Love In Action (LIA), which has lately been embroiled in controversy over a blog by a 16 year old named Zach who is being forced by his loving parents to undergo LIA's ex-gay program, is begging for tolerance. You can read about it here.

Meanwhile,ex-gays are trying to push their agenda into the public schools with a film titled "Sexual Orientation: Is Change Possible?"

Tolerance, eh?

I'm getting so I cringe every time I hear the word "ex-gay". I spent about three years with the local ex-gay group in Cincinnati, Prodigal Ministries. I can't say it was all bad. One of the leaders, Jerry, was very insightful and, I believe, sincere. He helped me regain my faith at a time when I was ready to give up on God altogether.

The other one, Mike, I can credit with convincing me the ex-gay ministries exist solely for the purpose of allowing queer Christians to feel good about their own internalized homophobia.

As long as people go to these groups through their own volition, I can be tolerant. It's their life and I believe everyone has the right to ruin their own life if they so choose.

But I cannot tolerate enforcing the pertinacious ex-gay perversity on the unwilling.

Zach made a brave and loving gesture by coming out to his parents. It's not something I would have been able to do at sixteen. I was barely able to handle it in my 30's.

The immediate response of Zach's parents was to send him away to get fixed.

I can give them the benefit of the doubt and say they were probably reacting out of fear and misinformation.

In this day and age, there really is no excuse for misinformation. All one has to do is get online and do a search on "ex-gay". They may not accept the results, but they would know that there is at least a possibility that ex-gay groups can cause a lot of damage. Sending a kid to one is not something to be taken lightly.

What did they hope to accomplish? That Zach would be straightened out and return to live a "normal" life, preferably with a wife and children?

I pray that that does not happen. Years down the road, that will cause not only Zach, but his wife and children, a great deal of pain and anguish when his gay feelings can no longer be denied and the marriage ends.

Personally, I feel the best they can hope for is that their ignorant reaction will not turn Zach hopelessly against them and that he will not return with emotional scars that he'll spend years overcoming.

Even if Zach swallows the ex-gay line, he will spend years trying to reconcile his faith and sexuality. Unless he gets a job as the leader of an ex-gay ministry, the day will come when he has to accept the fact that God simply does not change people from gay to straight.

My heart goes out to Zach. Apparently, he's only going through a two week program, which may well be over as I write this. I pray that people will come into his parents' lives that can help them understand that Zach is still Zach, and not some twisted perverted creature that their God despises.

And I pray that people will come into Zach's life who can help him understand that God loves him unconditionally, even if his parents can't.