PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–A Florida Christian school has received death threats over a 48-year-old policy that prohibits sex outside of marriage and refers to students by the gender on their birth certificate.
Barry McKeen, administrator of the private Grace Christian School in Valrico, located 16 miles east of Tampa, told news outlets on Aug. 22 that he has received death threats that have forced him to hire security as an extra precaution, after an email went out to parents reminding them of a policy concerning sexual orientation and sex outside of marriage. The email went on to say that LGBT students will be asked to leave the school as this goes against the teaching of the Bible.
The email said, in part, “'We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, transgender identity/lifestyle, self-identification, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful in the sight of God and the church—although this is being celebrated and encouraged by the country, it is condemned by God. And at this school, we’re gonna follow God instead of man.”
Currently, McKeen reports that no student has been “booted from the school over their sexual orientation.”
One mother, who asked to remain anonymous told a Tampa television station that she pulled her daughter from the school because she “identified as a lesbian” and feared for her “wellbeing.” She went on to say that the teachers at the school are “loving,” but she “respected” the school’s opinion.
However, McKeen said he “only answers to God” not bloggers or TikTokers. Some callers to the school threatened to “burn down his home,” while others said they would “kill his family,” he said.
“We’re not going to change because God’s not going to change,” McKeen said in a Facebook message. “We are not going to be hateful, but we are not going to back away from this policy.”
The school administrator expressed shock that the policy would garner national media attention and said the outrage he has witnessed over the policy is “indicative of America moving away from God and Christianity.”
“It’s kind of been beyond me that this has blown up to what it is—like you’re shocked that a Christian school has this policy?” he said in his online post.
McKeen said it would be hypocritical of him to believe and act otherwise to the teachings of “God’s Word.”
“If I backed down from something like this, I’m abandoning what God has said is the truth. I ... kind of rack my brain to, like, ‘How is this hard for people to understand?’” he continued in his post.
‘This is one of the many reasons we have a Christian school, and we’re not going to abandon this policy. God has spoken on these issues.”
McKeen noted that a policy like the one the school currently has is not new and is common in most Christian schools and wonders why Grace Christian School has been “singled out.”
In a written statement, McKeen said he agreed with the church’s position that homosexuality is “a sin, and that any sin will condemn you to hell, and that’s why we need a savior.”
“We believe that God created mankind in His image: male (man) and female (woman), sexually different but with equal dignity,” McKeen’s statement said.
“Therefore, one’s biological sex must be affirmed, and ... Students at the school will be referred to by the gender on their birth certificate and be referenced in name in the same fashion.”
Grace Christian School was the vision of Miami native Bob Gustafson, a professional baseball player drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965. During his brief baseball stint, he suffered a career-ending injury when he was hit below the left eye with a ball.
Gustafson said in his memoir that as he was lying in the emergency room with his eye “as big as a softball,” a scripture passage ran through his head: “Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season…”
After graduating from Seminary in 1970, Gustafson and his wife, along with a small congregation formed Grace Community Church that met inside a bank building. In 1974, after an “answer to prayers,” Grace Christian School became a reality.
McKeen attended Grace Christian School and in 1991 married Gustafson’s oldest daughter. He became the senior pastor and school administrator after Gustafson’s passing in 2016.
McKeen stated that, even though there has been outrage from some, the school community as well as “people across the country” have sent their support.
“Our parents are so supportive. Many of them came to church this morning (Aug. 21),” he said in his post. “They go to other churches normally, but they were here this morning ... And we’re seeing tremendous support from all over the country, even though we’ve been getting a lot of hate calls and hate mail.”
McKeen noted that the school has a waitlist of more than 100 students.
“We are not a hateful group of people. We don’t hate students who are of a particular persuasion,” he said in the Facebook video.
“Maybe God has picked us for this particular time to just encourage like-minded people that, ‘Hey, there are things worth standing up for, and we’re going to do that,’” he added.
