LGBT Group Finds Acceptance at Evangelical College Nick Palacios struggled to get his conservative Pentecostal parents to accept him as a gay evangelical Christian for nearly a decade before his family found a common ground through faith. Now, as an openly gay seminarian, the 29-year-old hopes to carve out a similar acceptance for other gays in the broader evangelical community through his role as president of the nation's first LGBT student club sanctioned by a major evangelical seminary. The group, called OneTable, formed last fall at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, one of the world's largest multi-denominational seminaries, and has attracted about three dozen students. "It quickly became apparent to me that I was going to be OK and that I wasn't going to have to forsake my faith for my sexuality," Palacios said of his struggle for acceptance. I really hope that people will see Fuller and OneTable as a model of what the body of the church is supposed to do in this situation. Fuller's stance has created ripples in the larger world of Christian colleges and seminaries, where a growing number of gay evangelical students are asserting their dual identities with underground clubs and nascent political activism. Last year, for example, a group called the Biola Queer Underground was quashed by Biola University, a small, conservative Christian school in nearby Orange County. This fall, the LGBT group plans on staging rallies to combat the Biola's longstanding policy on homosexuality - that sexual relationships are reserved for heterosexual marriage - and address what many students call a campus climate of fear and shame. Some activists have hailed the approach taken by Fuller as an important step forward for gay rights. Others say it's an empty gesture unmasked by the school's fine print: Students can "come out" but they can't have sex, be politically active or challenge a school policy that states homosexual sex is "inconsistent with the teachings of Scripture." Richard Flory, a researcher at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California, said Fuller's acceptance of the group, while unique, is more about symbolism than about a move toward true tolerance. "It sounds like they want to have it both ways: Jesus loves you as you are, however there are limitations to what you can be," Flory said. It's like sticking your toe in the deep end of the water to see what happens. Fuller's community standards states that "sexual abstinence is required for the unmarried" and marriage is between one man and one woman. Nevertheless, Fuller's decision not to push back against OneTable is a critical step toward acceptance for gay evangelical students, said Justin Lee, the executive director of the Gay Christian Network, which tracks the burgeoning movement. An increasing number of young people have been coming out on Christian campuses nationwide, whether they are accepted or not, and Fuller's move acknowledges that and provides a touchstone for students who would otherwise keep their sexuality a secret, he said. While some Christian colleges across the country have accepted LGBT student groups, Fuller is the first evangelical seminary to do so, Lee said. In February, one prominent evangelical school, Wheaton College in Illinois, officially recognized a support group for students who have questions about their sexual orientation.