By Dan Huber
Campus Pastor
As I have been intentionally listening to some of the criticism against chapel, I have heard a common phrase rise from within the comments; “I don’t like _______!” My gut reaction is to call attention to the erroneous thinking behind each of these fill-in-the-blank responses.
But, as I have continued to consider the criticism, I have come to realize that the way people fill the blank is not the issue at all. So what is the issue? Narcissism.
Chapel is not about personal preference
God has created us uniquely, each of us with our own personal preferences. My personal preference is to eat a nice cut of rib-eye steak every day. However, while I prefer steak, I recognize that I need some vegetables to balance out my diet. Similarly, as I plan chapel, I recognize that every person comes with his or her own set of preferences.
I also recognize that while offering someone a preference might make that person happy, it makes no one healthy. Recently, when we offered a time for prayer in chapel, about 20 people walked out as if to say like stubborn children, “We will not eat our vegetables today!” Others have chosen to stop showing up at the table altogether, as if to say, “I’d rather starve than be force fed.”
Whichever the case, this cannot be a healthy decision. Nor would it be a healthy decision for chapel to stop offering vegetables simply because some people refuse to eat them. While personal preference is a significant problem, it seems that something more foundational has taken root.
Chapel is not about you
There is a misconception that chapel is for you, the student. It is not. It is for us, the Corban community. A greater problem than the issue of personal preference addressed above is the individualism that runs rampant in our culture and on our campus.
Why show up to chapel if you can download podcasts of better speakers from across the globe and listen to them in your room? Why show up to chapel when you can Youtube more emotionally impacting musical experiences than you feel you get in chapel? My answer: community, unique community.
There is something about meeting together as a community of believers from diverse Christian backgrounds in the context of Corban’s educational mission that helps each of us realize that life is bigger than ourselves and that our story is only part of a bigger story and that through it all God is to be given all the glory.
It is for this reason and to this end that I continue to offer a chance for this to happen every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10 a.m.
Kid. Fresh says
Well said.
I, as a student, have herd about other peoples preferences as well. And trying to stay nutural to this and not offending anyone, I too, give my fellow students a similiar response. Chapel should be a place of worship and fellowship with God, and having God as the roots and the life of Chapel. Not a place for you, a time built to meet your needs. Isnt that the first thing we learn when we become a Christian? That everything isnt about me me me, but Him? That we must sacrafice ourselves and lay down our pride in order to find Him?
Im not a hater of chapel, not a hater of people who dont like chapel as well. Just a student, wanting to see more love in the world, and in our community.
PS Chapel is pretty much the highlight of my day. Especially when my days are filled with 6 hours of classes and 5 hours of work. Chapel is a time where I get to have time to sit back and fellowship with my Lord in peace, love and healing.
Ryan says
I read what you had to say and agree with most of it. However, in regards to the music, it’s not that it isn’t played well or isn’t emotional enough, its just that the lyrics and chord structure seem uninspired. It’s not the chapel bands’ fault, it’s the music they select. If the music is average, is that giving our all to God? Even if we sing it with the right heart (which most of us do) what if we could do better? like replacing this song:
You go before me
You shield my way
Your hand upholds me
I know You love me
(Hillsong, At the Cross)
With this song:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown
(The Old Rugged Cross)
I encourage you to listen to both on youtube. At the cross by hillsong, then The Old rugged Cross on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS6X_n-MNHk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v9GdkrqPoQ
Here are links to both. After you Listen to them I think you’ll agree that one of them is significantly better than the other. And that better lyrics inspire a better connection with God.
Just Sayin says
@Ryan
You can say song A is better than song B for you. But you can’t say that for everyone. Even if everyone on campus listens to both links you have provided we are not all going to unanimously decide that song A is definitively better.
Some days you will love the music and song choice and everything about the time we spend worshiping God through music. But someone else in chapel will not like it at all and vice-versa. That’s just how it is. Playing “better” songs isn’t the concern. Worshiping God with fellow believers on campus no matter what worship music is being played is.
Pastor Huber,
Thank you very much for this. I agree with you and appreciate what you do. It’s a tough job trying to make a campus full of college students happy. Good thing that’s not your job! Continue doing what you feel the Lord has called you to!
Chris says
Just because someone disagrees with you in some way, that should not mean that they take it out on you, and place all of the blame on you. A lot of people don’t understand that when you are a leader you make decisions, and sometimes those decisions are unpopular. You are trying your best to cater to everyone’s preferences, but a lot of people are different. I will admit, there have been times that I myself was a little put off by a certain message, or speaker, but that does not mean that I will tarnish your name behind your back and disrespect you when I do not have the full story. I will be the first to admit that you and I do have a decent amount of disagreements in our theology, but I do not hold that against you, because we are brothers in Christ. Keep up the good work. You do have supporters.
Whitney says
I find it sad that this whole debate has even begun. Chapel, church, worship in general, has never been about the attendee. All of these things are to reflect Christ and who he is.
It is true that I have my “preferences” concerning certain things that I like, and things that move me most in chapel, but the truth is, it is the times when I set aside my biased preferences that I feel God move. Some of my most stubborn and reluctant days of attending chapel (because they were not the kind that I enjoyed most, or some other selfish explanation) have been the chapel services that drove me to my knees.
Students on this campus need to be challenged to blind themselves to selfish desires and have a kind of tunnel vision for Christ.
When a person is willing to wholeheartedly hand their self over to Christ, mere “preferences” no longer matter.
Pastor Dan, we have never met personally, but I do want to thank you for your dedication to this campus and these students. God has worked through you this year in ways you probably don’t even realize. Time after time through your messages I have found comfort, encouragement, and revival. All glory to God.
Thank you.
In Christ,
Whitney
Mr.E says
It is freedom of will, that gives us the choice.
In the choices we make, some choose and some loose.
Those who choose cant be pleased and those who have
been pleased have also lost.
both sides have their own strengths, but it has been us who
chose the downfalls in this argument.
Mr E
Ryan says
@ Just Sayin
I don’t remember mentioning the word “better” at all, but you quoted me saying this exact thing. I specifically said “lyrics and chord structure.” If the lyrics and chords are uninspired, then the chapel band will play it in an uninspiring way. This is not their fault. If a company mass produces songs for profit, than this is the end result. I want to suggest picking songs with more meaning, and no that is not subjective. Considering we are all believers in Christ, a song with real meaning truly has an affect on those with the Holy Spirit inside them. The words count for alot. And as far as the chord structure goes, GCGD chord structure songs are generally made quickly and without much thought. These chords are easy to play, yes, but also make every contemporary song sound the same. Why not give our best to God? Why not use the lyrics and songs of those who try their best for God?
I mean no anger or frustration to emanate from what I say, so forgive me if it sounds this way.
Kristy says
“There is a misconception that chapel is for you, the student. It is not. It is for us, the Corban community.”
I disagree.
Chapel is not for me. Chapel is not for us. Chapel is for the glory of Jesus Christ.
We meet because God tells us to and we worship because He is the only one who is worthy of praise.
sources: 1 Corinthians 10:31, Hebrews 10:25, Revelation 5:12
Corban Student says
@Ryan
Arguing to be right, or to have your voice heard is not encouraging.
It is not beneficial for community.
Going back to what Huber said in this article that we are all “commenting on”,
chapel is not about you.
It’s not about me.
It’s not about the kinds of songs that are chosen.
As Huber said,
“Why show up to chapel when you can Youtube more emotionally impacting musical experiences than you feel you get in chapel? My answer: community, unique community. There is something about meeting together as a community of believers from diverse Christian backgrounds in the context of Corban’s educational mission that helps each of us realize that life is bigger than ourselves and that our story is only part of a bigger story and that through it all God is to be given all the glory.”
When we look at it in this context, the preference saturated, stylistic argument over music PALES in comparison to the greater picture.
Andrea White says
Chapel isn’t always vegetables, nor is it meat, to continue Pastor Dan’s metaphor. Often, chapel offers a soft message that is supposed (I assume) to inspire us throughout our day. However, God wants more for us than inspiration and good feelings.
I attended Colorado Christian University last year, where chapels were, in a word, amazing. Students didn’t like them because they agreed with everything said, but because the messages didn’t allow us to leave chapel without feeling challenged. I rarely leave Corban’s chapel feeling challenged.
Corban University is an academic institution. If I had a class in which I was not challenged, I was not told new information, and I spent the entire 50 minutes looking at my clock, I would write a scathing course evaluation and skip every chance I had. We should expect the same level of intellectual stimulation from our chapel that we do from our classes.
If Corban is serious about teaching us to “make a difference in the world for Jesus Christ,” we should use chapel to present opportunities for people to change the world, much like the Invisible Children chapel from last semester. We should use them to encourage people in evangelism. Chapel should be a springboard to send students out into the world for Jesus. If the greatest fear of our generation is indeed “the fear of meaninglessness,” why not use chapel as a way to show students that Christ is the only way to find meaning?
Students are not asking you to cater to our whims and personal preferences. We are asking you to challenge us and guide us and present us with something worth listening to.