Students involved in ACU’s new cornerstone curriculum will see an obvious connection between their academic studies and spiritual guidance in Chapel this semester.

Director of Spiritual Life & Student Ministries Mark Lewis has been working on a four-year Chapel curriculum to coincide with the new freshmen course to begin this fall.

Chapel study topics of the next four years will address the five topics included in the ACU core: truth, identity, community, transcendence and vocation.

“We saw a great opportunity to echo what was going on through that effort,” Lewis said. “We want what we do in Student Life to compliment what students are doing in the academic setting.”

This semester’s chapel theme, entitled, “The Way, the Truth and the Life,” will focus on teachings in the gospel of John. Study in the spring semester will move to the book of Proverbs, under the same over-arching theme of truth, said Lewis.

“Truth is the word that keeps coming up over the fall and the spring,” said Lewis.

Dr. Randy Harris, instructor of Bible, Missions and Ministry, will introduce the fall series this Monday with an overview on John 1:1-14.  He said John relates well to students because it was written to people who didn’t witness the events of Jesus’ life.

“It’s almost a second-generation document,” said Harris.

Lewis said he wants to approach connecting Chapel to students’ lives with an even higher degree of diligence this year.

“We want students to hear something in the experience of that day that speaks to every minute of that day,” Lewis said. “We don’t do chapel just to do Chapel.”

Harris said he hopes daily Chapel will provide students at least the occasional genuine encounter with God.

“Chapel is not a class. It’s a time when we seek the experience of the divine,” Harris said.

The general format for Chapel this semester closely resembles last year’s schedule. Beginning the fourth week of school, all students will meet for chapel on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in Moody Coliseum. Small-group chapels will meet around campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

There are 71 days of chapel this semester, approximately 20 forum credits and about 90 credits available overall, Lewis said.

Information about chapel speakers and policies can be found online at www.acu.edu/campusoffices/chapel.