of homosexuality they may be committing.

• Stay completely away from Christian cliches such as: “God created Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve” and “Love the sinner but hate the sin.” Christian cliches only reinforce the belief of many with same-sex attraction that the Christian community is unwilling to truly educate themselves on the complexities of same-sex attraction.

• Do not hesitate to admit when and where the Church has been wrong with regard to men and women with same-sex attraction. We, the Church, have made mistakes and in some cases owe the gay community an apology.

• Refrain from attacking the character of homosexuals when discussing homosexuality. Keep to the real issue: “The real issue is whether or not homosexual practice is, in and of itself, moral.”

• Do not be discouraged if your conversations do not produce instant fruit. What we will answer to God for is speaking truth lovingly and plainly – not for how our loved one responds.

• Be relentless in looking for every opportunity to share it is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the indwelling presence of His Spirit which is the foundation needed to overcome same-sex attraction.

• Release control. Let God decide how to bring freedom. God is the only One who can bring about change in the homosexual.

• Let the son, daughter and everyone know that God has a reputation of transforming trapped people with damaged sexualities. “And such were some of you” applies to all Christians who had formerly participated in homosexuality. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

• And remember, those entangled in sin, of course, will have weak faith, so be merciful to those who doubt. (Jude 22)

Somewhere I read, “Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.

”When Jesus Christ is “there,” life has infinite possibilities.

As ambassadors of truth, your job, my job is to present truth lovingly, responsibly, and clearly. When we stand before God, I really do not see even one of us being asked how many homosexuals we were able to persuade out of the homosexual community.

But I am convinced we will be asked how faithfully we presented the words of life and light we’ve been given and how lovingly yet boldly we presented them.

In this extremely troubled age, may it be said of all of us – that we are, as He was, full of grace and truth.

In reaching to and or ministering to those whose lifestyle we do not fully understand, we must always remember to offer them the same grace, understanding, and love that Christ offered us.

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

His Way Out has been faithfully ministering to men and women seeking a way out of sexually broken lifestyles since 1994. We could not do it without the support of Christians like you. Every dollar that you give to His Way Out Ministries helps to further this vital ministry. Won’t you take a minute to prayerfully consider a monthly donation to His Way Out? Please consider making a one-time donation or set up a secure monthly PayPal contribution on our donation page at https://www.hiswayout.com/donate/. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

Can a homosexual change is a fair and monumentally important question that for some reason continues to be challenged, questioned, and debated today.

If one professes knowing a Sovereign All-Powerful God how can the response to “can a homosexual change?” be anything other than an unequivocal and resounding “Yes!”

More so, why isn’t this Good News and undeniable truth being shouted from every pulpit in America and around the world?

Dr. Robert L. Spitzer, who passed away on December 25, 2015, at the age of 83, was considered one of the most influential psychiatrists of his generation. Many years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Spitzer and ultimately became one of his case studies with regard to freedom from same-sex attraction.

In 1973, Dr. Robert Spitzer, Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, opposed the prevailing beliefs in his profession by leading the effort to remove homosexuality from the list of psychiatric disorders. For this, liberals and the gay community respected him, even as it angered many of his psychiatric colleagues.

Ultimately, a controversy erupted when Dr. Spitzer reported the results of a study that asked an important scientific question: Is it really true that no one who was predominantly homosexual for many years could strongly diminish his homosexual feelings and substantially develop heterosexual potential?

What Dr. Spitzer found was that, in the unique sample he studied, many made substantial changes in sexual arousal and fantasy and not merely in behavior. Even subjects who made a less substantial change believed it to be extremely beneficial.

I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Spitzer at the American Psychiatric Association Convention in Chicago in May 2000 as well as at a conference in San Diego. Ultimately, Dr. Spitzer knows me much better than I know him. I was one of the 200 people Dr. Spitzer interviewed for his study.

After my second interview with Dr. Spitzer, with my pastor and secretary at the time sitting in on the interview over speakerphone, Dr. Spitzer volunteered, “It’s undeniably true you have experienced a major and significant change in your life.”

Thankfully and gratefully, I am far from the only individual that has experienced change. God has not been silent to the cries of men and women wanting freedom from homosexual feelings and behavior. Many have experienced the power of Christ to address the deep needs of both men and women trapped in same-gender struggles. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, God has, is, and will be delivering people from the snare of homosexuality.

However, today, we are still considering the question: Can a person experience a change of not just behavior, but desire related to homosexuality? The answer to the question is accurately wrapped up in an answer from 2004, which was prior to Dr. Spitzer’s change of heart on his study. Yet the data still bears up under scrutiny and has not been removed from the psychological journals.

How is it we have dismissed or forgotten that He is God; The One that spoke the universe into existence, The One that has enabled the lame to walk and the blind to see, and The One that has hung each star in its’ place. Is healing a person’s sexual orientation too big for Him?

Yes, the question, “Can homosexuals really change?” is a fair and monumentally important question. The men and women that have exited homosexuality span a wide variety of ages, personalities, occupations, nationalities, and church denominations. Some of these men and women have been free from homosexual involvement for ten or twenty years. They are not just suppressing their homosexual or lesbian longings. There has been a true resolution of this issue in their lives.

While it continues to be taught and preached that God can do the impossible, do we still believe it?

When an individual who was once controlled by his sin is now free from that sin and engaged in a new kind of life pattern, hasn’t change occurred?

Oswald Chambers states in My Utmost for His Highest, “A man is a slave for obeying unless behind his obedience there is recognition of a holy God.” I find it remarkable that God never insists on our obedience, but when we truly know Him, we want to instantly obey Him and live according to His perfect will from sunup to sundown.

There is no identical plan of action for healing from same-sex attraction. No quick fix or one-two-three formula. Ultimately, a person’s freedom from same-sex attraction comes from a Person, rather than a method or even a program. That Person is, has always been, and will always be, Jesus Christ.

40 years ago, I said goodbye to homosexuality and the gay identity. All Christians face the decision of accepting or rejecting Christ’s Lordship. Coming out of homosexuality required deep emotional healing and a restructuring of my whole identity. As our Creator, God is the only One who knows exactly how to restore our personality. I remember so vividly, when coming to know Christ at the age of 35, what it meant for the first time in my life to be a man. But more importantly, what it meant to be a godly man. I liked it then. I like it still. Or, as I have heard it sung in a wonderful old song, “I wouldn’t take nothing for my journey now.”

At the end of the day, science can never be used to trump God’s Word. Yes, change is possible. The interesting thing about the change process is that change is not our ultimate goal. Change is what results as a person pursues a more important and compelling goal: knowing, loving and “beholding” Jesus.

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

An interview with Dr. Robert Spitzer

Looking forward to teaching, sharing testimony and a Q&A session with youth at Rock Harbor Church – https://rockharborchurch.net – Tuesday evening, May 6, 2025, 6:00 – 8:00pm.

Please partner with His Way Out Ministries in prayer to not only continue negating the many myths surrounding homosexuality, but greater opportunities to present a positive message that promotes Biblical sexuality and redemption themes from Scripture to youth.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:4

– – – – –

When it comes to the topic of homosexuality, youth always have the best questions. Questions that deserve a complete and truthful answer rather than what normally is presented through movies, television, and the Internet.

Questions from youth range from: What are the contributing factors to the brokenness of same-sex attraction? How do I approach someone I believe is struggling with their sexuality? Is it true HIV/AIDS continues to greatly impact the gay community? How do I share the Gospel with my gay-identified friend? As a Christian, should I attend a same-sex marriage ceremony? How do I address someone born one gender but identifies as the opposite gender? Is change possible for the gay and transgender person?

Today, confusion about sexual orientation is all too common during adolescence. As a result, it is risky to label teenagers “gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgender” before they have the wisdom of adulthood and the opportunity to make a fully informed choice. Ultimately, when a teenager is prematurely “labeled,” there is a serious risk of “mislabeling” a portion of sexually confused youth.

Many factors can possibly lead a struggling or questioning youth into homosexual behavior or sexual identity confusion. Such as: curiosity, a feeling of not fitting in, the horrific tragedy of being molested, and the desire for attention, and a sense of belonging.

Today, I remain extremely concerned that youth, including Christian youth, are not getting all the facts with regard to the many facets of human sexuality in order to make a truly informed and godly decision about sexual identity.

When our path crosses with a struggling youth, we must be open to partnering with the Lord Jesus to help turn the tide in his or her life. During adolescence, most people determine the morals and personal identity they will embrace for the remainder of their life. As a result, much confusion and challenges will take place before any semblance of clarity comes. This is all the more true for youth deciding their sexual identity.

The teenage years are a crucial period for the Church of Jesus Christ to speak to youth tempted by the various and numerous forms of sexual and relational brokenness.

I humbly submit that society, and sometimes the Church, is unwittingly promoting social experiments and various behaviors with no justification in reality and, with all probability enabling inevitable serious moral problems with potentially tragic consequences.

In trying to ascertain the rightness or wrongness of any behavior or misguided identity, it seems to me the determining factor should be consequence, not cause. Or, have we become completely ambivalent to what is morally right?

Today, the many and various subcultures into which youth are being thrust, have high rates of depression, substance abuse, alcoholism, anonymous sex, and unsafe sex practices. Few teens possess the judgment and self-control to make wise decisions in such environments.

While I have met and continue to meet with youth who are determined to resolve the issues of their sexuality, most feel too inadequate, lack motivation, and do not have an individual structure in their life to help them through the process of healing and wholeness.

Reaching youth struggling with their sexual identity is something we all can do and must do to help searching youth understand God’s abundant plans for their lives and to counteract misguided agendas that seek to ruin all hope for the youth. You and I may be the only person that will have the courage to share the Good News with a youth impacted by sexual and relational brokenness.

Practically speaking…

Keep the consequence of sin in context. We have all fallen short of the glory of God.

Accepting and loving a teenager without conditions has nothing to do with condoning their behavior/lifestyle.

Offer to serve as an accountability and prayer partner.

Clearly distinguish the difference between temptation and sin.

Don’t overreact – be prepared for the “born that way” argument.

You are not expected to have all the answers.

Never, ever water down the Word of God.

Be patient and trust God completely.

Emphasize the key to overcoming sexual brokenness and sexual identity confusion is in Christ Jesus.

On the Cross, Jesus secured salvation for any and all who commit their lives to Him. At Calvary, Jesus’ blood put into effect the new covenant. He said, “It is finished.”

With that proclamation, anyone can now walk in the fullness of life that He intended and provides. All things are possible, as Jesus intercedes for us. Assuming our sin, shame and death, He declared, “It is finished,” which is a statement about an end. However, each end makes room for a wonderful and glorious new beginning.

While it is easy enough to become cynical about the times in which we live, remember when God is put in the equation of life, a hope that does not disappoint rises with us. It is true that the number of teens struggling with their sexuality has become alarming, but we should and must trust God and reach out to youth with the message of salvation and sexual redemption available through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

His Way Out has been faithfully ministering to men and women seeking a way out of sexually broken lifestyles since 1994. We could not do it without the support of Christians like you. Every dollar that you give to His Way Out Ministries helps to further this vital ministry. Won’t you take a minute to prayerfully consider a monthly donation to His Way Out? Please consider making a one-time donation or set up a secure monthly PayPal contribution on our donation page at https://www.hiswayout.com/donate/. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

Gay Pride Month: the question is not if it is coming, but how will Christians respond.

Gone are the days of Bible-believing Christians living an unchallenged faith.

Be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within us (1 Peter 3:15), speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), be unashamed of our Master’s words (Luke 9:26), and act as ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Eternal lives matter.

Gay Pride Month is dedicated to the celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other sexualities held in June every year is fast approaching.

It seeks to honor LGBTQ history and the challenges the community faces, past and present and is now celebrated by many individuals and churches that affirm and cheer on LGBTQ Pride.

But what if the LGBTQ life hasn’t been or is now a season of pride or the party for some of our neighbors, loved ones, or ourselves – that the world says it is?

Personally speaking, it is not (pride) I remember and experienced that in some respects continues to haunt me even today.

There are some life realities gay pride could not even begin to heal. Completely and totally by God’s grace, I have survived homosexuality.

While those words correctly define my personal reality regarding homosexual practice, my friends did not survive.

If you are experiencing same-sex attraction and are considering embracing the feelings and attractions of such, before jumping into a behavior and identity with highly probable and serious consequences, please get the facts – all the facts.

Sexual pleasure, good in and of itself within the proper context, is nevertheless not an essential requirement for human well-being.

Today, there is no guarantee that social policy is exempt from foolishness. Ultimately, the social pressure that exists to protect “gay” from discrimination has resulted in a tragically dangerous code.

While I personally deplore any and all forms of “gay-bashing” and other hate crimes against homosexuals, the extreme medical risks and the fundamental psychological problems often associated with homosexual practice, cannot be undermined or dismissed.

Today, in America, very little is being offered which promotes the truth about homosexuality and the general public has and is slowly but certainly beginning to believe the many untruths with regard to the topic of homosexuality. This did not happen by accident.

In December 1973, by a narrow vote, homosexuality was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM) by the American Psychiatric Association. The vote was not based on scientific research but on political pressure from homosexual activists. So much for an individual’s right of self-determination to address their unwanted homosexual feelings and behavior. In a nutshell, the problem is the politicization of psychiatry, psychology, and most definitely, the Bible, to the extent that the freedom to investigate and treat homosexuality has been and continues to be under serious attack.

For some of us, World AIDS Day is not just on December 1st of each year, but rather each and every day of the year.

The phone conversation occurred in 1995. Frank, my very best and only surviving friend of a group of 22 men, called from the hospital in San Francisco. Immediately, I knew something was very wrong.

In 1985, I moved from San Francisco back to Bakersfield, when in October of that year I surrendered my life to Christ and everything got turned upside-down – actually, right-side up.

There was nothing short of a miraculous desire to get to church and remain in church. The only thing I wanted to read was the Bible, attend classes and always be among Christian men and women, worship, and talk, talk, talk, talk, about Jesus.

Occasionally, I would talk to Frank on the phone to check on how life was going. However, our conversations became more and more strained because all I wanted to talk about was the Bible and what was going on at church. Frank, on the other hand, wanted to talk about the party last night and all that went on.

Drifting apart we most definitely were but continued to maintain a long-distance connection if only to hear one another’s voice for a few seconds. We had been close good friends for many years in San Francisco.

One afternoon I received a phone call at work from Frank. His voice was extremely weak, but he still managed to say…

“Phillip, we don’t understand what has happened to you, but you have found something, and whatever it is, keep it up. Keep it up because you have found something. Do it for me and the others. Whatever you do don’t ever come back to this. Promise me, Phillip.”

“I promise, Frank.”

Two days after my last phone conversation with Frank, his mother called to tell me he had passed away.

So, so many are gone, and they left much too soon. I miss each of my friends. I miss them terribly.

Nearly Thirty-nine years ago I made a promise. A promise I have kept, and I intend to keep.

During my 17 years as ‘gay,’ I personally witnessed far too many lives devastated and some taking their own lives over the celebration of ‘gay.’ In each and every case the ruin and carnage were not brought about by the individual trying to resolve their same-gender attraction.

Personally speaking, it is a fact because of very real discrimination, homosexual activists created a brilliant strategic plan to gain across-the-board acceptance. Yet their plan was and is based upon a flawed paradigm to persuade people they were born with same-gender attraction and they cannot change. This strategy has worked. But the biggest losers just may be homosexual men and women who may get everything they think they want, but will they be denied what they truly need?

The welfare of both individuals and society as a whole depends upon our facing reality honestly, compassionately, and courageously – which requires facts – all the facts.

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

His Way Out has been faithfully ministering to men and women seeking a way out of sexually broken lifestyles since 1994. We could not do it without the support of Christians like you. Every dollar that you give to His Way Out Ministries helps to further this vital ministry. Won’t you take a minute to prayerfully consider a monthly donation to His Way Out? Please consider making a one-time donation or set up a secure monthly PayPal contribution on our donation page at https://www.hiswayout.com/donate/. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

Just about any behavior begins to look normal if you are exposed to enough of it.

Does a pedophilia agenda actually exist?

It is 1981, I am living in San Francisco and very much a member of the gay community. On a Sunday afternoon, I leave my apartment and walk down Powell Street toward Market Street, the main drag of downtown San Francisco.

The closer and closer I get to Market Street, clearly something is going on because the boulevard is lined with a huge crowd of people. I have happened upon my first Gay Pride Parade.

I cannot believe what I am witnessing. Frankly, the first thought that occurred to me was – “Why aren’t these people being arrested?” – largely due to the pornographic nature and displays that are parading by, one after another after another. And, I am thinking, “This is what I am to be proud of?”

It was my first and last gay pride parade.

Today, far, far beyond equal rights for many groups in America in their attempts to reweave the social, cultural and political fabric of this country, is an unquenchable thirst for power.

Right on the heels of the power quest is a relentless crusade by many groups for acceptance and to gain society’s stamp of approval on a considerable list of various behaviors.

When gay marriage became legal throughout America (but not lawful in the Kingdom of God), the entire lid to Pandora’s Box came off. Various groups that had been for a very long time standing along the sidelines waiting their turn busted out of the box and began to be much more vocal and visible demanding to be recognized and accepted.

And, let me be perfectly clear by stating, we the Church did contribute to the past, and the on-going cultural vacuum that has allowed the redefinition of marriage, family, etc. to happen with so little resistance.

One of the groups that came parading by in 1981, the North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), an organization at the forefront pushing for the right of adult homosexuals to have sex with minors.

At its seventh General Membership Conference held in Boston in December 1993, NAMBLA adopted numerous and various points as well as this position: “Whereas it is impossible to say at what age a person is capable of consenting to sex because every individual and every case is different; and therefore any attempt to set an age is capricious, arbitrary, and unfair…” NAMBLA has long been dedicated to the replacement of the age-of-consent laws.

The push for the acceptance of pedophilia is by no means new on the scene as some seem to think today. With the on-going push and threat for the lowering of age-of-consent laws, so that sex with youth might be legally permissible, reveals a threat which pedophilia poses to children and through them, to society.

Herein lies my concern…

If you can get the public to think pedophilia is just another thing – then the battle for legal and social acceptance and rights is pretty much in the bag.

Have we not traveled this same road before? Silence implies consent.

No matter how strongly we may be opposed to any number of agendas, we are first of all called to be Christians who have the privilege of representing Christ to all the communities of the world, regardless of class, color, nationality, gender or sexual orientation.

That said, it is not enough to condemn the darkness, if we fail to shine a light of hope on our disintegrating culture.

“if I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, then I am not confessing Christ, however boldly, I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is tested.” Martin Luther

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

His Way Out has been faithfully ministering to men and women seeking a way out of sexually broken lifestyles since 1994. We could not do it without the support of Christians like you. Every dollar that you give to His Way Out Ministries helps to further this vital ministry. Won’t you take a minute to prayerfully consider a monthly donation to His Way Out? Please consider making a one-time donation or set up a secure monthly PayPal contribution on our donation page at https://www.hiswayout.com/donate/. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

Even though this took place in March 2021, the march and relentless attack upon the heart of the character, the authority, and the redemptive plan of God continue.

I remain convinced that balancing love with a commitment to God’s moral will and revealed truth frames this issue and others correctly and then calls on the Church to rise and be heard on foundational issues.

If you believe in the Lordship of Christ and the Authority of Scripture and believe both are worth defending, please continue reading.

Congressional Testimony

On Wednesday, March 17, 2021, the U.S. Senate received 27 personal testimonies of once LGBTQ-identified individuals detailing their opposition to the Equality Act because it discriminates against them.

Each life experience testimony is now a matter of Congressional Public Record, and I am very honored to share with you that my testimony (below) is among those received by the U.S. Senate.

The Bill was only discussed by the Senate Judiciary Commitee, and it is not clear where the Bill will head next. Possibly to another committee or straight to the Senate floor for a vote.

Let’s pray that this bill gets totally defeated and that God makes a way for more personal stories to be seen and heard by legislators.

My Testimony

The Honorable Chairman Dick Durbin and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley
Senate Judiciary Committee
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20001

Dear Chairman Durbin and Ranking Member Grassley:

On Wednesday, March 17, 2001, the Senate Judiciary Committee will be holding a hearing on the Equality Act. I am writing to express my opposition to this bill and share with you how it would have a direct negative effect on me and others like me.

While homosexuality is a topic I speak to and about both professionally and personally, I remain confident that many today are not aware there continues to be men and women with unwanted same-sex attraction that have and are making the personal decision to leave homosexuality.

As a result, formerly gay-identified men and women are often reviled simply because they dare to exist.

Should not diversity and tolerance be a two-way street by recognizing and including the once gay-identified man or woman?

We are real and we are here. Therefore, I must express my growing concern regarding the Equality Act and the often-widespread intolerance practiced against those who choose to face and break free of the snare of same-sex attraction.

Thirty-five years ago, I said goodbye to homosexuality and the gay identity. Like all faithful followers of Christ Jesus, I had to face the decision of accepting or rejecting Christ’s Lordship. Coming out of homosexuality required deep emotional healing and a restructuring of my whole identity, as our Creator, God is the only One who knows exactly how to restore our personality.

I remember so vividly when coming to know Christ at the age of 35, what it meant for the first time in my life to be a man. But more importantly, what it meant to be a godly man. For me to deny or not share what Christ has done in my life would be the equivalent of denying Him.

Thankfully and gratefully, I am far from the only individual who has experienced change. God has not been silent to the cries of men and women wanting freedom from homosexual feelings and behavior. Many have experienced the restorative power of Christ during their same-gender struggles.

One gay activist challenged me by stating, “Phillip, while I commend you regarding your concern about intolerance, I just can’t get my head your being ex-gay. Why don’t you just be true to yourself?”

“Be true to myself?” I replied. “That is exactly what I am doing.”

What makes one individual happy and content may not make someone else happy, because we are all individuals. Like any man or woman, I deserve the right to self-determination and happiness. To give sexual orientation protection to one group while excluding another is outright discrimination.

Without testimony from all sectors of society, including the ex-gay community, public policy on the topic of homosexuality is seriously flawed.

Formerly LGBTQ-identified men and women are routinely denied equal access to participate in public school events and present on diversity days.

Ex-gay conferences, workshops and seminars are frequently picketed by pro-gay protesters.

Transgender individuals are affirmed for changing their gender, but formerly LGBTQ-identified men and women are ridiculed for making the choice to address and pursue any degree of change with regard to sexual orientation.

Ex-gays are subject to an increasingly hostile environment where they are labeled as perpetrators of hate simply because they advocate for or live out a different belief and view of homosexuality.

Ex-gays are criticized and face lifelong intolerance for existing as living proof that homosexuality is not innate.

Frankly, the welfare of individuals, society, and the Church depends on our facing the subject of homosexuality honestly, compassionately, and courageously.

Yes, homosexuals have the right, as do others, to believe that homosexual behavior should be accepted as normal. However, they do not have the right to demand everyone agree with them.

True love is loving despite our differences and treating each other with kindness and respect. It means to live in a society in which freedom of speech and religion are guaranteed.

A true code of ethics calls us to treat all people – heterosexuals, homosexuals, pan-sexuals, bisexuals, etc. – with compassion, and to do our utmost to promote justice and wellness for all. As a result, love and justice are the primary fundamental values which should govern our public policy concerns, as well as our personal attitudes and actions. Not only how we treat people as individuals, but the kinds of laws and social policies which we promote must reflect these basic values.

Ultimately, the Equality Act greatly concerns me in that many may get what they want through the Act but will they get what they truly need.

Respectfully,

Phillip Lee
Bakersfield, California

Make no mistake, the silent mode many have adopted regarding matters of gender, sexuality, and the holy boundary lines regarding sexual expression we are to live within and which have been well defined by God in His Word, has and continues to constitute aiding and abetting the enemy of our soul.

Is there nothing wrong with sex as long as it is consensual? And if there is something wrong, what is it? Does it really come down to a matter of personal taste, private sentiment, and personal choice? Have we become a nation, a world that gains a sense of purpose and meaning primarily from our sexual desires and behavior?

Pastor Phillip Lee

Today, with many rejecting the Authority of Scripture in matters of faith, practice, and God’s holy boundary lines with regard to sexual expression, clearly what we are witnessing is – without the spiritual, sexuality will always rule and reign supreme.

On every hand, you find those “who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.” (Isaiah 5:20)

With all sorts of opinions consuming the airwaves, media, and the Internet, it appears everything is now up for question, debate, and compromise, sexual expression in particular.

The moral status of America cannot be determined on the basis of population figures. There is no such thing as statistical morality. America’s blind, amoral pursuit of pleasure at any price, and in any form, has indeed perpetuated the social and dark spiritual dynamics that have birthed and inflamed the various forms of sexual perversion.

Does this not constitute “aiding and abetting the enemy?”

While there are those still attempting to make The Bible and Christianity socially and culturally relevant by rewriting and redefining biblical standards, I find tremendous comfort and strength in knowing God’s Word remains steadfast from generation to generation. Therefore, it remains crucial that each and every true faithful follower of Christ Jesus understand and embrace “thus saith the Lord” when it comes to God’s divine intent for human sexuality and a host of other issues of our time.

Ultimately, God is not and will not be mocked, and there is no way anyone can legitimately rewrite or circumvent what God prohibits. Anyone choosing to practice any behavior (in any form or to any degree) that God has clearly defined as sin, cannot glorify God and will eventually downward spiral.

But the good news is “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” (1 John 1:8) no matter how sinister, dark, rebellious or disobedient our actions or heart may be.

How well I remember my first reading of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

What hope and comfort this passage gave me. Clearly, according to God, anyone can be an overcomer and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. The Lord Jesus has not changed, nor will He ever alter His Word to accommodate man’s sinful desires, choices, and behaviors.

The reality of an across-the-board crisis of sexual and relational brokenness in America clearly points to an increasing inability, as a society, to make healthy and moral distinctions. Even those who place a high premium on tolerance are obligated to recognize that matters of various sexual lifestyles now threaten the very values and institutions on which a solid and vital society is built and sustained.

I believe we all would do well to ponder the words of Frederick Douglas…

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

What matters morally should and must be determined on the basis of our best understanding of what constitutes human well-being. Today, more than ever, responsible American citizens who truly care for the greater social good of America are obligated to impose, if not place under the microscope, a moral gaze on their sexual behavior.

Unfortunately, not every American is willing or responsive enough to such an obligation. What’s more, they do not want anyone to hold them responsible. Those who have the self-respect to recognize that a person is not reducible to his or her desires or behavior truly exhibit a concern for social justice, personal responsibility, and a true love for this nation which seeks nothing higher than the welfare of people.

When a person’s actions, no matter how sincere, endanger the well-being of society, criticism and confrontation are both appropriate and necessary. Irresponsible sexual behavior is one of our nation’s most destructive realities.

How is it that in choosing to dismiss and disregard a moral compass, we are shocked by the state of our culture? Even so, shocked at what has happened and continues to spread in the Church?

Speaking as someone that was trapped for many years in a behavior and lifestyle, thinking there was no way out, I completely understand how anyone might have difficulty in believing in and receiving God’s forgiveness and restoration.

“But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) God remains rich in mercy and remains willing to deliver anyone. “He is forever our great Sin-bearer and the God who forgives.” (Psalm 99:8).

Jesus Christ is the alternative. He addresses the problem – man limited to self – and provides the way through which we can find fulfillment in God and His people. By releasing us from the dictates of the past, Jesus frees us to live as new creatures.

God’s grace is sufficient because His strength is made perfect in our weakness. He provides a new identity, the center out of which a true sense of well-being can be achieved and enjoyed. As we draw close to Him, we are enabled to reflect His image in our humanity more and more fully.

America is in need of huge and immediate change. I believe the Church should be out front by showing the way to bring it about. If things continue in this wonderful nation as they have, America and the Church will remain adrift without a moral compass.

There was a time when the Church set societal standards. We cannot and we must not apologize for moral and ethical “holy boundary lines” for living. All faithful followers of Christ Jesus are called to a higher standard.

It is absolutely essential we return to pinning our faith to, and subject “all” our thinking to and doing to, what we read in the Bible. The 138th Psalm says, “I will praise your name for your loving kindness and your truth, for you have magnified your word above your name.”

Obviously, God thinks highly of His name – but He has magnified His Word even above His name – and so should we all.

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

His Way Out has been faithfully ministering to men and women seeking a way out of sexually broken lifestyles since 1994. We could not do it without the support of Christians like you. Every dollar that you give to His Way Out Ministries helps to further this vital ministry. Won’t you take a minute to prayerfully consider a monthly donation to His Way Out? Please consider making a one-time donation or set up a secure monthly PayPal contribution on our donation page at https://www.hiswayout.com/donate/. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee

A huge and significant shift needs to take place. The question is, “Are we, the Church, willing to turn that high-powered perception upon ourselves and ask ourselves some very hard questions?”

1) Are we willing to take responsibility for harsh words or inappropriate actions and apologize for any wrongs we may have committed out of ignorance?

2) Are we willing to share the Scriptural truths about homosexuality such as: No one is born with same-sex attraction and change is possible?

3) Do we, the Church, truly see ourselves as God’s vehicle to reach wounded, broken, hurting humanity – which includes the sexually and relationally broken?

4) Are, we, the Church, truly willing to educate ourselves on the complexities of same-sex attraction thereby dismantling the many lies and replacing them with the Scriptural truths about homosexuality?

In other words, might we, the Church, become much more proactive in educating and equipping ourselves regarding true Christian ministry to those with unwanted same-sex attraction?

In doing so, we would move from the defense mode of the past several decades to reversing the current tide through understanding and education. I would submit that the real enemy we face today is ignorance and fear.

According to Scripture, there can never be any justification for treating homosexuality as morally equivalent to heterosexuality.

That said, we, the Church, are being asked to lower the bar on the clarity of Scripture with regard to homosexual practice which ultimately means faithful followers of Christ Jesus are being asked to set themselves in direct opposition to moral values clearly outlined in God’s Word.

Today, as the saying goes, “The ball is squarely in our court.” We, the Church, cannot and we must not underestimate ourselves. We, the Church, hold the only answer there is to the crisis of homosexuality. In other words, “Are we willing to be the change we wish to see in the world?”

If we, the Church, truly desire to see current trends change regarding homosexuality and the many related issues, our response requires a combination of compassion and understanding.

Scripture is abundantly clear in that homosexual practice is only one of the many types of behavior condemned in the Bible.

Therefore, to condemn homosexuality really is an expression of compassion because it seeks to warn, if not rescue those snared by the brokenness of same-sex attraction.

I still believe in and have every confidence in the Church’s ability, through Christ, to lovingly communicate to the sexually broken that God’s mercy and grace are sufficient for transformation.

The key is education, education, education!

We are all in this work together through Christ!

May God help us on that day when we are asked to give an account of how we responded to the difficult issue of homosexuality so that we might hear Him, say,

“Well done, good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:21

Pastor Phillip Lee
Executive Director
His Way Out Ministries

His Way Out has been faithfully ministering to men and women seeking a way out of sexually broken lifestyles since 1994. We could not do it without the support of Christians like you. Every dollar that you give to His Way Out Ministries helps to further this vital ministry. Won’t you take a minute to prayerfully consider a monthly donation to His Way Out? Please consider making a one-time donation or set up a secure monthly PayPal contribution on our donation page at https://www.hiswayout.com/donate/. Thank you, Pastor Phillip Lee