Chapel will offer many new series and features this semester, including a new Campus Conversations series based on Monday’s Chapel forum, “Beware of Christians.”
Mark Lewis, assistant dean for Spiritual Life and Chapel programs in Student Life, said the ideals of “Beware of Christians” inspired an entire new series for Campus Conversations.
“The series will talk about some of the big points the film hit on, like following religion versus following Jesus,” Lewis said. “This is something that has a lot of students’ interests peaked.”
Lewis said the Beware of Christians film team also indirectly kicked off the Monday semester series on the prophets, called “God’s Stubborn Love.”
“The story of the Israelites is a people who trusted in God and then would somehow get distracted by their own desires that might not be in line with what God called them to be, and in doing so they fell away from God” Lewis said. “Any time you fall away from God there’s going to be some kind of consequence, and for the Israelites it was the exile. Then at the end of the books of the prophets you see they are restored by God’s love.”
Lewis said the Israelites’ struggles with focusing on God directly relates to many Christians now.
“It is so easy to find yourself distracted by culture to the point of literally losing focus on God and we lose balance and spiritual health,” Lewis said. “The goal of this series is to help us find ourselves in the stories and to call us individually and as community to continue to take our faith very seriously.”
“Jesus is Crackers” is also returning to Campus Conversations after a two-semester hiatus. Dr. John Delony, assistant dean for Residence Education and Housing, was unable to lead the Chapel because of teaching commitments. The first “Jesus is Crackers” Chapel of the semester will be on Feb. 14.
There will be three departmental Chapels this semester, the first on Jan. 31.
Last semester, the Student’s Association approached the Chapel office to bring back class Chapel. So far there is only one scheduled for this semester, set for Feb. 7.
“We’re working with each of the class presidents to help coordinate those Chapels,” Lewis said. “We’re still figuring out where each class Chapel will be.”
For more information on this semester in Chapel, visit acu.edu/chapel.