Frank Worthen, considered the "father" of the ex-gay ministry movement, died earlier this month at age 87.

Worthen co-founded Love in Action in 1973, one year before the American Psychiatric Association stopped classifying homosexuality as a mental disorder. Located just outside San Francisco in Marin County, it was the first residential program for men looking to remove unwanted same-sex attractions.

He lived the ex-gay philosophy he preached, testifying about his transition from gay to straight in a series of audiotapes he sold in the back of gay newspapers. The ads read, “Do you want out of homosexuality? Send for a Brother Frank tape on a Christ-centered way out of homosexuality.”

By his own account, Worthen became aware of his sexuality as a young teen. He lived as a gay man until his mid-40s when, he claims, God told him, “Today, I want you back.” That was 1973, the year he founded Love in Action. Worthen even met his wife, Anita, through the ministry: She was the single mother of a gay son, and came to him for guidance. They were wed in 1984, when he was 55.

He seemed to truly believe he was helping people: Worthen avoided the spotlight, took no salary, and often used his own money to fund projects. "No matter my journey, he always loved me unconditionally,” said former ex-gay poster boy John Paulk. (Worthen would chastise those who denigrated homosexuals or said they couldn't been saved.)

But both Love in Action and Exodus International, an umbrella group Worthen later founded for hundreds of ministries around the world, waned in influence as members walked away from the ex-gay movement. John Smid, who took over Love in Action before renouncing the movement, admitted "I never met a man who experienced a change from homosexual to heterosexual"

In 2013, when Exodus shuttered for good, president Alan Chambers said he was "sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced."

"I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change," he added. "I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents." In the 1990s and 2000s, Worthen took his message oversees to South Asia, and launched new programs like the Restored Hope Network (with John Paulk's ex-wife, Anne) and New Hope Ministries, which offers seven-day retreats for men.

It does appear he was blind to the hatred he was spewing, using Scripture and conviction as a shield against compassion and self-reflection. Former adherents say he tried to love everyone, even if that meant telling them they were going to hell. “I can respect Frank’s integrity," says Smid. "He remained faithful to what he believed throughout his being until the very end of his life.”

And even at the end, he had ardent followers. Tim Wilkins of Cross Ministry called Worthen the “Mother Teresa” for gays.

"While Mother Teresa took to the filthy streets of Calcutta, where few wanted to serve, Frank took to winning homosexuals to Christ – where, similarly, few want to serve," wrote Wilkins. "Frank understands surrender means we do not tell Christ what to do."

But good intentions don't atone for the shattered lives and broken families. Every attack on marriage equality, every "religious freedom" bill, is predicated on the theory that gay people can "change" if we wanted to. A theory that Worthen, in large part, helped develop.

"Yes, Frank Worthen was a good man and loved everyone, as much as he and his theology were able," writes Dr. Tim Rymel (Going Gay) on Huffington Post. "Unfortunately, Frank was never willing to look at the actual legacy of his work. Had he been able to do so, I believe he would have been devastated."