Ex-Gay Survivor Jeremy Marks Interviewed

Jeremy Marks

William Crawley of BBC Radio Ulster will interview Jeremy Marks on the Sunday Sequence program tomorrow morning (Sunday Feb 22). Jeremy was ex-gay and then the founded an ex-gay program in England. He even trained with Love in Action and ran a residential program for a time in the UK, but then he experienced a different kind of change. Over at his blog William writes,

Jeremy Marks’s story is fascinating because, by the end of the 1990s, he became seriously concerned about the long-term effects of ex-gay ministries. “I came to understand that our approach was sowing isolation, loss of faith, broken marriages, and even attempted suicides. I knew I must change our ministry approach,” he says. In 2000, in spite of opposition from the evangelical community, Marks transformed Courage UK into a gay-affirming evangelical ministry. He has issued a personal apology to “my fellow Gay, Lesbian Bisexual and Trans-gendered people … for my part in colluding with the religious right in the Western world.” Today Courage UK serves gay and lesbian Christians “seeking a safe space to reconcile their faith and sexuality”.

Jeremy recently authored a book about his experience, Exchanging the truth of God for a lie. Jeremy will talk about his story and no doubt field some thoughtful, insightful and possibly provocative questions from William Crawley who is a delightful interviewer and a serious debater. Also on the program will be Michael Davidson who recently started an ex-gay program in Northern Ireland.

You can listen to Sunday Sequence live at 8:30-10:15 AM Belfast time or through the archive. The program should be available for a week.

Auntie Doris and I have fond memories of hanging with William at Lambeth this past summer.  Actually some months before that Auntie Doris joined me in the London studios of the BBC when William interviewed me for Sunday Sequence. That day we gave William a little “pre-show” action with our crazy banter.

Speaking of ex-gay survivors in the international media, check out the Dutch TV piece about David Christie and Scott Tucker, two survivors of the Love in Action program. (It’s in English)

And don’t forget to check out my interview with Italy’s Radio Populare tomorrow (Sunday 22 Feb 11:00 Rome time) where I talk about the ex-gay movement, parents and more all in Italian! Wait but I don’t speak Italian. What sort of media voodoo is at work here? Who knows maybe Joe G will sample some of it for one his creepy podcasts (if he is still podcasting??? Joe your public needs you!)