The video also featured a gay man who was 'cured' of his
homosexuality. Of course, it was more Christian fundamentalist
bullshit and dishonesty.
Dallas gay man adversely affected by Christian "purity
siege"
By John Wright of the Dallas Voice
Next time you see that group of fundamentalist Christians
proselytizing outside the gay bars on the Cedar Springs strip, be
sure to ask them about James Stabile.
In late November, right-wing televangelist Pat Robertsons The 700
Club aired a segment on how some have come to believe through
prophecies, dreams and visions that Interstate 35 is the highway
to holiness referenced in the Old Testament.
As the story goes, a reformation is springing up in cities along
I-35, which runs from Laredo to Duluth, Minn., that eventually will
spread to the coasts and cleanse the entire nation of sin.
Or something like that.
Anyhow, the segment focused on a group affiliated with Heartland
World Ministries Church in Las Colinas thats been staging
so-called purity sieges outside the bars on the strip not far
from where I-35 passes through Dallas on Friday nights for the
last few months.
I had covered one of these sieges back in early September, but as
usual my timing was a little off.
Turns out, had I been there just a week before, I could have
witnessed firsthand the dramatic and miraculous alleged conversion
of Stabile.
Stabile, a 19-year-old homosexual atheist from Dallas, was out
having a few drinks when he ran into Joe Oden, the Heartland
evangelist whos been helping to organize the sieges.
He just barely touched me, and he said, Fire! And I remember
staggering backward, and I thought I was, like, tripping on acid,
Stabile said in The 700 Club segment. It was the weirdest thing
ever.
I didnt feel the desire to be with men like I had felt
before.
Naturally, thanks to YouTube, it didnt take long before the
segment was plastered all over the gay blogosphere.
But the question remained: For the love of God, who is James
Stabile?
I mean, surely someone in Dallas gay community had met this guy,
right? Or was he just a member of the church who was planted on the
strip so the incident could be staged?
Blasphemy!
I later asked Oden (who turns out to be a pretty nice guy, though
clearly not my type), whether he could put me in touch with
Stabile.
Oden told me Stabile had been shipped off to Pure Life Ministries,
which operates a residential treatment program in Northern
Kentucky.
Its a program for people whove lived alternative lifestyles just
to get totally clean, Oden told me.
Upon further investigation, I discovered Pure Life Ministries is
also the place where Mike Johnston remember him?! is director
of donor and media relations.
Johnstons the guy who contracted HIV before swearing off
homosexuality and becoming a poster child for the ex-gay movement
in the late 1980s.
Then, in 2003, it was revealed that Johnston was living a double
life cruising men online and organizing unsafe sex parties while
failing to disclose his HIV status to partners. Johnston eventually
checked into Pure Life and later re-emerged in his current
position.
With good reason, people would question what Im saying now,
Johnston told me recently during what he said was the only
interview hes given on the subject in four years.
But I digress.
A few weeks later, Oden told me Stabile had been kicked out of Pure
Life for being a compulsive liar, which rekindled my
interest.
Finally, I was able to get in touch with Stabiles father, Joseph,
who gave me the real scoop.
Coincidentally, Joseph Stabile is pastor of Cochran Chapel United
Methodist Church, the oldest church in Dallas.
Joseph Stabile said hes fully accepting of his sons sexual
orientation and believes being gay is neither a choice nor a
sin.
Joseph Stabile said James left home to go out that Friday night and
never returned. Joseph said James, or B.J. as his parents
affectionately refer to him, is bipolar and had stopped taking his
medication.
James called a few days later and told his parents he was moving
out, and that hed be back to get his stuff. James apparently had
moved in with some folks from Heartland.
After that, it would be some time before James parents heard from
him, as his church friends reportedly advised him not to contact
them.
Joseph Stabile said the Heartland folks also may have advised James
to throw away his medication, telling him that God would cure his
bipolar disorder, too.
Josephs parents said James has a tendency to be less than
truthful, especially when hes off his medication, and that he
loves attention. They said they dont believe hes ever questioned
his sexuality, but that the folks from Heartland manipulated and
exploited him for publicity.
It wasnt until James got to Pure Life that he was able to
reconnect with his parents. Not surprisingly, James wasnt fitting
in to the program, his father said.
James did not fit into the program because their whole aim was to
have him not be gay, his father said.
Thankfully, the story has a happy ending. After nearly four months,
James returned home last weekend.
His parents said they feel its too soon for James to talk about
what happened, and that they want him to see his therapist
first.
They said James has revealed little about his time at Pure Life,
which he now refers to as straight camp. James just told them it
was horrible and that there are some things he will never be able
to share.
James mother, Suzanne, said he told her the people at Pure Life
constantly threatened that he was going to hell.
Men in the program had to be fully clothed from the neck down at
all times, including when they went to sleep, James told his
parents. And they were prohibited from any physical contact,
including shaking hands.
When James got kicked out, his father asked someone at Pure Life
whether they would buy him a bus ticket.
After all, James had paid $2,100 to get in to the program, plus
$150 a week. But the representative from Pure Life refused.
Joseph Stabile has contacted The 700 Club and asked them to
retract the information about James in the segment.
For now, though, James parents are just glad to have him
back.
None of that experience was Christian, helpful, loving or
supportive, Suzanne Stabile said.