So in the meeting at Biola, Mr. Vines was on the lookout for just one silent sympathizer. He quickly homed in on a pastor with gelled hair and an unconventional past. The Rev. Ian DiOrio, the lead pastor of Yucaipa Christian Church, told the group that he had spent years as a deejay and worked weekly in a gay club called the Lion’s Den. He said he was close with his gay brother, who just got married.

The conversation returned to whether human reproduction was proof that God intended marriage to be between only a man and a woman. Mr. DiOrio confided that he was infertile and that he and his wife had adopted three children.

“That’s why I know the only reason for marriage can’t be procreation,” he said. “I would think there’s a depth of our relationship that transcends sexuality.”

During the closing prayer, Mr. Sontag laid his hand on Mr. Vines’s back. Mr. Kaltenbach called Mr. Vines a “brother in Christ.”