Ex’d Out –
available now…
Ex’d Out – How I fired the Shame Committee
The protest in Memphis on June 2005 brought a challenge to John Smid’s heart and to his belief system. Since that day, there has been a dramatic transition of thought. John has created a manuscript of the major challenges and his reactions to those challenges that is now in the process of becoming a book.
After twenty-three years of faithful service to hundreds, if not thousands of men and women through a formal ministry called “Love In Action,” John resigned in May of 2008.
John has been known worldwide as one of the stable men who fought fearlessly for a Biblical standard that he believed condemned the practice of homosexuality. His ministry included one of the largest ministries providing counseling for LGBT people that also included a residential program. This ministry was seen as unparalleled in comparison to other models of ministry that proclaimed “Freedom from Homosexuality through Jesus Christ.”
Through these pages you will find not only vulnerable and extensive personal process, but also a serious apology unlike any that has been written before by anyone who was in leadership within the culture of what has been known as “Ex-gay” ministry.
A dramatic transition
John will also share with you the dramatic transition he has gone through that has brought waves of questions and shock to those involved in the communities he served for over two decades.
John’s ministry included speaking and leading conferences on three continents and travelling throughout the United States to release thousands of pages of personally written material into the hands of those hurting and desiring to hear that God could and would dramatically change someone’s sexuality so that homosexuality would no longer be a burden.
It was at the time of his resignation after several years of painful stress and personal challenges, that he chose not to make any plans for his future and prayed, “God, I don’t want to contrive my future plans, so surprise me!”
During the next four years, John began to evaluate his years of ministry and realized that there was something new coming that changed his entire baseline of thought. He also realized that he had made many mistakes. So, John took a deep personal inventory and has chosen to write an extensive weekly web-blog which would later also include a formal acknowledgement of the ways he feels he has been wrong.
Morgan Jon Fox
June 6th, 2005 a major protest occurred at a ministry that John was leading called “Love In Action”. The protests were organized by Morgan Jon Fox, a local Memphis film producer. The protests created an international stir which would have naturally created a field of animosity to sort out. Morgan developed a documentary called “This is What Love In Action Looks Like” that chronicles the two week protest event. Due to their conflicting positions that drove a wedge between John and Morgan, it was clear that these two were virtual enemies. Amazingly, John and Morgan developed a respectful friendship stemming from honesty, and being open with each other.
John asked Morgan to write his thoughts on the book. This excerpt from what Morgan wrote gives some insights as to how Morgan saw these tools work in his relationship with John.
“Over time as me and John began to meet more and more we had long conversations about what was going on in our lives. We both shared deeply personal things about our families and friends. We didn’t debate, or argue about our differences. What this allowed was a chance for two people to find out they had plenty in common without dwelling on what made them opposites. It created a mutual respect that would lay the foundation for growth and trust. It opened the door for something I never could have seen coming…a friendship.”
Morgan Jon Fox, Love In Action Protestor; Filmmaker – Sawed Off Productions