A Warren County church will tackle one of the most controversial topics facing society and religious institutions with a panel discussion called “Loving your LGBT neighbor without losing your convictions” to be held Tuesday at the Eastwood Baptist Church South Campus in Alvaton.

The event, hosted by the Commonwealth Policy Center, will start at 7 p.m. and feature three speakers well known in conservative religious circles.

The panelists are Dr. Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family; Andrew Walker, director of policy studies at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of Nashville, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention; and Richard Nelson, director of the Commonwealth Policy Center.

Stanton, director of Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family, debates and lectures extensively on the issues of gender, sexuality, marriage and parenting at universities and churches around the world.

Nelson, also a frequent writer and speaker on such topics, said: “This is one of the most difficult issues to talk about in our society. We’re trying to help people talk biblically about it.”

Nelson, who has an opinion piece on the Commonwealth Policy Center website called “Why Christians should love their LGBT neighbors,” said Tuesday’s event will explore how Christians can balance their religious convictions with the need to love all their neighbors.

“Christians should be firm in their biblical convictions and also gracious and loving toward their LGBT neighbors,” said Nelson. “We’re trying to engage a very difficult topic according to the truth and with grace.”

Nelson, though, left no doubt that he does not favor the liberal stands taken by other Protestant denominations toward the LGBT community.

“We come from the position that there are fixed truths about human sexuality,” he said. “It is a gift best expressed within marriage between a man and a woman.

“But I think it’s important that we have this conversation in a thoughtful, caring way.”