The only time outting is ethical is when  it’s  hypocrites getting their sheets yanked; cf “Rekers, George;”  “Haggard, Ted;” or  “Craig, Larry.” Jim Bakker, John Ensign and Marc Sanford also come to mind as hypocrites, shoving “family values” down America’s throat while shoving it in on the side. Morality is fine, but live by your law, and don’t impose yours on the rest. Especially when you’re a lying sack.

So just who is Pastor Tom Brock? Well, he’s a conservative , anti-gay, anti-abortion minister at Hope Lutheran Church in Minneapolis who believes that God recently sent a tornado onto the Evangelical Lutheran Conference of America because that church supports homosexuality and abortion.  And had tents up to sell beer during their conference. (I wonder what the buff and bald Brock thought of lightning recently striking  a six-story tall statue of “Touchdown Jesus” in Ohio, and of the 2008 lightning strike on Rio de Janiero’s 130 foot tall Christ the Redeemer?)

Brock also is a gay man struggling with what he feels are unnatural urges and “gender disorder.” To than end he attends a regular support group for those trying to maintain their chastity as gay men. On May 28 at one group meeting, Brock said he had just returned for a trip to Slovakia on church business meeting with other pastors, and admitted

I fell into temptation. I was weak.

Slovakia just celebrated their first Pride event May 22. The parade was disrupted by protesters, including Neo-Nazis who threw tear gas and fireworks and beat marchers.

John Townsend, an undercover reporter for Lavender Magazine, attended these meetings, and witnessed Brock’s confession. Townsend was referred to the program via a priest. I have a feeling–but no proof–that Townsend was tipped off by someone who knew who Brock was and was disgusted.  If so, Townsend did what any investigative reporter would and should do: He devised a way to discover whether or not his tipster was correct.

The support group is sponsored by Faith In Action, the Minnesota chapter of Courage

the global Catholic gay-chastity-maintenance organization.

It is open to all Christian faiths and is pretty much an ex-gay group, and/or a group for men who’d like to be ex-gay. In Townsend’s article there no mention of the group stressing chastity within a heterosexual  context or within committed relationships as a whole, so this is not a sex-addiction support group, but rather a group designed to pray away the gay, a group that teaches that homosexuality is wrong and a “gender disorder.”

The group is supposed to be confidential. Reporter Townsend kept the confidentiality of the rest of the group, with the exception of the priests who led the group meetings and are public about their involvement. Tom Brock is a man who has raised the bar on homophobia in Minneapolis and is spreading a homo-hating message while having sex with men. Exposing Tom Brock vs busting the confidentiality of one harmful hypocrite? Mmm, greater good wins out.

And Queerty reports that Hope Lutheran Church has put Brock on a two week administrative leave after his Slovakian sexcapade was made public. He will likely return to his job.

Tom Brock is conflicted about his sexuality. As such he should have worked on himself and not exteriorized his internal issues from the pulpit to harm others who are living their own lives.

[HT: Lavender Magazine, Queerty]