Last night, on February 24, Coming Out Ministries was invited to show the movie “Journey Interrupted” on campus at Ohio State University. I personally attended the event.
The movie was shown in Lazenby Hall at 7 PM. A small team of young people passed out around 1,000 invitation flyers on campus prior to the event. The crowd size was a bit less than 50, consisting of students and a few local people. Wayne Blakely and Karol Prado represented Coming Out Ministries, and hosted a Q&A session after the movie showing.
The Irony
There are a lot of things I don’t understand in life. I don’t understand how a cow can eat green grass and give white milk, and I don’t understand how to make Bolivian Pizza. But I can live with that.
What I really don’t understand today is how a Big Ten University (the third largest university in America) will allow this excellent film to be shown on campus, and so far, none of our Adventist colleges have shown it to their student body. You can pray that this will change.
Q&A Session:
Is the gay culture different than what it was in past?
Wayne: I don't think so. It’s still seeking acceptance. One difference is gay rights came out of a bar in Stonewall. Today, some of them are originating in a church.
Karol: I believe it’s getting worse. The enemy doesn't hide his agenda today. Our culture today is a one way street–Gay is ok, but Coming Out Ministries isn’t.
How do you deal with memories?
Wayne: I spent twelve years in male prostitution. There are memories, but they don’t have any power over me. I am blessed by blood of Jesus—that is my power. My advice is don't contemplate the past.
Karol: Don't dwell on past – it gives the enemy ammunition.
Is it possible for God to change one’s sexual attraction?
Wayne: Read Philippians 4:13. It is possible. Are we redeemed by sex?, of course not. The lie today is that our life is oriented by sex. People need to trade sexual orientation for orientation towards Jesus. That keeps us from making sex a god—a unique problem in our culture today. Ron Woolsey is an example of God’s ability to change our desires. I [Wayne] choose to live celibate.
Karol: Don't focus so much on attraction. That leads to seeking intimacy in wrong places. I found Jesus, and when I did I found true intimacy with him.
How do we help gay people?
Karol: Through prayer. Prayer is powerful. Take time out each day to pray for them. Let God direct you. Wayne. Shower them with love that doesn't endorse their behavior. With prayer, listen to them. Seek opportunities.
How do we reach homosexual people when we have little in common with them?
Karol: Look for things in common with them. I went to an SDA event because a friend never gave up on me. That planted a seed in my life and today I am an Adventist. Be consistent. Be patient. The year I found Christ— that whole year, these Adventist friends were the only people who were consistent with me
Wayne: Take the word lifestyle home and destroy it. Use gay culture instead, not “lifestyle.” Gays resent the term lifestyle. They see it as embracing all the promiscuity in homosexuality.
How did you get free?
Karol: To get free, we often have to live differently than we did before. This often requires cutting off harmful friendships. God gave me a new life.
Wayne: Strength is in identity, and the Lord gives us a new identity. Don't identify in your past. The past puts self-first. Special rights are being given to homosexuals, and homosexuality is only one of the sins in 1 Corinthians 6.
Did the Pulse Nightclub shooting draw more LGBT’s to your ministry?
Wayne: Not necessarily. Not yet.
Are immoral thoughts a sin? Or just acting on it?
Wayne: Temptation is not sin. Where does it become sin? It becomes sin when we coddle thoughts and fantasize about them. The solution is to surrender those thoughts to Jesus right away. Diligence is key.
Karol: We each have free will. We are also free to not ponder sin. When we meditate on sin, we leave the door open.
In a culture where unrighteousness is often celebrated, it is encouraging to see & hear testimonies of biblical freedom on the campus of Ohio State University. The students were respectful, and asked several good questions last night. May this example somehow inspire our own SDA universities.
"Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy" (Psalm 107:2).