Preaching the gospel of change

Religion | Chad Thompson took the hard road to falling out of love with homosexuality | Anthony Bradley

I'm not gay, I'm not gay, I'm not gay." This repeated phrase opens yet another presentation by Chad Thompson, 25, to a group of college students in Wisconsin as he tells his story of change from gay to straight. At churches, public high schools, and universities across America, Thompson presents a hugely controversial message: Homosexuals can change their sexual orientation.

His story is common: Chad's father was physically present yet emotionally distant, with periodic fits of rage overshadowing the love he could offer his son. This left a huge void for masculine affection, especially when male peers rejected him—and that void became sexualized during adolescence.

Chad says that at age 12 he dreamed of living in an apartment where each of the doors was labeled "fag." He believed the nightmare represented the well-founded fear that if people knew about the homosexual desires he was feeling he would immediately be ostracized. When he was in the fourth grade his Sunday school teacher had left him thinking that "all homosexuals go to hell." Chad, believing he would too, wanted to change but didn't know how.