For thirty-five years, The Rev. Dr. Mel White
struggled to "overcome" his homosexual orientation through prayer,
fasting, various aversive therapies, exorcism, and even electric shock.
A victim of misinformation and biblical misuse, Mel thought his
same-sex orientation was a sickness and a sin. During those "closet
years" Mel served the Christian
church as a prize-winning television producer and filmmaker, a
best-selling author, a pastor, seminary professor, and ghost writer to
religious leaders including Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, and Jerry
Falwell.
After a time of terrible depression, Mel finally reconciled his
Christian faith and his sexual orientation. In his autobiography, Stranger
at the Gate: To Be Gay And Christian In America, Mel announced, "I'm gay. I'm proud. And God loves me without reservation."
For the past six years, Mel and his partner, Gary Nixon, have traveled across the country as the UFMCC
Minister of Justice seeking equality and understanding for God's
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered children. In 1997, Mel and
Gary received the ACLU's
National Civil Liberties Award in Atlanta, Georgia, for their efforts
at applying the "soul force" principles of Gandhi and King to the
struggle for justice for sexual minorities. Consider joining their
interfaith, ecumenical Network of Soulforce Friends by visiting Mel and
Gary's new Soulforce web page.
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