The mission
In the Bible, there is a book called "Exodus" (which can also be read as "Exit Us"). In this book, God saves His chosen people, the Israelites, from the slavery and bondages of the Egyptians. He took them out of Egypt and placed them into another land. In other words, they "exited" Egypt; a place known for its sins and worship of false gods. So the Israelites were given an opportunity to leave all of their bondages and hardships behind and start a new life with peace, freedom and joy in the one true God.
In 1976, a group of people started a ministry project that eventually became known as "Exodus International." With its headquarters residing in Orlando, Florida, "Exodus North America" was the begining of many other worldwide sects of Exodus International. This organization was dedicated to "curing" homosexuality by changing people from gay to straight. But they continuously failed in their quest. In fact, in 1979, just three years after the organization took off, two of its very own founders (Michael Bussee and Gary Cooper) admitted to falling in love with each other and left the group to be together. The rest of the founders continued to lead the group. For approximately three decades they remained in denial about their lack of success. They simply taught people to repress their feelings the best that they could and pretend to fit certain heterosexual stereotypes. Some people were even encouraged to give twisted and/or false testimonies of being "healed" by Jesus from homosexuality. But the leaders finally came to terms with the fact that they weren't actually changing anyone's sexual orientation. And in mid 2013, Exodus International finally called it quits.
Christians are slowly begining to realize that being born gay is not a sin. And although the leaders of Exodus International may have started out with really good intentions, it is quite obvious that more harm was done than good.
Exodus International almost had it right. They just went about things a little bit backwards. You see, their mission was to lead gay people out of sin and bondage and set them free. And that was (and still is) a great concept. But the problem was that they believed that the sin was their homosexuality. This gave EI the mindset that gays needed to be set free from their sexual orientation (or as they looked at it, their "choice," not orientation). But in reality, the bondage for those gays was not their homosexuality. It was the hardships and impossible lifestyle that the religious people were placing on them that was the bondage. And what they needed to be set free from was the Law. Of course, Jesus already took care of that on the cross. But the gays weren't (and sometimes still aren't) being taught that. Many gays still don't know or fully understand that, yes, Jesus loves them just how they are: natural born eunuchs. Once this is fully understood, all gays can truly acknowledge and accept God's love and grace without feeling shame or doubt. And that is the mission of Cow Power Ministries. It's a little something we like to call, "Exodus 2.0"
So to wrap this up, let's stop and take a look at this pretty cool list that we've created here at CPM. It is a collection of events (that either have happened or will eventually happen) that we believe to be "Exodus moments." It's called... "Operation: Exit-Us."
Exodus 1.0
God helps the Israelites exit Egypt.
Exodus 0.0
Exodus International attempts to help gays exit the bondages of their "sin."
[This event is called "0.0" instead of "2.0" because it caused the body of Christ to take a step backward instead of forward. So we went back a number].
Exodus 2.0
Cow Power Ministries helps fellow gays exit the bondages of the religious Law and assists in completing the body of Christ.
Exodus 3.0
God helps us exit this wicked world (aka, the rapture).
In 1976, a group of people started a ministry project that eventually became known as "Exodus International." With its headquarters residing in Orlando, Florida, "Exodus North America" was the begining of many other worldwide sects of Exodus International. This organization was dedicated to "curing" homosexuality by changing people from gay to straight. But they continuously failed in their quest. In fact, in 1979, just three years after the organization took off, two of its very own founders (Michael Bussee and Gary Cooper) admitted to falling in love with each other and left the group to be together. The rest of the founders continued to lead the group. For approximately three decades they remained in denial about their lack of success. They simply taught people to repress their feelings the best that they could and pretend to fit certain heterosexual stereotypes. Some people were even encouraged to give twisted and/or false testimonies of being "healed" by Jesus from homosexuality. But the leaders finally came to terms with the fact that they weren't actually changing anyone's sexual orientation. And in mid 2013, Exodus International finally called it quits.
Christians are slowly begining to realize that being born gay is not a sin. And although the leaders of Exodus International may have started out with really good intentions, it is quite obvious that more harm was done than good.
Exodus International almost had it right. They just went about things a little bit backwards. You see, their mission was to lead gay people out of sin and bondage and set them free. And that was (and still is) a great concept. But the problem was that they believed that the sin was their homosexuality. This gave EI the mindset that gays needed to be set free from their sexual orientation (or as they looked at it, their "choice," not orientation). But in reality, the bondage for those gays was not their homosexuality. It was the hardships and impossible lifestyle that the religious people were placing on them that was the bondage. And what they needed to be set free from was the Law. Of course, Jesus already took care of that on the cross. But the gays weren't (and sometimes still aren't) being taught that. Many gays still don't know or fully understand that, yes, Jesus loves them just how they are: natural born eunuchs. Once this is fully understood, all gays can truly acknowledge and accept God's love and grace without feeling shame or doubt. And that is the mission of Cow Power Ministries. It's a little something we like to call, "Exodus 2.0"
So to wrap this up, let's stop and take a look at this pretty cool list that we've created here at CPM. It is a collection of events (that either have happened or will eventually happen) that we believe to be "Exodus moments." It's called... "Operation: Exit-Us."
Exodus 1.0
God helps the Israelites exit Egypt.
Exodus 0.0
Exodus International attempts to help gays exit the bondages of their "sin."
[This event is called "0.0" instead of "2.0" because it caused the body of Christ to take a step backward instead of forward. So we went back a number].
Exodus 2.0
Cow Power Ministries helps fellow gays exit the bondages of the religious Law and assists in completing the body of Christ.
Exodus 3.0
God helps us exit this wicked world (aka, the rapture).