TODAY IN CHAPEL

This morning, I spoke at Faith Bible College Chapel.

It was weird to step into the familiar chapel- the place where I spent an hour singing and listening to preachers every Tuesday and Thursday for three academic years.

I remember attending a chapel service for the very first time in 1999 as an aloof 21-year-old fresh out of journalism studies at Trinity. Without any intention of attracting attention to myself, I came in my knee-ripped jeans and an olympics-themed black T-Shirt I got months before the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and my hair all jelled up. I had not been told that students had a uniform every chapel day: white top and dark slacks. So, you guessed it, I stood out above the rest- in a rebellious-looking college boy way! A student named Minda actually admitted years later that her first impression of me was that of a rebel-radical-activist college drop out. But her impression of me changed when Brenda Lee, who was then a senior (now the Registrar, soon to fly out to San Diego, CA) led the singing of an old, 19th-century hymn, I Know Whom I Have Believed. Minda thought to herself, "How could a rebel boy like him have memorized an entire old hymn that isn't even familiar to more than half the students gathered?"

And the former chaplain, the Rev. Brix Laya can attest to that fact that there wasn't a week in my entire Bible college life when I did not violate the chapel "dress code!" It got so concerning that the Student Body Officers agreed to fine students who would not be in white on chapel days! Fines collected were used to buy coffee, sugar and cream for the entire student body! It was my weekly fine that kept the coffee, cream and sugar jars filled!

I must admit, there have only been four chapel sermons that have made some lasting impression and impact on my life- so strong that I remember the sermon title, preacher and text! I say that not to put down preachers and chapel speakers but simply to point out that there are certain things God uses to speak personally to us in ways that He may not in some. That's a reality. Ideally, we should be applying every sound preaching in our lives. But many of us have heard and will yet to hear hundreds of sermons in our lifetime, and yet there will be a few that the Lord will embed in our hearts and minds, and eventually affect our walk in this world!

So in the cab on my way to the College, I was trying to figure out if God would take the message farther than I think it would or will it be just any other sermon preached from the pulpit of the hallowed chapel!

After chapel, I hung out and had coffee with the chaplain, Pastor Aven, and a 2004 graduate named Cleo, who incidentally lost much of her belongings in a fire that ravaged her dormitory. She even lost her precious Bible. Earlier, Brenda Lee handed me an envelop with a gift certificate to a bookshop as an appeciation for my preaching . I gave the certificate away to Cleo so she could get herself a new Bible!

I stayed on 'til after lunch and treated the students to some ice cream! It was fun mingling with the students, some of whom might become my students next semester. Hanging out and getting to speak with some of them made me become aware (again) of their plight as ministry students.

In a rather strange conversation I had with another guy last week, he mentioned that he is perflexed by the great paradox he notices in the life of ministry students and ministers. He asked, "How could people serving the God who owns all things live in dire financial straits?" "How can God allow for His workers to experience such difficulties, and yet they all claim that He sends provisions just at the right time?" Honestly, I do not have a good answer to those questions other than what I believe His reason was for allowing me to experience the same thing one point in my life: "God allows such to chisel out a character that He wants to see in us- a character of trust, faithfulness and humility- in order that we may no longer find in ourselves the attitude that sees money as that which makes the world go round. He wants for us to focus on the reality that He is central and that He never fails." Naivete as that answer may sound, I have none other to give.

The Lord has just presented an opportunity for ministry.