Faithful and Compassionate: Celebrating Our Story

Fourth letter in a series of letters from our president, Andrea Luxton

To access the entire series of letters from President Andrea Luxton, click here.

March 2, 2023

Dear campus community and friends of the University,

Over the last several days, I have been speaking to you personally, directly from my heart, on a number of important issues relevant to the Andrews University community. Why now? It seems that at a time of change for the University, rumors and questions about the University increase. My intent then is to share with you as a way of clearly Celebrating Our Andrews University Story.

I have developed this series of messages prayerfully, keeping in mind our Sharing the Heart of God values that inspire the work of our dedicated University family of employees.

In this fourth message, I want to talk about LGBTQ+, and the issues of faithfulness and compassion, as this is such a sensitive and critical issue in many individuals’ minds.

First of all, I want to be clear that Andrews University unequivocally accepts, and supports in action, the Seventh-day Adventist positions on marriage and sexuality, including in relation to the LGBTQ+ community. You can see the Church statement here, along with the Student Life policy of the University and the statement by the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. All of these inform our actions and our decisions on a daily basis. Our behavior expectations of employees and students fully align with the Church and our own policies and statements. And not only are these expectations; they are how we choose to live in this community.

What does that mean in practice? Each of these documents balances two essential practices that are biblical and expected by our Church. The first is to fully uphold the Bible’s teaching on marriage and sexuality and our Church’s statement on those teachings. This is the theological piece and invites our faithfulness. We say yes. The second is to fully uphold the Bible’s teaching on how we treat each other as Christians and Christ’s imperative that we love each other just as God loves us (each of us). This is compassion. And again we say yes. As we know, however, from lived experience, these two critical expectations, when held together, can create a significant level of tension in our fallen world. Yet at Andrews University we do accept our responsibility to both these expectations.

How do we ensure we do both fully? That is not easy, but we still seek to do so. The Adventist Accrediting Association’s recent review of the University directly commended Andrews for the way it seeks to intentionally find that right balance. The Board of Trustees Student Experience & Faith Development subcommittee similarly has engaged with the University in framing a range of responses. But those are words, reports and policies. Behind those, I want to assure you, is what is most important of all: our prayerful commitment to seek to uphold both the biblical commands on sexual relationships in all forms and the expectation of letting all our community know and experience the personal love of God for them.

It is true that as we live out this biblical tension, there will be those more attuned to the University’s faithfulness to Scripture and those more focused on compassion for those who identify as LGBTQ+ in our midst. And I know there will be times when despite our sincere attempts, we fall short of meeting each other’s expectations. The efforts of some to maintain a caring presence in the lives of LGBTQ+ friends and loved ones may, at times, appear to others as a compromise. Likewise, some may see those taking a firm stance on biblical principles as less compassionate or understanding. Please know that at those times we will need each other’s moral sensibilities to find and live this balance well.

But finally, let us by no means lose sight of the humanity we all share. We all have a need for personal healing, for experiencing the touch of Christ in our lives. We all live with the reality of God’s promise to lead us through times of challenge, to walk with us in darkness, to offer hope and show love: that is where we all stand together under the cross. All human. All in need of a Savior. But all with the recognition of the love of God that passes all understanding.

100% faithful; 100% compassionate. That is our prayerful goal.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23).

And for tomorrow, Friday, mirroring the double portion of manna in the wilderness, there will be two letters.

The Research Imperative: Celebrating Our Andrews University Story
Graduates with Purpose: Celebrating Our Andrews University Story

Andrea Luxton
President