we had an interesting class today and it really got me thinking on certian topics. I am taking a christian ethics class and one of our class periods was spent in coming up with a debate (for or against) manditory chapels at the school. At the moment, our university college, has decided that chapels are manditory. We have them twice a week and you must sign in (they bought a scanner to read our student cards). You are excused for seven chapels per semster. The other side of this issue is that they have channels through which you can get a waiver form through your supervisor if from some reason you cannot attend. This is not the first college that I have attend that requires a student to go to chapel, however there were other circumstances that really just had it make sense to go to chapel (aka pretty much everyone lived in dorms, really wasnt anywhere else to go, and while it was expected that you go it was in a different manner then my school)
back to my original thoughts...each side put up some pretty good points. So much so that I have questioned my dissapointment in the school for making chapel manditory. I understand that they want to get students there and to have them participate in chaple because it is one of the things that makes us as a christian school different from the rest. And yes chapel is a great resource for our spiritual growth. But I am wondering if the school doesnt need to take into consideration their current context of being within a city to which many students commute to the school. Not to mention that chapel is not always that interesting. Therefore maybe making a different design for chapels and taking out the manditory aspect might actually bring in a larger student body....
Lol, that was a real ramble of thoughts and I dont know if any of it made sense. Oh well! I guess my main point was that I hated the thought of being made to go to chapel like I was some little kid, but after class and hearing different sides of the debate I have come to realize the intentions of the school in trying to build a christian community. Yet I still hold somewhat to my old view - just maybe not so harshly.....
ok I'm done rambling now
14 comments:
Community in our modern day term is such a fluid concept. Think about this (and I am not holding against or for mandatory chapels--that is a whole other issue) but how does one create community by making people show up to a service were we all sit and listen, sign together and then leave. Also community in its purest for, I believe should never be forced.
What we have created in our generation is a 'sense of community', not true community. One that resembles community because we gather with a mutual purpose. But truly, do we know each other, do we share our pains and struggles, do we pray for each other, confessing and uplifting, building, serving, supporting each other, so dependent that we don't know were we begin and end.
Yes i believe that these small communities do exist, but would you say it exists by the efforts of a institution or by natural bonds shared by fellow believers who are drawn because of Christ?
P.S. Making it mandatory will motivate people to go, who in most respects may not be disciplined enough to go... but to assume they are building community is ridiculous!
you are right...
Yes community may be assumed to be built because they are getting us to be there and sit in the pews. But at the same time we do not engage with the speakers nor to we engage with each other therefore we aren't a real community (like you pointed out).
I really like your definition of community - in the sense of sharing with each other, encouraging, building, serving, etc. I think that this is the type of community that Paul also had it mind when he spoke of it in the New Testament (I dont remember where). And manditory chapel in no way inforces these values...
yep... we create a 'sense of community'... a SENSE... a image or replication or attempt of a replication to be brutally honest... but not true community
You know that really leads me to wonder about the sense of community in our Churches. Maybe its just me...but I can honestly say that I dont see a true meaning of community in our church. Granted yes it is large and maybe it exists in smaller groups...but still? Have we all become so consummed with our own worldviews and selves that we don't see the people around us? Or think we do but actually are not?
That is the greater issue with being a in a ultra consumeristic, individualistic, institutionalized, divided-function, type of generational-society. We feed off our owns needs and the church gives us that.
Also, we are prone to believe that relationships (in the modern sense) is suitable to be considered community, versus the past view of being a family or in a kinship.
When being in a relationship, we are individuals who can attach themselves to others and disconnect whenever we feel. Also it takes constant work to keep up relationships. But when your in a family, you know you are part of it, you can bask in that, relax and feel at peace with it.
It is no wonder our ministries are so tiring and attempting to move that concept to God makes faith so exhausting!
When you are in a kinship, you are bound to each other... in all aspects, emotionally, physiologically, financially, etc... this threatens our individualistic system, so we run from it... but we don't have the true sense of community that our forefathers once did. One that we are of each others flesh and bone, joined together by a higher purpose and divine nature...
We could take some tips from our ethnic brothers and sisters in the faith and maybe stop being and island to our selves and take a step of faith and surrender ourselves to the mercy of others and be dependent on each other, using our gifts to serve each other and be a family.
well.... you don't post for forever and then I turn my back for a couple of days and everything explodes!!! =-)
As for the chapel debate, my thought is that we make an assumption in stating that the goal of the school is to build "Community" through chapel. Now, I understand there are some complexities with Taylor and their particular context, because I don't think even they know what the purpose of their school is right now, never mind the students...
But I see nothing wrong with a Christian school, interested in more than just academics, saying that regular chapel is just a healthy part of holistic Christian development. Now you can definitely choose to engage that or not, they can't make the heart issue mandatory, but if you are submitting to them as your elders in Christ and asking them to teach you, why would you not willingly submit to chapel just as much as to classes and exams? it makes sense to me.
One of the missionary organizations that I support has a training facility (essencially a Bible colege) for their missionaries. And it is mandatory that every student wake up at 5 o'clock and spend three hours in prayer and personal study before the day starts. its mandatory that the whole student body takes one day a week and spends the whole day in prayer for the people that they feel God is calling them to minister to. Its mandatory that each student takes one full week every semester fasting and praying in solitude for their people.
our individualistic, arogant and stuborn North american minds scream out against that with all sorts of excuses, and yet, these Indian students rejoice at the oppertunity to recieve christian training and often spend fare more time then is 'mandatory'. Personally I think its arogance; we admit that we need someone to teach us accademics, and yet we want to say that they have no business telling us how to live our personal spiritual lives(the implication we make is that we are doing just fine on our own). but the truth is our culture is in desperate need of Godly mentors who will call our mile-wide-and-inch-deep church into true devotion. We're mad that chapel is mandatory because we are good enough on our own, and yet how many christians really spend even one hour a day in prayer, study or meditation? We need that help! we need far more than that! but at least its a start...
Now you think I'm overstating things, calling for an HOUR of prayer or study or meditation... isn't that a little ridiculous? even the most Godly Christians in our church don't spend that much time. And yet we will easily spend an hour paying devotion to our culture through watching TV, or reading magazines or listening to music or even a few ours watching movies! our priorities are so incredibly off balance we can't even begin to see the truth yet.
I wish I could make it mandatory for our whole church to get together every morning for prayer and worship and preaching, at least I would know that they are getting some potential for growth beyond one hour on Sunday morning. but the truth is, there are all to many who call themselves Christians and not only do they only really engage the Word of God on Sunday mornings, they often even miss that because they are too busy!!!
So there's my rant! and if you want to get me started even more all we need to do is ask 'can these people really even consider themselves Christians?... followers of Christ, because, if we're honest, they are not actually FOLLOWING Christ!' and I'm not talking about the fringes of our churches, I'm afraid that this finger points to a terrifyingly vast majority of North American Christianity!!! But I won't get started on that now =-)
Thank you Jon for that sobering thought, it is always a good reminder. In our individualistic, consumeristic society, we have lost the disciplines and submissive attitudes of old. It would almost seem that we need a return to extreme monasticism to get our societies attention. Always attempting to justify our lack of commitment to Christ and being preoccupied by the world in justifying it by it not being evil (i.e. Media). Though not evil, it definitely can be useless and mindless, and truly not the best. We truly need to move away from our selfish self centered idea of what it means to have freedom.
THough on the side of schools using chapel for community, I only argue this because I have heard this argument from school representatives themselves, and it is a useless argument.
haha you turn your back Jon and everything explodes??? I get back from work and volia there is a whole new conversation!
Yes - we are assuming that community is the goal of manditory chapels...but at the same time I think that assumptom is correct. I have been involved enough with the school to know that this is the whole purpose and I believe would be their main arguement
As far as this mission school you were talking about, Jon, thats awesome that they all participate in this manner. BUT I have to say that they probably knew this was the requirements when they signed up for the school. On the other hand, that covenent at Taylor, states that we have a "commitment to formal times of worship.." at Taylor. Chapel is not the only thing there, and the rest that are listed are by no means manditory. So the problem that I have is that yes, I am committed to discipleship but thats my committment and I do get other forms of discipleship at the School and in my own personal life. The school is in a sense going against their own rules and twisting things. If they want chapel to be manditory then so should the other venues of "discipleship". Either that or change the convent to state that we have to be at chapel (manitory) and also enggage in other forms of discipleship....see my point?
But I do agree with you that what you have said about us not using our time wisely and needing to change our priorities. I fully agree that we need to return to a society that is following Christ....
But why are they using the chapel to try and create community? if that is what they are doing then it is because that is what they see as necessary for Christian growth. of coarse they can't "mandate" true community, the students have to foster that themselves, but they can mandate some things that make community more likely and help move people in that direction. Can you really fault them for trying? for taking the first steps for you?
and really? isn't it a bit of a weak excuse to bring it back to the detailed words of the covenant you signed? 1) maybe that IS what they meant by "formal times of worship" and just didn't define it well. 2) so what! Just because you didn't agree to that in your "covenant" with them doesn't mean that those Godly men that you have submitted yourself to have not asked you to do it. why can't that be enough?
Those missionaries didn't participate in that schedule begrudgingly because that's what they had agreed to. they do it because they are eager to take advantage of every opportunity to seek Christ and growth and discipleship. I get the feeling that those who say they won't go to chapel just because it wasn't in the covenant, would just find another excuse if it was in the covenant.
Jon I have agreed with you on most points, but you sympathy for their good intentions I think is a weak argument. Yes of course, it is never a bad thing to want to promote community, and if this be the case, the yes I agree that I applaud them for trying.
But if in reality they are solely creating a facade of true community and only give the impression of community then the attempt is faulty. Perfect example, we have programs in our institutionalized churches to do a specific task, to serve and disciple believers, or evangelize souls. Whatever the task, I think we can both agree by the most part these are not doing the intended task, right? So should we continue to do so because it was out of good intention or should we look for a way to do things better, or even better yet, change our world-view to actually become a community instead of creating community.
yea...
I didn't necessarily mean it for an excuse though, just a criticism towards those who are claiming chapel is manditory because its what we signed in the covenant.
And I understand those missionaries are doing what they do because they want to; Good for them! They are a lot more godly then I.
And with regards to the "Godly men" that we have submitted ourselves to...I have hard time with that one (a) because I don't necessarily see the Godliness in their lives and (b) they weren't in chapel either!
And in regards to what Drke just pointed it - thats my whole grief with manditory chapel. Its a fake community that isn't fostering anything but hatred and frustration towards the school...they need to realize this and do something about it.
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