Respected members of the community gave their thoughts during the discussion. From left to right: Jonathon Krull, Ph.D., Edwin Woodruff-Tait, Ph.D., Josh Kessler, Carla McDonald and Shawn Harrison. (Photo by Jan Boroff)

Diversity. If you’re a student at Huntington University, you’ve heard this word a million times within the last two and a half months. But on Nov. 10, HU students got the opportunity to look at a different type of diversity.

The Resident Assistants of the Miller/Meadows residence hall facilitated a panel discussion focusing on homosexuality.

“As we developed the format for the panel, the R.A. staff of Miller/Meadows wanted to present an array of opinions from members of the HU community and respected members from outside of it,” Jared Murray, a senior youth ministry major, said. “We brainstormed the ideas and possibility for this panel as a team, so it was a collaborative effort.”

Murray, who transferred to Huntington from Taylor Fort Wayne at spring semester of last year, had a friend from his time at Taylor who would be perfect to speak about this topic.

Enter Shawn Harrison.

Until he was saved in 1996, Harrison lived an openly gay lifestyle. For the next four years, he struggled balancing a gay lifestyle with pursuing his relationship with Jesus.

Harrison said that, at least in his own situation, there was no way for him to continually grow in his relationship with God while chasing after what his body longed for. Instead, he decided to take on an identity of God more than of himself, he said.

“I did not care if I ever stopped liking guys, or if I became straight,” Harrison said in his testimony on the six11 Ministries Web site. “I did not care if I ever got married, or had kids. All I wanted in my life at this time was God. I wanted Him to wrap His arms around me, and hold me. I wanted Him to speak into my life and affirm me. I wanted Him to wash away my pain, scars and insecurities. I wanted to be His and His alone.”

After giving a short introduction and overview of six11 Ministries, Harrison was joined by four other panelists: Edwin Woodruff-Tait, Ph.D, assistant professor of Bible and religion, Carla MacDonald, assistant professor of Social Work, Josh Kessler, pastor of The Well and Jonathan Krull, visiting professor of philosophy, who stumbled onto the stage about 10 minutes after the discussion began.
Murray facilitated the discussion, asking some premeditated questions and then opening questions up to the audience near the end of the evening.
Interesting perspectives were given to questions asking if homosexuality is an action taken or in a person’s sexual orientation from birth.

“If being gay is a choice, people would have turned it off long ago,” Harrision said. “I don’t believe I was born gay. Now, do I think my up-bringing and some of the things that happened to me played a part? Yes, I do.”

Panel members seemed fairly united in their answers to questions about what is said in Scripture about homosexuality and if homosexuality is something to be cured, and the overall theme of the night seemed to ring to the tone of, “Love the person, not the sin.”

Woodruff-Tait pointed out that devoted followers of Jesus participated in every type of sin, including owning slaves and burning people at the stake.

“Homosexuality seems fairly small potatoes when compared to those,” he said.

The panelists also agreed that reconciliation between the church and the gay community need to start with the church humbling itself and taking the first step.

“Gay people are people,” said Harrison. “The church needs to accept the person, not the sin. Affirming the person means affirming who they are, not what they do.”

Krull said that a Christian’s job is to love everyone, including non-Christians. And in a gay community, there is a high probability that you will run into a non-believer, giving you an opportunity to share your faith.

“You get more bang for your buck,” Krull said.

Questions from the crowd included ones about gay marriage and rights. Woodruff-Tait expressed thoughts that marriage is a sacramental union between a man and a woman, but civil unions should be allowed. The breakup of a marriage is much more accepted in Christian circles than any type of homosexual relation.

“To say marriage is under attack by homosexuals—no, it isn’t,” said Woodruff-Tait. “It’s under attack by heterosexuals.”

Murray said there was one person he really wished could have made it to HU to be a member of the panel.

“If there was one other person I would have loved to have been there, it would be actor Ian McKellen, a.k.a. Gandalf from Lord of the Rings,” Murray said.

“Aside from playing to the nerdy side of my personality, I would love to have him there to hear his thoughts on this issue as an outspoken gay actor.”

Murray and the rest of the R.A. staff of Miller/Meadows was pleased with how the discussion turned out.

“Over the last couple of days I’ve overheard and been a part of many discussions that have spurned from the panel event,” Murray said. “Students are talking more about an issue that is often difficult to talk about.”

The goal was to generate discussion among HU students and have them walk away with a better understanding of beliefs that may contradict their own, said Murray.

“We’re not all going to agree 100 percent of the time on anything,” Murray said, “but we can at least seek to understand those who do not believe the same as we do, and regardless of those differences, find ways to love one another as we should.”

See also this story on a former HU student who was a closet homosexual during his college years.

Huntingtonian Editor-in-Chief Tabitha Truax offers perspectives on homosexuality in this column.