Gay Publisher Comes To Christ

By Meg Jalsevac

Publisher/Founder of Popular Black Lesbian Magazine Leaves
Gay Lifestyle to “Give Heart and Soul to God”

Changes mission of magazine to help those who want to leave
life of homosexuality

TRENTON, NJ., February 28, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Charlene
Cothran, a prominent black lesbian in the forefront of the fight for
equal rights for gays and lesbians and publisher of a successful
magazine geared to black homosexuals was not looking to change
anything in her life.  Her entire life and all her earthly successes
were firmly entrenched in the homosexual community.  But, due
to the inspiration of a pastor who counseled Cothran to use her
gifts for Christ, Cothran has left her homosexual life and is making
it her mission to offer help to other homosexuals who want to do the same.

Cothran said, “I must come out of the closet again.  I have recently
experienced the power of change that came over me once I
completely surrendered to the teachings of Jesus Christ.”

In a front page article in her own VENUS magazine entitled
“Redeemed! 10 Ways to Get Out of the Gay Life, If You Want Out”,
Cothran unabashedly explained the reasons behind her conversion
and the peace that her decision has brought to her.  “Although I
have lived as a lesbian for my entire adult life, it is without a doubt
my soul’s purpose to use my gifts to LOVINGLY share the truth
about how we got here: how we came to be gay or lesbian, how
we came to enjoy our ‘lifestyle’ and how we came to believe that
this was OK with God.”

Cothran offered hope to her “gay and lesbian brothers and sisters
who want real peace” saying, “It is simpler than you think to
acquire [real peace] and there is no condemnation once you’ve
entered it.”  She continued, “Jesus will cleanse and forgive all
confessed sin from a willing heart. Homosexuality is only one of
them.  It is no greater sin than any of the others, but it is sin.”

In her article, Cothran described her conversion and explained that
she expected the Christian pastor to “drop the phone and anoint
it with oil” as soon as she, Cothran, proudly admitted that she
was a lesbian.  On the contrary, the pastor, Vanessia M. Livingston,
told her “one day you will come out of the world and bring many
gay and lesbian souls out with you.”

Cothran is doing just that.  Her conversion story was printed in
VENUS magazine which has a circulation total of over 38,000
predominantly black homosexuals across the nation.  Cothran
says she has “given every gift I have back to God, including
VENUS Magazine.  The target audience will remain the same but
the mission has been renewed.  Our new mission is to encourage,
educate and assist those in the life who want change but can’t
find a way out.  My brother, my sister, please follow me out of this.”

In the article, Cothran outlined 10 ways to facilitate one’s leaving
of the homosexual lifestyle.  Among other things, she encouraged
her readers to “Seek the truth within the scriptures about
homosexuality” and “Do not resist God’s call on your life.”

She also encouraged being public about a conversion cautioning
that, “Keeping the good news of your personal salvation a secret
is another trick the enemy uses to buy time as he tries to pull
you back to your former life.”

The article advises those leaving the homosexual life to “Consult
God first, then go ahead and live your life!”  Cothran says that
conversion is not about renouncing all enjoyment of life.  On the
contrary, she says that it is about enjoying “life to a new degree.”

Cothran says that her conversion story has been received,
predictably, with mixed emotions in the homosexual community.
“I completely understand many of the responses, as angry as
they were. A year ago, I would have responded the exact same way.”

Cothran has personally responded to many of the postings on the
VENUS website herself in an effort to correct the misleading
accounts of her conversion that have been posted on many pro-
homosexual websites, accusing her of “gay-bashing”.

The VENUS website reflects Cothran’s conversion with the new
mission statement saying, “The new mission of Venus Magazine
is to encourage, educate and assist those who desire to leave a
life of homosexuality. Our ultimate mission is to win souls for
Christ, and to do so by showing love to all God’s people. We
believe that homosexuality is outside of the will of God. We know
that many new and longtime VENUS readers have been instilled
with a belief system that is in line with this teaching but are still
living ‘in the life’. Many desire change and wonder if they can be
accepted into the family of God ‘just as they are’. The answer is
YES! These readers will find the new Venus an anointed and
refreshing tool for kingdom work.”

Cothran intends to continue her efforts to encourage and influence
other members of the homosexual community who are trying to
free themselves of the binds of the homosexual lifestyle.  She
says, “I intend to be just as ‘out’ about my transformation as I was
about my lesbian life.”

Read Cothran’s complete testimony:
http://www.venusmagazine.org/cover_story.html
Please visit-  http://www.lifesitenews.com/  (-Source of above article)
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[Taken from http://www.revivalschool.com/ with permission]