Within the white walls of a suburban Sacramento church, under the gaze of biblical characters in colorful paintings, about a dozen men sit in a circle on folding chairs to talk about changing their lives.

The group gathers weekly, but not to discuss their struggle to overcome addictions to alcohol, drugs or gambling.

The group's stated purpose is to rid themselves of unwanted same-sex temptations. There are about 200 similar groups in the United States.

The assumption of these men is that if they can work through a childhood issue that they believe led them to being attracted to other men, they will be able to live as heterosexuals.

That notion runs counter to the notion that people are born gay and can't change.

None of the men in the group felt comfortable to talk with The Bee.

But a former attendee did.

Jacques Whitfield, a Sacramento attorney, said he tried for years to squelch his homosexual feelings and attended meetings with the group at Sunrise Community Church in Fair Oaks. Finally, he decided he couldn't change.

"I was in the program because I wanted to do what is right. I wanted to preserve my family," said Whitfield, who is the new board chairman of the Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center. "And if this was a choice, I could choose not to be gay."

Whitfield was married for 11 years and spent much of that time trying, with the help of the church, to resist his attraction to men.

"The people who run the program are well-meaning," he said. "They love God and they want to do the right thing."

"I don't believe that sexual orientation is a choice," Whitfield said. "I think you can abstain, but that doesn't make you straight."

That viewpoint doesn't deter Alan Chambers, leader of Exodus International, a nonprofit Christian organization in Florida that claims to be the world's largest support organization for those with "unwanted same-sex attractions." Chambers, 37, was a one-time participant in the Exodus program, and authored "Leaving Homosexuality: Practical Steps for Walking Away From the Gay Lifestyle."

According to its Web site, exodus.to/exodus, the organization offers "Freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ."

In Sacramento, the Sunrise Community Church's HIS Ministry is affiliated with Exodus.

Chambers said his decision to ask Exodus for help in dealing with his homosexual feelings was "the best decision" he ever made.

He didn't discuss the program's success rate, focusing instead on what he said he's found in his own life.

"For me, success is that homosexuality no longer defines me," he said.

Chambers said he grew up in the church, but as an adolescent discovered he was attracted to men. As a young adult he had relations with men. He said he found a church that would accept him and led him to the Exodus ministry.

He said for him temptation still exists, but he no longer wants to act on those feelings, has been happily and faithfully married for 11 years, and has two children.

"That is success for me. Not heterosexuality, so to speak," Chambers said, "but a life that is congruent with my faith."

Psychologists disagree that you can change sexual orientation.

"It's maybe among the most controversial subjects you could bring up," said Dr. Warren Throckmorton, an associate professor of psychology at Grove City College in Pennsylvania.

While some studies suggest people have happily changed, others chronicle harmful psychological effects of trying to change sexual orientation.

Throckmorton, who blogs about sexual identity at wthrockmorton. com, said he allows clients to set their own course. Throckmorton said research that relies on self-reported data isn't conclusive.

Some people will report changing their sexual orientation through some form of counseling or therapy, but that doesn't mean it actually worked or that trying it is worth the effort, said Gregory Herek, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis.

"Being gay is a perfectly normal sexual orientation," Herek said.

He said trying to promote a change in sexual attraction is like "trying to turn a left-handed person into a right-handed person."

Call The Bee's Ed Fletcher, (916) 321-1269.