James Stabile speaks out; apologizes for actions

In a Dallas Voice article out today, James Stabile talks to John Wright about his experiences with Heartland World Ministries Church and Pure Life Ministries. Rev. Joe Oden is quoted as well. Oden’s statements in the DV article are consistent with the interview he gave to me on the 18th.

The Light the Highway folks have removed most references to James Stabile from their Purity Siege website. 

Prior posts on this story are here, here and here.

I-35 Light the Highway campaign featured on CNN tonight

CNN’s Gary Tuchman previews a segment to air tonight about the I-35 revival campaign called Light the Highway. I discussed that project in relationship to the James Stabile story. Joe Oden of the Heartland School of Ministry in Dallas tells me that James Stabile’s situation did not come up in the interviews.

Tuchman interviews Cindy Jacobs who is not clear, according to Tuchman, about whether Isaiah 35:8 refers to the Texas to Minnesota Interstate.

The woman who came up with the concept of “Light the Highway” is a Texas minister named Cindy Jacobs.

She says she can’t be sure Interstate 35 really is what is mentioned in the Bible but says she received a revelation to start this campaign after “once again reading Isaiah, Chapter 35.”

Jacobs also points out that perhaps there is a link between the area near this highway and tragedies that have happened in history, such as the bridge collapse on I-35 in Minneapolis last August and the assassination of JFK 44 years ago near I-35 in Dallas. That’s why prayer certainly can’t hurt, she adds.

Sounds like must see TV, tonight at 10pm eastern time on CNN. See video of the segment here.

Same-sex parenting: What do we know?

Comments on a recent post about an article in the Southern Poverty Law Center have drifted toward a discussion about same-sex parenting. Commenters noted that several professional associations (APA, Pediatrics group) have policies which endorse gay parenting. Other commenters have questioned the wisdom of such endorsements citing research based concerns.

So here is the first of a multi-part series summarizing what I can find on the subject. I am not as aware of this literature as I am some other aspects of social policy so I do not claim that this is exhaustive but I do want to put up some links and get our conversations based on something besides anecdote and irrelevant studies.

Let me start with a link to a 2005 article by William Meezan and Jonathan Rauch, titled, Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting, and America’s Children. It is a serious effort by advocates of gay rights to examine the literature. They find much contention among bonafide scholars about the quality of the research. For instance, they note

The significance of this body of evidence is a matter of contention, to say the least. Steven Nock, a prominent scholar reviewing the literature in 2001 as an expert witness in a Canadian court case, found it so flawed methodologically that the “only acceptable conclusion at this point is that the literature on this topic does not constitute a solid body of scientific evidence,” and that “all of the articles I reviewed contained at least one fatal flaw of design or execution. . . . Not a single one was conducted according to generally accepted standards of scientific research.” Two equally prominent scholars, Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz, vigorously disputed the point: “He is simply wrong to say that all of the studies published to date are virtually worthless and unscientific. . . . If the Court were to accept Professor Nock’s primary criticisms of these studies, it would have to dismiss virtually the entire discipline of psychology.”

Dismiss psychology? Stacey and Biblarz say that like it would be a bad thing…

Meezan and Rauch identify only four studies that meet sufficient criteria for examining claims about gay parenting. I encourage readers to review their summaries. My impression is that the studies are suggestive, they are far from a basis for making policy recommendations. Meezan and Rauch acknowledge as much when they write

We believe that both sides of that argument are right, at least partially. The evidence provides a great deal of information about the particular families and children studied, and the children now number more than a thousand. They are doing about as well as children normally do. What the evidence does not provide, because of the methodological difficulties we outlined, is much knowledge about whether those studied are typical or atypical of the general population of children raised by gay and lesbian couples. We do not know how the normative child in a same-sex family compares with other children. To make the same point a little differently, those who say the evidence shows that many same-sex parents do an excellent job of parenting are right. Those who say the evidence falls short of showing that same-sex parenting is equivalent to opposite-sex parenting (or better, or worse) are also right.

This seems to be about as good a summary as I could write. We have precious little to go on and I believe social conservatives are correct to say we are not inspired to make national policy based on the positive results obtained thus far. Advocates of same-sex parenting, Meezan and Rauch go on to suggest a research strategy

In particular, the clustering in four neighboring states of all three kinds of arrangement— same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, civil unions in Vermont and Connecticut, and neither in New Hampshire—offers a near ideal natural laboratory. A rigorous study of how children fare when they are raised in these various arrangements and environments would not be easy to design and execute, and it would require a considerable amount of time and money; but the knowledge gained would make the debate over gay marriage better lit and perhaps less heated, to the benefit of all sides of the argument.

Although some would never agree, I believe there is some merit to this suggestion. Doing such a study would not interfere with the ability of advocates on both sides to make their cases on ideological grounds, nor would people who are not in favor of gay parenting be required to change their moral views in order to acknowledge that such arrangements exist and should be reviewed. 

Now what do you think? What are the promises and pitfalls of such a study?

In beginning this series, I hope that commenters will add specific references to studies which I should consider adding to future posts.

Rev. Joseph Stabile wants to put controversy to rest

Recently, I have posted about the James Stabile saga involving the young man filmed during an event sponsored by Heartland World Ministry Church. Mr. Stabile left home and became involved with the church, eventually filmed by Christian Broadcasting Network, then enrolled in Pure Life Ministries and is now back at home with his parents. I spoke with James’s father, Rev. Joseph Stabile by phone today who provided the following statement regarding the controversy surrounding his son James and the Light the Highway revival work. 

We have our son at home and we’re grateful. We are glad to be able to love and support him as we have always done. It has been a difficult time for us all. It has been a learning experience for James and I hope it has been a learning experience for Heartland Ministy and Pure Life Ministry. James is receiving appropriate medical care and is not willing to talk now about his experiences at Heartland Ministry and/or Pure Life Ministry. We would like to put this to rest.

Read the prior two posts here and here to get the back ground. Pastor Stabile did say that the posts were accurate based on his knowledge of the situation. Talking to Rev. Stabile, it was clear to me that he wants to give his son time to get his bearings after what has been a confusing stretch in his life. He did not want to throw stones or focus on details; rather he hoped all involved could reflect on what can be learned from the situation.

Disputed Mutability on Love Won Out

Dismuted Mutability is a blogger and a blog that I like to read. She provides insight into someone who has grappled with sexual identity issues in a refreshing and honest manner. Her last couple of posts are descriptions of her recent visit to Love Won Out in Indianapolis. Regarding her first post (general impressions), I cannot comment much. I did not attend that one and I am told there have been many changes in LWO since I attended in St Louis in February of 2006.

On change that has been made is that Joe Dallas is conducting the session “The Condition of Male Homosexuality” in place of Joe Nicolosi. I am posting here the link to DM’s review of Joe D’s talk. From DM’s review, the content has also changed, and in my view, for the better.

She begins with the good news:

IF you HAD to have a talk putting forward the standard developmental/reparative theory of male homosexuality, I don’t think you could get a much better talk than the one Dallas gave.

The rest of the post is well worth the read. I think she is very likely correct when she says:

I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that those who spend any time in exgay ministry or counseling are more likely to feel (or at least hope!) that developmental theories fit them.  After all, those who don’t feel they fit are likely to consider those approaches and the ministries that offer them a waste of time. For another thing, I would suggest that exgay ministries/counseling have a tendency to encourage a certain perception of one’s childhood experiences and parental relationships. Speaking personally, I know that I was coached to look at myself, my childhood, and my parents in a certain way by the exgay movement. Now, they might just be helping us to see what’s really there. Or they could be leading us to make a big deal out of all the ordinary imperfections of children and parents, and in some cases perhaps even something more unhelpful than that.  Anyway, my point is that there are excellent reasons for being skeptical of drawing conclusions about gays in general from observations of those who seek out and attend exgay ministries/counseling.  I think that being fully honest would require bringing this out clearly.