The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • A9

www.tennessean.com THETENNESSEAN Saturday, August 1 1 2007 9A FROM PAGE ONE POLITICS Straw poll could be pivotal for White House hopefuls Gay: Church ministries have critics By THOMAS BEAUMONT The (Des Moines, Iowa) Register The journey to Ames ends today. Nevermind the interpretations that the Iowa Republican Party's presidential straw poll results will produce. The event marks the end of the 2008 GOP campaign's first phase, and likely some of its participants. "What the straw poll is going to do is weed out some of the field," said Roger Hughes, a former Hamilton County chairman, who helped devise the GOP fundraiser and early Iowa test 30 years ago. The run-up to the straw poll has produced a bitter fight between former Massachusetts Gov.

Mitt Romney, the clear favorite, who has invested the most in preparing for the non-binding vote, and Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback who hopes to leave Ames as the candidate of strict Iowa social conservatives. Also planning to attend the late-summer campaign tradition are candidates John Cox of Illinois, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, U.S. Reps.

Duncan Hunter of Cali DIPTI VAIDYA THE TENNESSEAN Darlene Bogle, a Christian and a lesbian, struggled for years with her church's teachings that homosexuality was wrong. Later, she says, she realized "that God loved me as I was." Mw 11 i i I i I I I I fornia, Ron Paul of Texas and Tom Tancredo of Colorado, and former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, will be idle in New York today. John McCain, a senator from Arizona, will be campaigning in New Hampshire, aides said. Likewise, former Tennessee Sen.

Fred Thompson, who is planning to announce his candidacy in the coming weeks, will steer clear of the sweating throngs in Ames, although all three no-shows will be on the ballot. i i mum ashle (filestores comw VISA in the midst of a yearlong review of the issue, hoping to determine whether such church-based therapy is effective, and whether it may do more harm than good. 'Success' didn't last For three decades, ex-gay ministries like Exodus International have shared success stories of people who have used prayer and willpower to change, or at least suppress, their homosexuality. Bogle used to be one of the success stories. After going through a therapy program, she became a poster child for the ex-gay movement.

Her same-sex longings, or any sexual desire whatsoever, seemed to vanish. She was at peace. She became director of Para-klete, a California-based ex-gay ministry. She authored four books, appeared on television, gave countless interviews and stood, smiling wide, in the front row of a nationally distributed poster under the banner "Can homosexuals change? We did!" And then in 1991, she fell in love with a young woman, Des, who had come to her group for counseling. "The realization I came to was that God loved me as I was," said Bogle, who lost Des to breast cancer two years ago.

She came to Nashville this week with another graduate of reparative therapy, Christine Bakke, to petition the Southern Baptist Convention to reconsider its approach to gay ministry. BOB STITH "I have seen many people walk away from the homosexual lifestyle. And they were so joyful, so thankful for what God had done in their life." They stood in the shadow of the Billy Graham statue outside headquarters and shared their stories. Then they walked into the headquarters and delivered copies of their statements, and framed collages about their lives, to a receptionist, hoping she would pass them to Stith in Texas. Preacher had awakening Bakke, 36, spent five years in counseling, trying to reconcile her faith and her feelings.

She went into the program expecting to be "changed," only to be crushed when she realized that the only thing she could change was her behavior, not her heart. Bakke no longer considers herself a Christian. "My sexual orientation did not change, no matter what I did, but my faith drastically altered." Stith, who corresponded for several years with Bakke, encouraging her, said he understands the anger and resentment of critics of ex-gay ministries. But he is convinced that it is the most compassionate course of action for the church. The ex-gay process is intense counseling, Bible study and much prayer.

"I have seen many people walk away from the homosexual lifestyle. And they were so joyful, so thankful for what God had done in their life," Stith said. "If you have a strong enough motivation, it is possible." Stith said Two Pavers Baptist Church in Nashville offers an ex-gay ministry called SIGHT. A message left at the church seeking comment from ex-gays wasn't returned. Stith's interest in ex-gay ministries began a dozen years ago, after a fire-and-brimstone sermon about homosexuality.

"I asked myself, 'Would someone who struggled with this issue come to you after they heard you preach like that? And the answer was no," Stith said. "When I realized what my attitude had been, what I was doing, it just about broke my heart." Contact Jennifer Brooks at 61 5-259-8892 or jabrookstennessean.com. IrVlrmr PUPPI Moores Hwy 96 Cool Springs 8099 Moores Ln. Next to Home Depot 6156904444 Rivergate 2160 Gallatin Pike N. At Conference Drive East of Rivergate Mall 6158553339 Mon-Sat: 10am-9pm Sun: Noon-6pm Murfreesboro 460 N.

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