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.
To you all,
I am interested in wondering how gossip about whether or not I took medication or not is helping. The issue isn’t what I did wrong or right, or what Pastor Oden, Pastor Hill, or Pastor Baldwin and Heartland did right or wrong. We all did things wrong. The issue seems to be more about the fact that there are people out there who are declaring that they can heal people of homosexuality! That is what people need to be worried about not whose fault it was to take my medication. In response to the comment that I spent no money on PLM WRONG!!! I actually spent 5,000 dollars to go there and live, not to mention every penny of the money I made while i worked there! Those wanting more information can go to the Dallas Voice website and talk to John Wright about me.
Thanks,
James
Lance is gay. He has posted on his site (www.signposts2.wordpress.com) that he meets anonymous men for gay sex in local gay hang outs in his city. He is a radio announcer for a radio station in his city. He mostly just reads the news and football scores.
Brent,
I’m sorry but I will not be emailing you in private. My experience is that men and woman are very different on this issue. In addition, everyone has a different background, different theology, different perspective on what is sexuality, gender and love. These things alone are huge items to consider. Please consider consulting with Dr. Throckmorton. Take care.
Mary
Mary,
Just wondering if you could please email me and let me know exactly what you did to become an “ex gay”. I’ve been struggling with this for quite some time, and have been grasping for straws as I try to find a way to have the life I want to have….
[email protected] is the email, and I really hope to hear from you soon! thank you!
Let’s not confuse one group with another.
I am ex gay and don’t rally outside gay bars. If you want to go to a gay bar – go. Have fun. Be with friends and drive safely when you leave.
I am ex gay and don’t buy that Isaiah Highway preaching. Um… that’s like calling Hollywood a realistic picture of America.
I am ex gay and do take ex gay therapy seriously. It’s not about other people and why a person seeks therapy is up to them – they can walk out at ANY time.
I am ex gay and don’t like (from what I have heard and read about) those ex gay camps – they sound unproductive, like little prisons, unsafe, humiliating, cult like etc…
I am ex gay and watch/read all kinds of sources for my news information (rarely is it religious)
And I have no idea what you mean by fire but when I yell Fire! you can sure bet there is a real fire.
So, Lance, please don’t lump us all into one group even if you are a christian – we might just see things very differently. And if you are gay I’ll try not to imagine you in a pink tutu swishing down the aisle of the grocery store??? Fair?
Pure Life stated that its staffers controlled and dispensed the meds at their option. The staffers are unlicensed amateurs, not licensed medical or mental-health professionals.
PLM has performed no aftercare and permitted no surveys of its success and failure rates. A handful of anecdotes (some of them anonymous) do not qualify as a documented track record of success.
Well, what you’re saying sounds terrible, but it didn’t happen in the Stabiles case. How does ‘having someone witness that James takes his meds as presribed’ constitute of ‘losing control’ of his meds. He didn’t seem to be ‘in control of them,’ under his parents care, when he wandered up to the church group on the street corner.
I’m confused, the church was blamed for James not taking his meds and Pure Life is blamed for verifying that he takes his meds. It would seem terrible to blame his parents for the two and a half weeks that they didn’t notice he was off his meds.
No documented track record of success? You don’t know anyone who has gone through the program, do you?
Did you catch in the article last week? Money paid to Pure Life was described as ‘HiS.’ And this week it said that the $2100. was… ‘raised.’
I respect the parents desire to be private, but I would have respected it more if they stayed private until they could verify that all of their printed claims were true… or if they would be big enough to go back and correct the things that are still untrue.
I respect the Stabiles’ desire for privacy. James Stabile should be left alone — but Oden and PLM apparently continue to wage war against the health and spiritual well-being of others.
How many more people will be given demonic “healings,” stereotyped, shipped off to a religious group that lacks professional therapeutic credentials, lose control of their psychiatric meds to untrained amateur staffers, and be robbed of thousands of dollars for unprofessional treatment that (in PLM’s case) has no documented track record of success?
It is the duty of true Christians — indeed, anyone with a conscience — to stop such unholy travesty. The Stabiles’ legitimate call for privacy is in no way an excuse to allow culture warriors to commit heresy, abuse, and ethical breaches against others in the name of God and morality.
Lance said:
“I think the US should be declared legally insane and locked-up.”
Thanks for the hateful, terrorist-like comment.
Well, it’s interesting that nothing documents these claims yet. It causes one to wonder if the truth is being searched for. If I was trying to investigate this situation for the ‘truth’… I guess I would start with asking those involved to confirm or deny it. And then I might investigate, ‘where’ in today’s advanced society, I might find proof and documentation of these claims. It would be nice if reporters would document THEIR claims before alerting an ‘already disillusioned’ audience. You’re doing a better job Warren. I appreciate it. I like you for it. Sorry to be irritated, but I feel even more sorry for those that think they have a true understanding of the situation.
Lance,
Thank you for reposting that article. It was good to read it. It shed a little more light on the situation.
Ahhh, Eddy! Thanks. Coming from you, that feels good.
isea metaphor – Please document your claims. Readers should be aware that nothing documents as yet, these claims.
Mary–
Good to see you’re back. I missed you!
I would want to put the controversy to rest too, after learning that the church never told my son to stop taking his meds because they didn’t know he was Bi-polar, ….especially knowing that my son phoned home whenever he wanted to, and that as soon as critical lies/signs of a problem were discovered… they made my son go home…. but he didn’t stay there because he was not allowed to live at home…(And that he didn’t have to pay one cent to go to Pure Life). Is impulsivity hereditary?
If you know that your son is Bipolar or Bipolar II, and you’re going to be upset with these people that were trying to love him and help him with everything he asked for …how about ‘you’ pick up the phone
and call them to make sure he’s not out of medication.
So, as Warren said, “Lance simply included the entire Dallas Voice article in his post,” meaning Lance got no orginal info as it sounded on his blog?
As well, let the Stabile family be with themselves. This is no longer an issue for the fodder of gay activists or ex gay activists. It is now a private family matter. My prayers to the family.
Lance simply included the entire Dallas Voice article in his post.
I am aware that Rev. Stabile has talked again to the Dallas Voice and there will be a story in this week’s Voice as a follow up.
Warren,
I don’t know if you’ve looked into this, but a guy named Lance on a connected thread has a web page that looks like it has more information on James.
Here’s the link
Lance purports to have spoken with Rev. Stabile and has some interesting quotes on his site.
Eddy – I’m with you – I hope and pray that James and his family find the help and healing that they need!!!
Thanks, Pastor, for the follow-up. Prayers and best wishes to you and your family.