A North Carolina minister is challenging pastors to confront "closet homosexuality" among men in the church, noting that the practice is devastating marriages and families across the country.

Pastor Michael A. Stevens Sr. of The University City Church www.theuniversitycitychurch.com in Charlotte, N.C., said a "righteous indignation" prompted him to address the undercover culture called the "down low," a term used to describe "straight" men—married or single—who secretly have sex with other men.

Stevens, whose church is affiliated with the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), said he became a "defender of truth" when he discovered that far too many pastors were unwilling or ill-equipped to address the flagrant practice. Despite this reluctance, men involved in the lifestyle say the church is where they often meet other partners. One man, who would not disclose his identity for fear he would be shunned, said "down-low brothers" are active in every area of ministry in the church.

"I used to think pastors wouldn't address the issue because it would mean losing gifted choir members, or offerings, but that's no longer the case," Stevens, 36, told Charisma. "There are national black pastors and leaders involved in homosexuality."

Author J.L. King first exposed the secret lifestyle in his book On the Down Low: A Journey Into the Lives of "Straight" Black Men Who Sleep With Men. King told viewers of the Oprah show that he frequented black churches looking for "sex buddies." He devoted an entire chapter of his book to the black church.

"I've been in small-town churches where pastors are running programs to 'convert' men of questionable sexuality back to the literal straight and narrow and then marry them off—as if laying hands and praying will make a man who has sex with men ... into a heterosexual!" King wrote.

The author's revelations prompted Stevens to write Straight Up! The Church's Official Response to the Epidemic of Down-Low Living (Creation House Press). His book comes at a time when Hollywood executives are releasing films such as the Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain, a story about two men secretly involved in homosexuality.

Stevens said he is sounding the alarm because churchgoing, down-low men put their families and wives at risk to have sex with other men. He said he has ministered to dozens of couples whose marriages were nearly destroyed by the issue.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV/AIDS was the No. 1 cause of death among 25- to 34-year-old African-American women, and researchers estimate that half the people in the U.S. diagnosed with HIV in 2004 were African-American.

Darryl Foster, founder of Witness for the World (www.witnessfortheworld.org), a ministry that offers healing and freedom from homosexuality, said the prevalence of the down-low lifestyle in churches is the result of an acceptance of the "feminization" of men in America and ministers ignoring sexual sin in the body of Christ.

"When leaders are themselves involved in either homosexual or heterosexual sin, they abdicate their moral voice to speak against it," he said. "When you ignore sin, you give it illegitimate authority to grow in the church."

Foster, who pastors Restoration Sanctuary Church in Atlanta, said the church must expunge closet homosexuality among its leadership, and Christians must hold other believers accountable. Yet he added that "it must be dealt with redemptively, not punitively," noting that redemption is the missing objective in down-low discussions across the country.

Organizations such as Exodus International offer ministry to those involved in homosexuality, but to combat the down-low problem in the church, some say there must be a grass-roots effort to reach professing Christians who lack sexual integrity.

"Like the good Samaritan in the book of Luke, the church must have oil—God's anointing on our churches—and wine, which is counseling, support groups and practical ministry," Stevens said.