Andrew Comiskey is an American conservative Christian political activist and is the founder of Desert Stream Ministries, a ministry formerly affiliated with Exodus International.[1] He has written several books based on his experience with turning away from a homosexual identity and avoiding homosexual relationships and behaviors, and gives seminars to those who wish to be free from such relationships and behaviors.[2] He is considered to be a prominent ex-gay leader,[3] and has appeared as a guest on The 700 Club.[4]
Biography
editComiskey started a support group for those struggling with same-sex attraction at the Vineyard Santa Monica with the encouragement of the pastor. He started his own organization called Desert Stream / Living Waters Ministries in 1980. In 1981, Comiskey became a pastor in the Vineyard Christian Fellowship. Later, Comiskey and Desert Stream would move and become part of Vineyard Anaheim, but this association finished when he moved to Kansas City.[5] In the following years, Comiskey continued his work as a pastor and leader of Desert Stream / Living Waters Ministries. Comiskey cites author and ministry leader Leanne Payne as a major influence. Comiskey gives seminars on restoring identity and wholeness and avoiding homosexual relationships and behaviors and has written four books on the subject; Comiskey's Pursuing Sexual Wholeness became one of the most popular books on the topic.[6]
Comiskey married Annette in 1981, with whom he had started the Desert Stream Ministries. The couple went on to have four children.[7][8]
In April 2011, Comiskey converted to Roman Catholicism.[9] This conversion was controversial among the Protestants that used his material.
Publications
edit- Freeing the Homosexual, Desert Stream Ministries, 1988, ISBN 0-88419-225-3
- Pursuing Sexual Wholeness: How Jesus Heals the Homosexual, Charisma House 1989, ISBN 0-88419-259-8
- Crosscurrent, Desert Stream Press, 1999, ISBN 1-930159-04-8
- The Kingdom of God & the Homosexual, Desert Stream Ministries, 2000, ISBN 1-930159-02-1
- Strength in Weakness: Overcoming Sexual and Relational Brokenness, InterVarsity press 2003, ISBN 0-8308-2368-9
Notes
edit- ^ andrewcomiskey.com "Exodus: Letting Go, Hope Rising".
- ^ Hendricks, Tyche (2007-02-18). "Demonstrators protest 'ex-gay' seminar". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Besen, Wayne R. (2003). Besen, p.52. Harrington Park Press. ISBN 9781560234463. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
- ^ The 700 club: GUEST BIO - Ex-Gay Encourages the Church to Welcome the Sexually Broken, Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN)
- ^ "Media of spotlights for February 27, 2004". Exodus International. Archived from the original on December 9, 2004.
- ^ Schmidt, Thomas (1995). Straight & Narrow?: Compassion & Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press. p. 157. ISBN 0-8308-1858-8.
- ^ Life & Times Transcript 05/13/04 Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, kcet.org, 13 May 2004
- ^ "Ex-Gay Encourages the Church to Welcome the Sexually Broken". CBN.com - The Christian Broadcasting Network. 2008-03-18. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- ^ "Details Concerning My Conversion to Catholicism". Andrew Comiskey. 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
References
edit- Andrew Comiskey. "Exodus: Letting Go, Hope Rising".
- Wayne R. Besen (2003). Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth. New York: Harrington Park Press. ISBN 1-56023-446-6.