tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post7590056867051194614..comments2024-03-27T00:16:13.898-07:00Comments on STUFF CHRISTIAN CULTURE LIKES: #210 Mandatory chapel at Bible collegestephyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10047873385595074389noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-13981831804389460902015-08-18T13:00:30.402-07:002015-08-18T13:00:30.402-07:00Just found this blog in 2015, but yet another Grov...Just found this blog in 2015, but yet another Grover here...graduated in 2000, and I'd recognize Harbison Chapel anywhere. Haha. Oh those chapel cards...RPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-58609364379456981562013-11-20T22:04:21.080-08:002013-11-20T22:04:21.080-08:00I realize this post is two years old. But I went ...I realize this post is two years old. But I went to GCC and graduated--holla. You know how I got rid of my chapel requirements? I wrote papers. I was an English major and was taking Christian Authors in my last semester. So doing the book reports on Christian books was a cakewalk. Pretty sure I wrote in one of the reports that I liked it better than going to chapel. <br /><br />This is a fantastic blog. Party on!pseudodivanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-14326403925436281252013-05-19T23:51:30.889-07:002013-05-19T23:51:30.889-07:00Excellent posting. Undoubtedly you are an expert w...Excellent posting. Undoubtedly you are an expert when it comes to this writing. This is absolutely the first time I visited your site and to tell the truth it succeeds in making me visit here now and then.<br />CEA Approved RES Course Providerhttp://www.pioneertraining.org/res-course-providercea-approved-real-estate-coursenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-6593746229731820532011-12-01T15:50:45.552-08:002011-12-01T15:50:45.552-08:00Wow, I didn't realize how good I had it. I att...Wow, I didn't realize how good I had it. I attended, and now work for, a church-related institution which offers chapel once a week and accommodates it by not (officially) scheduling any classes for that hour.<br /><br />Nobody actually keeps track of who goes. There is no requirement for anybody to go. And yet every week there is a fair number of participants. All of them actually want to be there. Isn't that the way it is supposed to be?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-74318711620664983702011-11-29T06:51:30.144-08:002011-11-29T06:51:30.144-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Zooeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04973723195501278967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-11152940889462375102011-11-21T20:02:25.460-08:002011-11-21T20:02:25.460-08:00Just figured it's worth mentioning that my old...Just figured it's worth mentioning that my oldest sister met her now-husband when they were both actively involved in a "The Liberty Way"-bashing website while attending Liberty. They had to get 25 reps removed off each of their records by writing and presenting some bogus paper about something theological and inconsequential. My sister also pretended to have health issues her second year of college so that she could move off campus and never attend convocation ever again.<br /><br />Needless to say, I'm proud to be related to her.Katiehttp://thekatiejones.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-74022596464173793112011-11-21T10:08:30.282-08:002011-11-21T10:08:30.282-08:00Of course the prospective students tyou work with ...Of course the prospective students tyou <i>work</i> with aren't going to cite those reasons. What benefit is that to them? I work for and attend a Christian university as well; we make liars out of students every semester.Mr. C. Elliot Sternhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03158430914805156450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-70064732059375317362011-11-18T18:34:37.951-08:002011-11-18T18:34:37.951-08:00Anonymous, in response to your 5:42 post: I'm ...Anonymous, in response to your 5:42 post: I'm not focusing on the decisions of the student to enroll at the particular school; yeah, it's something that hopefully students would know in advance and decide accordingly. I'm focusing on the decisions of the administrators in actually making this requirement. They clearly do not appreciate what their chaplains/guest preachers are doing in chapel services enough to believe that students would go on their own choice. If I was a campus pastor at such a college, I would be offended by this requirement.<br /><br />This, let's remember is about a chapel requirement, <b>not</b> the actual chapel worship itself. Yes, that's something that can be a very good thing; the college I went to had M-Th chapel services too. And this might be a totally foreign concept to you, but... chapel attendance was entirely optional!Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02889006729559000789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-60820375278139615312011-11-18T16:33:18.685-08:002011-11-18T16:33:18.685-08:00A lot of schools want you to sign those enrollment...A lot of schools want you to sign those enrollment forms as soon as possible. It's not as simple as choosing to go or not go because many 18 year olds don't have the experience or wisdom to see if the school teaches correct theology or a false man-made theology, and there's really no way to find out until you're already there. Just because it says 'Bible School' or 'Christian College' does not mean that it's automatically a safe place to spiritually grow. Many students just wind up being led down the wrong path and believing it without question and spend their whole lives making a mockery of God without even knowing it. I'm not speaking about your school, because I don't know what your school teaches. Then there's those like you who insist that everything be 'uplifting' and you forbid criticism. Basically what you are doing is bullying people. Lamentations certainly is not uplifting. And the books of Prophecy are quite critical of God's people. So using your logic, should we throw them out of the Bible, and replace them Joel Osteen books? Your lack of reason and finger-wagging towards others bothers me. I think you should spend more time reading your Bible while being led by the Holy Spirit. And furthermore, learn what the word 'mocking' means. Pointing out the truth in a humorous way is not mockery. And read what she wrote. She's not calling out chapel, she's calling out MANDATORY chapel. I may not agree with everything Stephanie does or says, but I'll certainly stand up to any faith-bully who demands that all of Christianity be bubble-gum happy time on a cotton candy cloud. There are many who do everything they can to silence and control anyone who dares question their fabricated reality of what Christianity should be. That is nothing Like Christ. Does everything really need to be 'nice' and 'wholesome' and 'positive' in order for your faith to be preserved? If so, maybe you ought to get to know God a little better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-24269579015461400422011-11-18T14:40:54.752-08:002011-11-18T14:40:54.752-08:00Also, make sure you don't confuse the mocking ...Also, make sure you don't confuse the mocking the mandatory part with mocking chapel. I mock the mandatory policy itself. If people chose to go, then that's fine.JDM929https://www.blogger.com/profile/04564871886719684186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-9684860343804790882011-11-18T14:33:45.907-08:002011-11-18T14:33:45.907-08:00Anon, why are you playing apologetics on campus-wi...Anon, why are you playing apologetics on campus-wide mandatory chapel if you don't care who you're worshiping with?JDM929https://www.blogger.com/profile/04564871886719684186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-35908491189826721152011-11-18T12:56:05.974-08:002011-11-18T12:56:05.974-08:00Well, see, the funny thing is, I work for the coll...Well, see, the funny thing is, I work for the college I attended with prospective students. In my several years here, never...and I can honestly say never, have I communicated with a student or read an application where the students must state why they want to come here where they say the only reason I am coming here is because of my parents...or that I don't have a choice. I know of students whose parents will only pay for their child's education if they attend a Christian school, but that in no way forces an 18 year old, who by law is an adult, to attend a Christian school. Pressure to attend and forcing to attend are two different things. We still live in a free country. <br /><br />Your second point is interesting to me. I never said that it is right for schools to grade a student or judge a student on their relationship with the Lord based upon chapel attendance. I think we are in agreement there. However, I just wanted to state that I am sad that there seemingly seems to be no positive side represented or expressed about having mandatory chapel. It made me sad, as a believer and one whose life was changed through Christian higher education, that other readers/commenters that didn't attend a Christian school don't feel that they missed out on a great opportunity and for those that are looking at schools; your post solidified their decision to not even consider a Christian school. Not every student is going to love every chapel, but as believers, I don't think we should be mocking and degrading the action of fellowship and worship..mandatory or not. You can't discredit my experience, and I cannot discredit yours. But I can defend the other side and say there are benefits to it. I was never categorizing anyone like you claim...not sure where thats coming from.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-19443703609290004512011-11-18T09:49:17.570-08:002011-11-18T09:49:17.570-08:00Anonymous,
you say that as adults you have the fr...Anonymous,<br /><br />you say that as adults you have the freedom to choose an institution, but many students, and I would actually wager most students, at Christian colleges were forced to go there by their parents... usually because the parents are nervous about their kids being "in the world" and receiving a Secular Education™. Christian culture can and does force people to do all kinds of things, but Jesus never did.<br /><br />You loved the "opportunity" to attend mandatory chapel and you feel it was a positive experience, but you don't have any room for other people's negative experiences of mandatory chapel. This allows you to pigeon-hole others and categorize them quite neatly, and this is deumanizing, as I feel mandatory chapel is.stephyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10047873385595074389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-66057081908777956782011-11-18T05:43:40.458-08:002011-11-18T05:43:40.458-08:00And sorry for my previous typo in the first senten...And sorry for my previous typo in the first sentence!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-88383744919760289872011-11-18T05:42:55.668-08:002011-11-18T05:42:55.668-08:00Ben, As a adults, don't you then have the free...Ben, As a adults, don't you then have the freedom to choose an institution that doesn't require you to be there? If you didn't want to abide by that rule, then you shouldn't attend that school. If you don't believe it is right, then why would you subject yourself to it? As an adult at 18,you had that freedom and right. But if as adults you chose to attend an institution where their rule (and right to have a rule in place) is to require chapel, then you willingly agreed to their standards. And as believers, we are asked in Scripture to respect authority. Brandt, my school never graded us on chapel so I guess I cannot comment on that. They did make it mandatory and I think that's ok. It's not so they could judge one's relationship with the Lord...that's certainly not the point in offering a chapel service. The point is to provide another opportunity to worship and to do so as a student body and I have seen many wonderful things, in my own life and in the life of my fellow classmates, happen because of chapel. There were times I didn't want to be there, but the Lord can use speakers and times of songs of praise to speak to our hearts and I am thankful for the ways He has allowed me to learn more about Him, even when I maybe wasn't feeling up to it. I don't believe I'm worse off because I had attended chapel and learned more about Christ. That is my argument. I am in agreement that God is the final say whether or not he ever knew us...which is why I'm glad I went to a school that finds it important enough to instill a sense of discipline in it's students lives when it comes to spending time with the Lord...because it is serious...if we love Him, we will learn about Him, we will praise Him and it will not matter if we are forced to be there or not...because it's not about that...it's about Christ. And I am sorry if a school judges or grades a student based upon attendance...but they still have every right as an institution to have a rule like that and if you don't like it, then don't go. But I for one, am thankful for how God used daily chapel during my college years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-58152566459766110322011-11-17T17:15:20.421-08:002011-11-17T17:15:20.421-08:00Making chapel available for students is a wonderfu...Making chapel available for students is a wonderful thing. Making it mandatory, monitoring it, and grading students on it reeks of legalism. A man cannot measure the level of another man's worship... because man can never know what's in another man's heart. Only God can to that. Christian School administrators self-appoint themselves authority over other believer in ways that they have no right or Biblical permission to do. They ONLY have authority over students in ways of academics. You keep defending your school, but your school is just a man-made institution and not the final authority of what is or is not the way a believer should behave.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-77264389928710813772011-11-17T17:09:45.498-08:002011-11-17T17:09:45.498-08:00Anonymous,
There's another issue that I don&#...Anonymous,<br /><br />There's another issue that I don't believe you've addressed. The mandatory chapel sessions that Stephanie is talking about aren't taking place in high schools or elementary schools. They are taking place in colleges. In other words, grown adults are being forced to attend these chapels. The administrators of these colleges apparently have such contempt for their students that they don't believe that the students have the maturity to make a decision to be part of chapel themselves.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02889006729559000789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-40849567007128500742011-11-17T16:34:47.308-08:002011-11-17T16:34:47.308-08:00So you can see how mandatory chapel is silly and o...So you can see how mandatory chapel is silly and often harmful, no?stephyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10047873385595074389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-4044011670289244492011-11-17T15:51:46.601-08:002011-11-17T15:51:46.601-08:00who i am worshipping with is not to be the point. ...who i am worshipping with is not to be the point. the point is who i am worshipping...and that is Christ.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-35063898789651679302011-11-17T15:45:48.834-08:002011-11-17T15:45:48.834-08:00Anonymous, mandatory is not equal to opportunity. ...Anonymous, mandatory is not equal to opportunity. Do you really want to be worshiping with people that do not want to be there?JDM929https://www.blogger.com/profile/04564871886719684186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-63787378860386388692011-11-17T15:40:34.222-08:002011-11-17T15:40:34.222-08:00Amen, Stephy.
It seems to me that God is where he...Amen, Stephy.<br /><br />It seems to me that God is where he finds you. Sometimes that's chapel. Sometimes it's other places.<br /><br />And I'm sure that for "faith-based institutions", there are plenty of other opportunities for God to find a person, manufactured or otherwise.<br /><br />The problem is that by requiring chapel, an institution *is* judging students'--and its own--spirituality based on service attendance. That is what makes a mockery of the "opportunity" for collective worship, not this post or these commenters.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05247049301370787726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-86685155432361968712011-11-17T15:32:51.261-08:002011-11-17T15:32:51.261-08:00Mandatory chapel worked wonders for Anonymous! You...Mandatory chapel worked wonders for Anonymous! You might enjoy this post more:<br /><br />http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2009/05/80-leaving-perturbed-comments-and.htmlChrissyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12292892513290420145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-23074706553695818382011-11-17T15:24:06.516-08:002011-11-17T15:24:06.516-08:00I would agree with that. Most definitely. And I w...I would agree with that. Most definitely. And I will say that I never felt forced to worship in chapel just because it was required for me to be there physically. It is a choice to worship and I chose to take advantage of the time set aside each day by my college to worship together as a student body. I think it is a wonderful thing and I am glad I had the opportunity to do so. I don't think my relationship with the Lord suffered any because I attended a mandatory chapel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-91667995578900560572011-11-17T15:03:09.866-08:002011-11-17T15:03:09.866-08:00True worship is 24-7 and un-forced.True worship is 24-7 and un-forced.stephyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10047873385595074389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776387418775994830.post-24079498619772650192011-11-17T14:47:30.986-08:002011-11-17T14:47:30.986-08:00You're right, a student could very well do tha...You're right, a student could very well do that. In fact, I know that it has happened at the school I attended. I never said attending chapel is the mark of a great Christian. I never said raising your arms during a worship song, or crying during a speaker's message makes you a better Christian. What I did say is that offering chapel can be a wonderful thing and I don't think making it mandatory is a bad thing either. I know that for me personally, I am better off because of the chapel service my institution offered and required of me to attend. My university didn't force me to think a certain way, they didn't ask me like every message, but they did ask me to seek Biblical truth, to be challenged, and to love God. Chapel is ONE way they offered an opportunity for me to grow deeper. What I did with it was up to me. How seriously I took it was up to me. But I took it seriously because that's what I was looking for in a Christian institution. I wanted to grow deeper in my personal relationship with the Lord during my college years. I was a public school kid all my life and wanted to be in an environment where I could worship freely and be challenged in my faith, have Bible classes and learn about Scripture from professors who know and love the Lord. I chose to attend a Christian college that was serious about the spiritual growth of its students and atmosphere of the school so that I could walk away from my college years with an ability to articulate and defend my faith with a heart that knows God and loves Him above all else. I felt that I could best do that at the institution I chose to attend. And I strongly believe offering chapel is a wonderful thing and can reach students no matter where they are in their walk with the Lord. It is not a schools responsibility to measure or judge one's level of belief based upon chapel attendance. However I will again state, that as believers, shouldn't we be glad for opportunities to worship our Savior? You may not feel it's necessary for your own life, for your own walk with the Lord, but that doesn't mean it's bad or that we should mock it because it may very well be what another believer needs and we should be supportive of that. I'm not saying there aren't problems with chapels at Christian schools and that the author can't point out the cliche situations that happen that we find humorous because we can all relate and have found that to be true in chapel and church settings, but I am saying that if you're upset because a school requires students to attend chapel so that they may have another opportunity to grow and worship, then I think that's sad. I don't think that as followers of Christ we should be mocking the action of fellowship and the benfits to worship as a body of believers to the point where it elludes to it being a complete joke. I personally just don't believe this particular post by the author was uplifting. I don't believe it provided a solution or a challenge to other believers of how to change the current problem institutions are facing with how they conduct their chapel services. It instead just mocked it without stating how it can still be a good thing. For that reason I am disappointed by this post and am defending faith-based institutions whose intentions are to encourage sincere growth in their relationship with the Lord through opportunities such as chapel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com