Soulforce was here?

Four years ago, the Office of Spiritual Life organized a forum to prepare students for the arrival of a student group that advocates for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals. This year, nothing.

Four years ago, Soulforce Equality Riders attended Chapel and mingled with ACU students afterward. This year, ACU students only in Chapel. Four years ago, Soulforce members walked the campus, visited classrooms and actually caught a glimpse of ACU life. This year, a glimpse of the Hunter Welcome Center. Four years ago, every student had the opportunity to interact with the visitors. This year, only a handpicked few.

What changed? Why, four years later, was the same organization met with an entirely different reaction?

When several students learned all on-campus interaction with Soulforce would take place in a second-floor room of the Hunter Welcome Center on Friday, they headed that way. Two people greeted them. The first was a university administrator who turned them away because they were not in one of just two classes chosen to participate. The second was an Equality Rider who handed them an invitation for a picnic in the park.

Soulforce clearly wanted to meet more than a few dozen students – they distributed invitations to a picnic. Students clearly wanted to meet them – 20-30 students attended the picnic. Members of Soulforce said their experience was a positive one and that faculty in the Counseling Center were especially gracious, but they wanted more time with their peers. Why were both parties denied?

“The mission of Abilene Christian University is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world,” according to www.acu.edu. Notice the placement of Christian: not “Christian students” but “students for Christian service and leadership.” The goal is not students who say “I’m a Christian;” the goal is students who act like Christ. People want to see us acting differently and talking differently. Christlike action, not a Christlike name, will open the eyes of the lost, confused and disheartened. Haphazard action, though, can appear insincere and do more harm than good.

If the university desired to be Christ to Soulforce, they stepped in the right direction. They did not have to allow the organization to step onto campus, but they did. They did not have to let students interact with them, but they did. So why restrict them to one room for four hours? Why allow only some students to ask questions?

In the future, we should fully embrace opportunities to put into practice our preparation for Christian service. Training is only the first step. At some point, we have to put down the textbook and get some real-world experience – without the limits we saw last week. And what better place to have that experience than in the halls and classrooms where we are trained for it?