The latest edition of Wednesday Night Devo has sparked a conversation about the religious diversity on Lipscomb’s campus.
A Lee University graduate, whose name Campus Ministry does not want to disclose, was invited as a guest speaker on Wednesday at Lipscomb Academy’s Acuff Chapel.
The speaker talked about his ministry and his plans to travel to North Africa to share the gospel with those in the Muslim community.
The message, featuring the speaker’s opinions of salvation, founds its detractors in the audience, particularly by those who profess Islam as their religion.
Samha Siddiqui, a senior of Muslim faith, was part of the audience and decided to raise her voice. She stood up and expressed her disagreement with the statements provided by the speaker.
“I spoke up because I felt the speaker was not right to call the Muslim world as ‘hostile, dark and oppressed.’ Using that description is neither factually correct, nor politically correct. I respect all missionary groups, regardless of which religious doctrine they preach, but maintaining respect for people is a must,” Siddiqui responded via text to a question from Lumination Network.
Others supported Siddiqui with applause.
In a Thursday email sent to students who attended Wednesday night’s devotional, Campus Ministry apologizes for the events that transpired, saying that the group hopes to show Jesus in all they do.
“Last night was unusual for our Wednesday Night Devo in that there were many students who walked away hurt, offended, and confused,” the email said. “The heart and vision of Campus Ministry is to provide opportunities for all our students to encounter the love of Jesus.
“We believe Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God who came from our heavenly Father while being empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring salvation. We believe that Jesus is worthy of everyone’s full devotion. We love Jesus. We seek Jesus. We preach Jesus and His Kingdom.
“With that said, the way in which some of the words of last night were spoken did not fully reflect the compassion that we believe Jesus shares. For those students who were hurt by the words spoken, we apologize for the words/intentions that did not express God’s heart.”
To continue with the discussion and to give everyone an opportunity to express their feelings on the matter, Campus Ministry set a special event scheduled for Friday.
Video by Jael Teme, Michael Fox and Mason Griffin