TO THE EDITOR:
In light of recent DTH articles, I wanted to clarify the stance of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship with regards to student leadership and sexuality.
We believe that the Bible is the true word of God, revealing who God is and what His plans are for the world. The God revealed in the Bible is a God of love, mercy, compassion, and self sacrifice through His Son Jesus; a God of surpassing wisdom, infinite intelligence, and a perfect design for all things — nature, friendship, family, race, gender, and yes, sexuality.
Our deep desire is that our community would be a safe, welcoming and loving place for any student — regardless of race, economic status, religious belief, or sexual orientation. We want to share the steadfast love of God with the whole campus, with every student.
God’s love not only embraces, it also transforms. God knows what’s best for all of us and so we strongly encourage students not only to read God’s Word, but to live according to it, to conform to the perfect standards of our perfect, loving God.
As such, we don’t advocate heterosexuality or homosexuality (as defined by our culture), but adherence to God’s design for sexuality — ultimately, in marriage, a monogamous relationship between one man and one woman.
Any and every student is eagerly welcomed into our community — no matter who you are or where you are with faith, we want to befriend you, care for you, and love you — even if you never decide to follow Jesus.
But for student leaders, we require them to adhere to the Bible, a text that has a lot to say about everything from treating everyone with respect and kindness, caring for the poor, and sexuality. Obviously no one is perfect, but what we are asking is for leaders to desire and attempt to follow God’s Word as best they can.
If they are unwilling to do so, we love them, we want them to stay a part of our community, but we would eventually — gently, completely privately — ask them to step off of leadership out of a desire to help them grow in their relationship with God as their authority and Lord.
