Man who tried to help people banish homosexual attractions says he never saw it work

A former leader in the ex-gay movement says after over 20 years of working trying to turn gay people straight, he’s never seen someone eliminate their homosexual attractions.

“I began to really evaluate all the people that I talked to through the years,” says John Smid, the former executive director of Love in Action. “I really had not known anyone that had changed all their attractions from same-sex attractions to heterosexual attractions.”

Love in Action describes itself as a “Christian discipleship ministry that exists to restore those trapped in sexual and relational sin through the power of Jesus Christ.”

Even as Smid continued working at Love in Action, attempting to turn others away from homosexuality, he tells 97.3 KIRO FM’s Ross and Burbank Show that at a point, he had to admit he still had homosexual attractions himself.

“It started way back in about 1995, when I became really honest about the fact that I still experience same-sex attraction, and I was at that time pretty well involved in the ex-gay movement.”

Smid says he doesn’t regret all the work he did while at Love in Action, but there are things he wishes he’d done differently. “There’s certainly things I regret about what I said, and how I managed certain situations.”

Listen to interview with John Smid: I’m sorry for trying to turn gay Christians straight

Smid remains a devout Christian and says he tries to share his experience with others of the faith, so they can gain a better understanding.

“I think there really is a fear of the issue of homosexuality. I think there’s a great misunderstanding, a tremendous lack of education on the issue,” says Smid. “There is a tremendous amount of disagreement within the Christian faith on this issue. When I talk to them about it, I try to just be honest about my own experiences, and I also try to encourage them to look at the person instead of the behavior.”

Even if other members of the faith disagree with homosexuality, Smid says there should still be room for homosexuals in the Christian community. “People in the Christian faith, and in the community, are missing people. They’re missing people who love God and who want to serve and have tremendous gifts to offer.”

“It’s very grievous to me that people push people away based on different aspects of their lives,” says Smid. “I think Jesus’ most prominent message is that we are to love him and love each other, and I think that many times we’re more concerned about what someone’s doing than we are whether or not we’re really loving them.”

By JAMIE GRISWOLD, MyNorthwest.com Editor