A decision by one Florida school administrator to reinforce a school policy that requires students to be identified by their biological sex, has made him the target of threats and hate messages, but he says he will maintain his stance.
According to Christian Post, Barry McKeen, an administrator for Grace Christian School, located in Valrico about 15 miles east of Tampa, announced in an email in June that any student who violates the school’s stance on sexuality would “be asked to leave the school immediately.”
The email outlined definitions of biological sex and sexual sin with specific references to Bible verses. It was sent as part of a regular series of summer emails reminding parents of school policies and among other things, stated that students would be referred to by the gender on their birth certificate and be referenced in name in the same fashion.
The email read in part: “We believe that God created mankind in His image: male (man) and female (woman), sexually different but with equal dignity. Therefore, one’s biological sex must be affirmed and no attempts should be made to physically change, alter, or disagree with one’s biological gender — including, but not limited to, elective sex reassignment, transvestite, transgender, or non-binary gender fluid acts of conduct (Genesis 1:26-28).
Following the announcement of the policy by several media outlets, McKeen said he has received several hate mails and phone calls. The reaction was unexpected, since aside from terminology updates, the policy is the same as it was when the school started in 1975. The school hired additional security as a result.
McKeen has since publicly refuted the erroneous reporting by the media outlets in a Facebook video. One news outlet claimed the school was “shutting its doors” to the LGBT community. He pointed to other inaccuracies in the media’s coverage of the policy.
“That’s the crazy part,” he told Christian Post. “The reason I made the video is because I felt like we were painted as hateful.”
He said while he had no issue with the media reporting on the policy, he was misquoted as saying, “if you’re gay, you’re going to Hell” in one particular story.
“I know I didn’t say that because it’s not my doctrine,” he said. “What I believe is any sin will send you to Hell if you don’t know Jesus.”
The initial feedback from that story started out as “extremely negative,” but as the news sources changed, so did the feedback. McKeen, who also pastors Grace Community Church located on the same campus as the school, refused to cave in to political pressure.
“For me, it’s like, if we waver on this, we’re just a school, kids can go learn math anywhere,” he said. “What sets us apart is we believe these values, we’re going to stick to these values.”
The pastor has since received several thank you notes from parents for maintaining his stance on the policy, and Grace Christian has also received an estimated $26,000 in unsolicited giving following the initial story. One donor in Virginia sent $5000 with a note saying, “Keep the faith.”
McKeen had this to say to those who persecute Christians for taking a stand for deeply-held values.
“You’re not going to shout us down. I’m tired of Christians being trampled and shouted down and sworn at and getting scared and crawling back into a hole.”
“We have things to stand for, too.”
