There Has To Be a Better Way: Christian Schools and LGBTQ

There Has To Be a Better Way: Christian Schools and LGBTQ 

One of the saddest articles that I have ever read concerning Christian Schools appeared on my laptap on August 22, 2022. It was published by nextgennews.org, a company dedicated to presenting news to youth. Based on a review of their site, I believe the co-founders lean considerably to the left. Their bias shows in just about every article.

In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that I am a heterosexual male senior and a Christian. Now journey with me as we dig deeper into the article.

For starters, you may want to read the article here: Christian School Bans LGBTQ students. But don’t forget to come back.

Let’s start with the site’s headline – Christian School Says LGBTQ Students ‘Will Be Asked to Leave Immediately’. Certainly meant to capture your attention and get your ire up. And it does, rightly so. It then goes on to say the school cites the book of Levticus in the Old Testament as its basis for doing so.

Then there is an email from the school’s Administrator sent at the beginning of the school year – school starts in mid-August in Valrico, Florida. The article states that the school lumps “being LGBTQ, or engaging in acts including ‘bestiality, incest, fornication, and pornography’ as ‘lifestyles.’” It seems the left would encourage you to believe otherwise. However, I would say that all of these are lifestyles, just as being heterosexual, vegetarian, yoga practicing, teetotaler, church attender, hunter, concealed weapon carrier, and serial killer are all lifestyles.  And depending on who you are and what you believe in, they may be good or bad lifestyles, especially if you don’t believe in absolutes.

In my mind, the problem in this situation arises when a school administration believes that identifying yourself as a member of the LGBTQ community automatically equates to, and assumes that, you are a practicing LGBTQ member when it comes to sexual relations. There are people who identify as such, but do not practice it. I can think of three categories. First, those who have not yet gone public with their identity; second those who have found value in a faith that prohibits such practice so they are willing to remain celibate; and third, and especially relevant in this instance, because they are way too young to have sexual relations. For heaven’s sake, we’re talking about a K-12 school.

In my opinion, the school is totally wrong in including self-identification as an LGBTQ member in the same group as being a practicing one. What if I were a student in your school who ‘identified’ as a total sinner – would that get me kicked out as well?  Though the great majority of people who commented on this article whole-heartedly support the decision of the school, I maintain that there is nothing in this action that is, in my view, Christ-like.

On a secondary matter, the article says the email indicated the school’s decision to refer to students by their biological genders on their birth certificates – something I totally agree with. The article is quick to point out that the National Institute of Health (NIH) defines ‘gender’ as a ‘social construct’ as opposed to one of two sexes: male and female. Not sure who died and gave them the authority to change definitions on us. I believe that both traditionally and scientifically, gender has always been based on one’s sex.  But hey…

The school’s website claims they want to provide “the best Christian education and training for ALL children, for God is not a respecter of persons.” Well, they got that part right. But I would point out to the school’s administration that they are to provide Christian Education and training to ALL children, not to “all CHRISTIAN children”.  They are failing to take advantage of their opportunities with their latest decision.

I have no problem with the school calling “’humanism, materialism, secularism, and New Age’ philosophies ‘godless’” as the article points out. Sometimes the truth hurts.  But again, the intention here is to incite those readers who feel attached to one or more of those “isms” by pointing out that a Christian school is calling them ‘godless’ – yet in truth, they are just that.

While the article points out that the school says no one is admitted whose parents and their church are not in full support of their purposes and policies, one wonders whether the actual written and communicated policy to exclude students who identify as LGBTQ was in place from the start or is something new.

So what should the school have done? To answer that question, let’s first ask why we even bother to have so-called Christian schools.

As a former teacher, and currently a parent and grandparent, I believe the answer boils down to this – and this school’s stated principle as we quoted it above and repeat it here is not far off -- to provide “the best Christian education and training for ALL children, for God is not a respecter of persons.” This school, and and all other such schools, should stick to that rather than try to control a young child’s sexual identification, given all the media hype, social platform clips, and lifestyle examples of people they and their parents love to watch on screen. Any educator should know better.

Secondly, the policy should be re-written immediately to better reflect reality, and more importantly, a Christ-like New Testament attitude, rather than a Mosaic Levitical Law. Let me provide an illustration here.  Let’s assume, as I personally believe, that both the New Testament and the Old Testament agree that stealing is wrong and a sin. Without getting into the belief of ‘relativists’ we should be able to agree on that.  Now let us suppose that a teenager has this deep desire and urge to steal from her parents, sell the goods, and buy whatever she wants with the money. But doesn’t.  Does a Christian parent (or any parent for that matter, but especially a Christian one) ban her from the house and/or report her to the police?  Of course not. The urge to commit an act is not and should not be punishable if the act was never committed. Furthermore, even if she did steal from her parents and got caught, they would have an opportunity for further training and instruction, and there’s a chance she would never do it again.  If she continued to repeat the behavior, then they would have no recourse but to do just that – ban her and/or report.  Probably the best thing they could do for her at that point.

The school in this case, should explain why it believes certain actual behaviors are not in accordance with a lifestyle that God would condone. It should at the same time admit that the forces of society today are such that they would easily cause young people to feel they want to be, or believe they are, in the LBGTQ community. At that stage they should be willing to listen without condemning. They should offer the help that the student needs to deal with their feelings, with the understanding that any actual known practice of LGBTQ sexual activity cannot be accepted at the school.

There are more questions I would ask the school administration.  For example, what if a grade six student identified as an LGBTQ member, was banned, went to another school, and as she got older started practicing her lifestyle, and then in grade 11 or 12, she denounced it and asked to come back – would you allow her back?  I hope so.

Here’s another question…  How many of these students that you expel for simply identifying as LGBTQ do you think you will win over as true Christians once you’ve kicked them out?  I venture to say ‘zero to none’.  Or what about the family in which one of the parents is not a Christian but agrees to send the student to a Christian school to satisfy the other parent who is? How many of them do you think that your policy would help bring into the Kingdom?  Or do you even care?

Let me close with this thought.  I know that one argument could be that this is the “slippery slope” – knowing kids and especially teenagers – “if we allow these self-identifying LGBTQers in our school, they will influence so many other children.” Let me tell you, if you think that your policy will stop that, you’re dreaming in technicolor.  I submit to you that your actions will influence them more towards that lifestyle, than their friends who believe they want it. And what of children that you are causing to have to hide their sexuality feelings and confusion? What kind of damage does your policy cause for these young people when you should have a heart to help them?

In summary, I can’t see any “Jesus” in your position.

·      Ken B. Godevenos, August 22, 2022, Murrells Inlet, S.C.

·      I would appreciate your comments and thoughts.

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