BJU's plea for prayer

This is the email sent out to the parents BJU students.

Dear Parent:

In chapel on Thursday, March 15, I will inform our students that a gay/lesbian/bisexual/ transgender advocacy group called Soulforce Equality Riders intends to visitBob Jones University’s campus April 4. I want to summarize for you what we will be telling the students about the background and goals of this group and about the University’s position and plans for managing the event.

Founded in 1998, Soulforce initially protested religious groups holding policies on the issue of homosexuality. It first targeted educational institutions in 2005, and in 2006 organized a group called Equality Riders which traveled to 19 colleges and universities. Reaction at those schools was mixed; some schools set up forums for dialogue and others refused them access to their campuses. Knowing BJU could be a likely future target, we tracked those visits closely.

This spring, two groups of Equality Riders are targeting 33 colleges. Their stated purposes are to dialogue with administrators, faculty, and students; to make clear that the belief that homosexuality is a sickness and a sin is harmful; and to convince administrators to change policies at their institutions. The group first communicated with BJU last fall and early this year informed us they will visit BJU April 4.

Please be assured that BJU did not invite Soulforce to our campus. The reality is just the opposite. We have repeatedly told them that “given our belief that the teaching of Scripture on this subject is clear and our sense of responsibility to our students and their parents, we could not participate in any discussions or allow any access to our campus or student body.” They have informed us they are coming anyway.

There are a number of reasons we cannot give Soulforce access to our campus and students. First, as Bible-believing Christians, our faith and practice is based on Scripture, which speaks clearly and consistently about God’s boundaries for sexual expression. Second, BJU follows biblical principles for living—not singling out homosexuality in our policies but following the Bible’s teaching on the whole matter of sexuality. Third, granting access would violate a trust between you and the University. We cannot allow a group antithetical to your expectations or to the clear teaching of Scripture to come onto our campus with the expressed purpose of undermining Scripture. Finally, Soulforce’s stated goals make true dialogue impossible. It is clear that their goal is not dialogue, but one-sided arguments aimed at changing our policies.

While our objective is to keep the Equality Riders off campus, we will respond to them in a manner consistent with our stated beliefs. Our approach will be a clear and biblical statement of our position without inflammatory words or tone. As we have opportunity, we will present the Gospel and demonstrate the love of Christ.

Let me assure you that we have adequate plans and resources in place to manage the event and that your young people will be safe and secure. We will provide students logistical instructions the day before the event, and they will know what to do and how to react.

In addition, we will also use this occasion as a teaching opportunity—to make sure our students thoroughly understand what Scripture teaches about homosexuality and a biblical response to it. This generation of students will face this issue for many years to come, and they need to be grounded in the biblical perspective. And we want to help any who may be struggling with the issue in their own personal lives.

Please pray earnestly for the university family as April 4 approaches. We need the Lord’s wisdom and grace.

Sincerely,

Stephen Jones
President