Note: The opinions expressed by the writer are not necessarily the views of the Collegian editorial board or staff.
Let me be clear: I think chapel is good. I think worship is good. I think that having chapel held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays as a consistent space for community, prayer and teaching is good. But what if chapel was optional?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say, “Ugh, I wish I didn’t have to go to chapel today…but I just have to get these credits.” And that makes me sad. I don’t think that people should dread going to a place where they can experience Jesus, but that is the kind of reaction that I hear all too often.
Where does that dread come from? Why do I hear students sighing and complaining on the way to Hughes? For some students maybe it’s because, quite frankly, they don’t want to go to chapel. And I do think there is a chance those students would be more willing and open to attending chapel if it wasn’t required of them.
I do not think people should just go to God when they feel like they “need” something from Him. That is not the case at all. Constant communion with the Lord is absolutely necessary for a thriving relationship with Him (just like any good, earthly relationship). And I certainly don’t think that chapel should be held any less often than it is. Having chapel on certain days at a consistent time provides a space to experience Jesus and have a sense of peace away from the busyness of the rest of campus. But having chapel required as an academic, credit-fulfilling event presents this special space for community with God and others as a task to be completed, rather than an opportunity.
I imagine that some would think, “If chapel was optional, then no one would go.” I think just the opposite is the case. I am not suggesting that chapel would change and become more “valuable” or “meaningful” if it was optional. I am suggesting that students’ mindsets would change.
Imagine you are sixteen again and just got your driver’s license. Now, your mom can make you pick your little brother up from school. “But mom…I have plans with my friends! I don’t want to spend my time chauffeuring my little brother around,” you say. But she makes you do it anyway. Maybe in a few days, you actually get the urge to pick your brother up. You want to hear about his day and take something off of your mom’s plate for the week. So, out of your own choosing, you take the car and pick him up from school. The event didn’t change. Either way, because your mom made you or you decided to, your little brother (eventually) gets picked up from school. But I would wager that when you picked your little brother up because you actually wanted to, you enjoyed that car ride home a lot more. It meant more to you. You were able to listen to him talk about his day and sing songs with him in the car because you weren’t too busy grumbling about doing it in the first place.
See what I’m getting at here? There’s something in a person’s heart that appreciates a thing just a little bit more when they are the ones who choose to do it.
Yes, it is important to bring people into these doors so they have the chance to experience the love of Jesus. But what if requiring them to keep coming back ends up pushing them farther away?
The Lord is still doing incredible things through chapel just the way it is. Of course He is. We saw incredible evidence of that in February. God can absolutely work through anything and anyone. For me personally, chapel has been a huge source of peace and joy.
I have experienced the healing of relationships.
I have experienced wise and encouraging teachings.
I have experienced the most touching worship song right when I needed to hear it most.
I have experienced lasting fellowship with the people who have been seated next to me.
I know people with incredible testimonies that have come out of Hughes Auditorium.
But what about the students who don’t know Jesus?
What about the student whose first interaction with a community of believers is in this mandatory setting?
What about the student who gets the idea that you aren’t a good follower of Christ if you decide to skip chapel one day?
What about the student who gets docked credits for being “disrespectful” in some way? What does that say to them?
What if chapel was an invitation and not a requirement?
What if chapel was optional?
Just a thought.