‘Shawn the Baptist’ called to preach on campuses nationwide

Shawn Holes has had a long history of sharing his gospel message. A Christian from a young age, he ended up getting his seminary degree and preaching in jails, on the street and in various other venues. Then, "The Lord sent me to college campuses," Holes said.

His work eventually earned him his current nickname, "Shawn the Baptist," in reference to the famous Biblical figure and preacher John the Baptist.

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the calling he followed led him to UCCS. He spoke at the University Center lower plaza, next to the Mountain Lion statue. Preaching soon evolved into more individualized conversations between Holes and various students.

Holes loves what he does, and encourages discussion with students who hold different worldviews. "People tend to listen. Sometimes they listen in terms of being excited, sometimes they get angry, sometimes they get convicted," he said.

"As a Christian, I love people in spite of who they are, in spite of their [views]," he added. "I just have to, that's the call of a Christian."

Holes said it is not his intention to preach a message of condemnation. "As Christians, we can't condemn anybody," he said. "I didn't mean to offend people."

He pulls his viewpoint from the Bible verse he referenced, John 3:17, which states, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

Holes tries to live up to this standard by sharing his beliefs in a respectful, considerate way. Did many students still feel judged by the nature of his message?

"I hope not," said Holes.

Nonetheless, some students said otherwise. One witness, biology sophomore Jon Witt, recounted a conversation between Holes and a student.

"There was this one kid standing there, and he was like ‘You're no better than the rest of us.' And the preacher guy was all like ‘You're right, I'm not.' So [the student] was all like ‘Then get the [sic] out of here and stop preaching your [sic]."

"And I was like, if you don't want to listen," said Witt, "just leave."

However, Witt did not believe it got out of hand. "If there's somebody preaching out there, they're just going to fight them," he said. "[Holes] was pressing buttons. Religion always presses buttons."

How far does free speech go before it becomes harassment? Witt said, "As long as it doesn't get violent, I say you're alright."

Other students disagree, however, as evidenced by conversations such as the one Witt overheard.

Jim Spice, director of the Public Safety Department, looked at the issue from more of a legal perspective. He said, "There's certain crimes that could be committed by [Holes], but he never crossed the line."

In the Mountain Lion Statue area, the only "unscheduled" space on campus, anyone is allowed to speak freely within state law. According to Spice, people take advantage of this space very often. Normally, things stay calm.

In a situation where a speaker gathers, a large audience or yelling occurs; however, campus security keeps an eye out for common problems. "Some of the violations could be harassment, could be interference with student/staff/faculty, could be disorderly conduct," Spice said. "Because we had officers present there, and monitoring it, I don't think [Holes] violated any of those."

Holes was in Northern Colorado and Utah after visiting UCCS, but he hopes to come back sometime in the spring