Born-again protest aborted:
Mainland ministry fails to sell their anti-gay message
By: Chris Mikecell
Posted: 3/5/09

He came bearing a water bottle, a bible and a sermon, but he left bearing the weight of student indignation.

Brother J.K. and his crew from Bema Ministries claimed the space in front of Campus Center around 11 a.m. Wednesday to preach an anti-homosexual tirade. Brother J.K.'s small, independent born-again ministry made University of Hawai'i at Mānoa a stop on its nationwide tour of college campuses, but to the audience of Mānoa students that surrounded the ministry yesterday, his sermon was dead on arrival.

"We all have opinions," Brother J.K. began, "but the difference between yours and mine is that mine is not my own!" Slamming his bible on the cement in front of the steps of the Gamesroom with a thump, Brother J.K. challenged the crowd to see God's love on his terms.

"Are there any Christians in the crowd? Any God-fearing Bible-reading Christians? ... I'm a God-fearing obedient Christian who loves God and loves my neighbor enough to warn him that this lifestyle (of homosexuality) is going to send him to hell!"

The reaction to this purported message of "love" was swift and decisive.

"Hey, hey, ho, ho, the hate has got to go!" The chant rose amid heated questions from the crowd - which official estimates indicated to be greater than 100 students at one point - with some students bringing impromptu handwritten signs in protest.

The students in the crowd who did identify themselves as Christians were just as unimpressed. "Watching the guy speak made me kind of not want to be a Christian, you know?" said Langdon, a civil engineering major.

Even Brother J.K. himself acknowledged that he wasn't going to be winning any hearts or minds with his approach. "I know you're not interested. This is not a popular message. ... But God favors me above you sinners. You are going to hell!"

Two women defied the preachers, embracing in a public display of affection that caused the crowd to erupt in cheers of support.

But Brother J.K. persisted. "One-track minds. ... All you can think about is being perverts. Guess we're in the right place."

In reality, though, they were in the wrong place. Officially, the ministry group had not secured the proper permits to protest in the area, infringing on an unidentified campus group who had secured the permits for that area at that time.

Campus Security Chief Neal Sakamoto had grounds to remove them and did eventually halt the demonstration, but it took a confrontation between the Christian preacher and an elderly woman to prompt Campus Security to step in and break up the scene.

"It got kind of out of hand," Sakamoto told reporters. "Hopefully next time it will be a peaceful protest."

Bema Ministries have secured a permit to protest in the area Thursday, and Brother J.K. told reporters that the group is prepared to protest during the entirety of next week. Perhaps next time he comes to campus, the LGBT community will come prepared to show Brother J.K. what real love is.