Soulforce, a group that promotes equality for LGBTQ people, will visit Lipscomb on Monday, March 12.
The Soulforce visit was announced briefly at the end of The Gathering on Feb. 28. A March 1 email from SGA President Daniel Wakefield further clarified the event.
The email stated that students were invited to attend one of three morning discussion sessions in Ezell chapel, involving panel discussions with representatives from Soulforce and university professors. The email reminded students that seating would be limited.
“[Soulforce’s] mission is to bring attention to what they believe are unfair attitudes and policies within religious organizations,” Wakefield’s email said.
“As a gracious and loving Christian community, Lipscomb seeks to be open to conversation about issues that may be difficult or sensitive,” the email contintued. “In this spirit, we look forward to meaningful dialogue with the Soulforce visitors and hope they feel that they have been graciously, thoughtfully, and faithfully received.”
In a two-part panel discussion led by Dr. Steve Joiner, Lipscomb’s director for the Institute for Conflict Management, Soulforce will explore the justice and ethical issues surrounding the subject of homosexual orientation and homosexual practice.
On Monday, the university will have panel discussions at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. for the limited number of students who were able to sign up in the SGA office. The justice issues that the panel will likely discuss include bullying and equal and fair treatment under the law. Lipscomb panelists include Dr. Ken Durham, Dr. Randy Spivey and Dr. Norma Burgess. A second panel will include Dr. Lee Camp, Dr. John Mark Hicks and Dr. Charla Long. Soulforce will supply 2-3 of its own panelists for each discussion. Afterwards, Soulforce will have a private lunch with campus life.
During its time in Nashville, Soulforce will also visit Trevecca and Belmont. The full Nashville schedule can be viewed on Soulforce’s website.
The presidents of Lipscomb and Trevecca will be in attendance at a private dinner with Soulforce on Sunday, as will leaders of the presidential cabinet. Each president will make a brief opening statement. Leaders from the universities as well as church officials will worship with the Soulforce team on Sunday, also.
On Monday, about a dozen ministers serving area Churches of Christ will attend a dialog hosted by Scott Sager, Lipscomb’s vice president for church services. Scott McDowell will provide an opening explanation of why Soulforce is visiting the university and will set the stage for the dialog. Soulforce will have about 30 minutes to share stories and answer some questions if time permits.
On Tuesday, March 6, during The Gathering, students planning to attend the Soulforce discussions were invited to a Q&A session with Scott McDowell, Deby Samuels and Scott Sager.
McDowell said the university and Soulforce hope the discussions can further the goals of the event, which is to create genuine conversation and education for those involved.
McDowell said he had been in contact with a Soulforce representative, working out the details of the visit. He said both parties agreed on some parameters for the event.
Soulforce has also said that Lipscomb’s administrators have been “very hospitable in their interactions” with them thus far.
The parameters set up for the Soulforce visit include not allowing media to attend the sessions and giving Soulforce limited access to campus.
University officials said they weren’t allowing media because they think it can sometimes inhibit genuine conversation and detract from the goal of the sessions. Trevecca has also applied the “no media” policy for the Soulforce events on its campus.
The group said that it is not terribly uncommon for universities to limit on-site media for their visits.
University officials also said they have a special responsibility to protect campus school students, which is another reason they only permitted limited access for Soulforce. McDowell said he thinks parents should be able to determine when and where to have cultural and ethical discussions with their children.
University officials are only permitting a limited number of students to attend because they think this will minimize the potential for heated, emotional debate.
McDowell said he thinks it’s better to have an in-depth conversation with a few people than to have a surface conversation with a lot of people.
The ride itself has had moderate success since the inaugural ride in 2006. Cole Parke, one of the site coordinators for the Nashville visit, said that much of their work is about planting seeds and “offering hope and affirmation to LGBTQ students living in oppressive environments.”
“It’s kind of hard to quantify, but I can say that the ride is credited with seven different schools choosing to change their policies,” Parke said. “[The ride has] served as an impetus for the development of close to 30 student/alumni support groups for the LGBTQ community.”
McDowell said Soulforce selected Lipscomb because of its mentioning “homosexual behavior” in the student handbook and due to “sexual orientation” not being part of the university’s non-discrimination statement.
Page 18 of the student handbook lists the following of Lipscomb’s policy on sexual conduct: “All students should practice the highest standards of modesty and sexual morality. Sexual immorality of any kind including homosexual behavior, whether intercourse is or is not involved, will be subject to discipline. Spending the night with a member(s) of the opposite sex, and/or being in any state of undress with members of the opposite sex- even if acts of sexual immorality have not occurred- are also actionable offense.”
Lipscomb’s statement of non-discrimination reads, “Lipscomb University is a private, Christian university open to any qualified student without regard to race, religion, sex, age, color, national or ethnic origin, or disability.”
Parke said there are over 200 colleges or universities in the U.S. that have discriminatory policies against LGBTQ students.
“We put a lot of work into researching these policies and developing a good understanding of their impact before we ever engage with a school,” Parke said. “Sometimes our learning comes from personal accounts of current or former students or alumni from that specific school, and in other cases, we gain our understanding based on the stories and experiences of students from schools with similar policies.”
Soulforce cited Abilene Christian University, Bob Jones University and Harding University as universities with similar policies.
For more information about Soulforce and its Equality Ride, visit www.soulforce.org or www.equalityride.com. To see more of Lumination’s coverage on homosexuality conversations at Lipscomb, click here.
Hunter Patterson contributed to this story.