Learn enough about the new Netflix movie Pray Away to stay away from its overall message. Jesus really does change people from the inside out, and no amount of distortion or propaganda ever will change that.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
—The apostle Paul to the Christians at Corinth, and to us, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11—
Key point: Because certain truths are difficult for many to accept, they and the people advocating them are regularly maligned, distorted, and misrepresented. Yet these realities still are true, and they still have all the power and authority accorded everything true. People ignore and dismiss such truths, and the people presenting them, to their own peril.
If someone were to ask you to describe Jesus, what adjectives would you use? Many Christians would use adjectives like these: caring, compassionate, and loving. Certainly He was all of these, but I believe one of the Lord’s most important qualities — and one of the most forgotten — is that He was controversial. He was loved by many but hated by many more. Moreover, He warned His disciples that if they truly followed Him, they, too, would be misunderstood, misrepresented, and hated.
Jesus was controversial.
Jeffrey McCall: A True Disciple of Christ
Nearly two years ago I introduced you to Jeffrey McCall. He is a former homosexual who was radically transformed by Jesus Christ. Jesus changed this young man from the inside out, and he became the founder of the Freedom March, a movement that calls on men and women who have been delivered from a gay lifestyle and found freedom in Christ to come together and publicly declare how Christ transformed and delivered them. We have highlighted Freedom March events more than once at Word Foundations.1
Luis Javier Ruiz / Facebook
Luis Ruiz and Angel Colon also have been involved in the Freedom March. Both of them came out of homosexuality and gave their lives afresh to God after the bloody shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on June 12, 2016. Ruiz and Colon now have a ministry and website called Fearless Identity.
Can Homosexuals Change?
Ex-gays are the most misunderstood minority in America. Also, they are the most discriminated against group in the nation, bar none. The prevailing narrative regarding homosexuals is that they were “made” that way or “born” that way, and efforts efforts to change their sexual orientation are extremely harmful. Yet, if a person truly is objective, he or she cannot overlook men and women who have come out of homosexuality. These people are real, and their number is growing. Jeffrey McCall, Luis Ruiz, Angel Colon, Becket Cook, Stephen Black of First Stone Ministries, Daren Mehl of Voice of the Voiceless, and Anne Paulk of Restored Hope Network are only a few of many who would testify to authentic change in their lives.
Becket Cook, author of A Change of Affection: A Gay Man’s Incredible Story of Redemption
Have all of these individuals overcome every element of same-sex attraction? No. But at a deep and authentic level, they no longer desire sexual encounters with members of the same sex; and with God’s help, they have walked away. In other words, they have shed their gay identity. Speaking about his conversion encounter with Christ, Becket Cook put it this way on the Eric Metaxas radio show that aired on August 8, 2019. You can learn more about Becket here.
Can homosexuals change? Resoundingly, formerly gay men and women who’ve been transformed by Christ say yes! Some, like Becket Cook, still may struggle with same-sex attraction (SSA) or homosexual temptation. Even so, these men and women have renounced a gay identity and welcomed an identity in Christ that aligns with the purposes for which God made them. This includes embracing biblical masculinity or femininity, as well as heterosexuality as part of God’s good design. Such a change in perspective and outlook has given these men and women a freedom they never could have attained without Christ.
What About So-Called “Conversion Therapy” ?
While some Christians with homosexuality in their pasts have experienced profound transformations in their sexual desires and moved toward heterosexuality without the help of professional counseling, others have found such counseling very beneficial. Go here to read about what legitimate counseling in this area looks like. It is not at all like the manipulative, coercive, shaming process that militant gay activists claim. Those who are pushing for therapy bans don’t want just to ban “therapy” that truly is harmful (approaches that are non-existent among authentic professional counselors, anyway), but all efforts to overcome same-sex attraction, even talk therapy with goals on which counselor and client fully agree.
Go here to read about what legitimate counseling to address unwanted same-sex attraction looks like. Download a printed copy here.
We need to realize as well that a great many individuals have tried to overcome same-sex attraction through what they believed to be a genuine encounter with Christ and have not been successful in doing so, for a variety of reasons. In some cases their encounter with Christ wasn’t genuine at all. Also, an individual may have had unrealistic goals or expectations. Perhaps the approach taken in therapy or counseling failed to tackle the real underlying cause or causes, real emotional wounds that haven’t yet healed.
Add to this mix this reality. A number of years ago, a ministry called Exodus created a network of counselors who were willing to help clients overcome SSA. While many of these counselors were legitimate, the leadership of Exodus was struggling with their own issues and ultimately concluded that therapeutic efforts to help people change were futile and even harmful. The organization was disbanded in 2013. Mark it down. When the leadership of a group reaches conclusions that stand in opposition to the principles that were foundational to the formation of the group to begin with, they create a narrative that is very hard to overcome. It’s easy to understand why some people gave up! Still, this doesn’t mean that the leadership of Exodus was right. Indeed, the testimonies of individuals like Jeffery McCall, Stephen Black, and others provide a strong counter narrative regarding whether or not homosexuals can change.
Homosexuality is complicated. Unwanted SSA, plus the hope that therapy will enable one to overcome it, plus having one’s hopes dashed in the end — together, these elements have given way to deep pain in many individuals’ lives. But we must realize that the primary pain they’re experiencing has been caused by the emotional wounds that resulted in homosexuality in the first place. Even so, many of these individuals now believe that all efforts to help same-sex attracted individuals overcome unwanted SSA are harmful.
Pray Away
On Tuesday, August 3, 2021, Netflix released a “documentary” titled Pray Away. The film showcases the failed efforts of some to overcome SSA and makes the case that all therapy designed to help clients along these lines is dangerous and harmful. As we have discussed, however, such therapy isn’t always futile, nor is it inherently harmful. And here’s another point. Whatever happened to individual freedom? Just as no one ever should be coerced into therapy and just as no therapy ever should coerce, so also no one who wants therapy ever should be denied it. Here is the trailer for Pray Away.
As you might be able to tell from the trailer, Jeffery McCall and Freedom March are showcased in the film. Exodus is maligned as dangerous, and Jeffrey and his ministry are portrayed as those who have received the baton from the quacks who led Exodus and provided counseling services to clients hoping to overcome SSA — only to have their hopes dashed because (as the narrative goes) God made people this way, and to try to change what He created will bring them untold harm.
Of course, this isn’t the case, but the film is very effective in communicating this message. Jeffrey and his ministry not only are very much misunderstood, but also very much misrepresented, and perhaps intentionally so. However, for Jeffrey and his ministry partners, this should be no surprise. It is evidence they are doing a great deal right. What’s happening to them is exactly what Jesus said would happen.
Pushing Back
On Facebook, Freedom March issued the following statement about Pray Away:
Freedom March Statement on Pray Away:
On Tuesday Netflix released the documentary Pray Away. Within the film our founder and CEO, Jeffrey McCall, shares his life story of following Jesus out of his transgendered life and gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the growing movement called “Freedom March”.
Our founder and board members at Freedom March know first-hand the pains of going on a journey to discover our true sexual identity. The primary heartbeat behind the Freedom March is to provide a space where individuals can personally encounter Jesus Christ and experience His love. To facilitate this, we gather former LGBTQ to worship, share our personal testimonies, and celebrate the freedom we’ve found in Christ! Knowing him has healed our pains and is transforming our lives.
Freedom March does not align or agree with any form of therapy, ministry, or counseling that forces anyone to change anything, and we do not ever condone coercion, force, or humiliation. Such actions are harmful, unethical, and inconsistent with our Christian faith. We hope and pray that everyone in this film and in the LGBTQ community will experience the rich love of Jesus.
For his part, Jeffery McCall is standing strong, despite all kinds of mischaracterization and ridicule. Here’s what he wrote on his own Facebook page:
So many people reaching out to me…. Both good and bad messages…. I shall continue to follow Jesus. I fell in love with my King Jesus a long time ago and if I feel so rooted and grounded in his love. Nothing shakes me…. His grace is sufficient. My 
is set on eternity with him. #unshakeable #prayaway #checkitoutnow #netflix
Rightly angered by the mischaracterizations in Pray Away, Stephen Black took to Facebook and issued his own statement. You can read what he wrote here.
In an article published by Charisma News, former lesbian and committed Christian Janet Boynes exposed Pray Away for the propaganda it is. Significantly, she writes,
I am tired of the failed former Exodus leaders targeting those of us who choose to faithfully serve the Lord.
I am coming out swinging because they have done enough damage by lying to people to justify their desire to continue to live as gay men or lesbian women. They love sin more than they love God. And where does that get anyone? Nowhere but an eternity absent from God in hell.
Conclusion
In the coming weeks and perhaps months, you’re going to hear a lot about Pray Away.
Do not be taken in.
Support Jeffrey McCall, Stephen Black, and others who are telling the truth about homosexuality and its destructive consequences, and who are telling the truth about the freedom and forgiveness homosexuals — and all sinners (everyone) — can find in Jesus Christ.
They are sharing the real truth, the truth that genuinely will set people free.
Copyright © 2021 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Note:
1Here, here, and here are three articles highlighting Freedom March events.
image credit: Expulsion of the merchants from the temple by Andrei Mironov
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Keep Digging ~ and Learning:
What is Conversion Therapy? An Informative Video from the People Who Produced the Documentary, In His Image
The staff members of First Stone Ministries discuss Pray Away —
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