Proselytizing Christians descend on Cedar Springs, offending club-goers
FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST | A group of students from Christ For the Nations Institute, above, prays on the corner of Cedar Springs and Throckmorton on Sept. 6. Two members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, below, said they were on hand to make sure the group didn’t harm anyone from the LGBT community. (Photos by Patrick Hoffman/Dallas Voice)
PATRICK HOFFMAN | Contributing Writer
editor@dallasvoice.com
A group of approximately 20-30 evangelical Christian proselytizers descended on the corner of Cedar Springs and Throckmorton last Friday, just one week before the 30th annual Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade.
The group sang songs, prayed, held hands and spoke to members of the LGBT community. Occasionally, they blocked foot traffic on parts of the sidewalk, and they left shortly after Dallas police showed up a second time after receiving noise complaints.
Also on hand were two members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Eve Angelica and Bertha Sin.
“There are only two of us out tonight, but normally if there are more of [the sisters], then we form a barrier around them to make sure they don’t harm anyone in the community,” Angelica said.
One club-goer laughed at the group as he passed by, playfully shouting: “I need to get some tonight. Pray for me, girl!” Others were confused as to the reason for the group’s presence, and more than a few were offended.
“If they’re really there to help, they would go to areas where help is needed — not bars,” Bobby McMillon said.
Kane Haus said, “If they truly wanted to be saints, they would go with the sinners just as Jesus did because there’s a lot of sin on the strip, but being gay isn’t one of those.
“Hand out fliers in the club. Buy water, food,” he added. “Anything but protesting outside the only place where I can be me.”
Kase Stolte, the leader of the evangelical group, said it was made up of students from Christ For the Nations Institute, a local religious school, and they were there to show everyone that God loves them and to pray for anyone who wanted to be prayed for.
“It’s God with no strings attached,” said the 21-year-old senior from the Bible college in south Dallas.
ANTI-GAY TEACHINGS | Members of Christ for the Nations lay hands on one another on Cedar Springs Sept. 6. CFNI’s student handbook states unequivocally that it prohibits “immoral behavior including, but not limited to: abortion, adultery, fornication, any form of extramarital sexual activity, cohabitation, homosexuality, lesbianism, and use or possession of any form of pornographic material.” (Patrick Hoffman/Dallas Voice)
Stotle said they also have periodic gatherings in Oak Cliff and outside Insomnia Dallas on Sunday mornings as the club closes. Asked whether they chose Cedar Springs because it is a hub for LGBT nightlife, Stolte said no, but didn’t give a specific reason why they picked the location.
CFNI’s student handbook states unequivocally that it prohibits “immoral behavior including, but not limited to: abortion, adultery, fornication, any form of extramarital sexual activity, cohabitation, homosexuality, lesbianism, and use or possession of any form of pornographic material.”
Additionally, students at Christ For the Nations — Stolte in particular — have connections to Joe Oden.
Dallas Voice wrote about Oden in late 2007 after he led a “Purity Siege” that ended up negatively impacting gay man James Stabile.
Oden and others appeared on The 700 Club, where they held Stabile up as an example of how someone could pray away the gay — even after they knew Stabile had renounced reparative therapy and embraced his sexual orientation.
Not only is Oden the evangelism instructor at CFNI, but Stotle authored a blurb from the April 2012 edition of the Joe Oden Ministries newsletter.
“Joe has been training me by giving me the privilege to lead the evangelism team from (CFNI) Christ For the Nations Institute. This allows me to lead teams to Oak Lawn Ave (the homosexual district of Dallas) where we have seen amazing moves of the Holy Spirit,” Stotle said.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 13, 2013.