Chapel: Embracing Community and Encountering God

Josh Stephens: Thank you. Thank you, Johnny and Mackenzie. Okay, it's Chapel. We're family. We can be honest,
okay? And I recognize that when we come here, there's really two kinds of people. There's
those that like things, and there's those that don't, okay? And listen, I'm naturally a pessimist,
okay? And so those of you that are like, "No, I feel you. You're my people," okay? I do think
the Holy Spirit kind of urges us to be people of optimism. But as I started thinking about those
things that people like and those things that people don't like, I thought, "We're going to
do an activity." And this may be stupid to do in Chapel, because sometimes if I give you
opportunity to participate, you're like, "Cool, I'm not going to listen to Josh." And that's fine,
but Jesus is here judging you right now. Okay, so not really. He's not judging.
But we want you to be present in this. And so we're going to vote by a show of hands. I'm going
to say, "If you like this, raise your hand." And then I'm going to say, "If you don't, raise your
hand." And there's no judgment. You can look around. If you find people that you like it,
and they've raised your hand, you can be like, "Those are my people." We are now going to bond
over something. It may be that one thing that you need to say, "I'm tired of being by myself. I want
community. This person likes that. So do I." We can be friends, okay? Likewise, if someone raises
their hand and you're like, "I don't like them." No, don't say, "I don't like them. I don't like
that." Okay? Like them, love them. Jesus wants us to do that, okay? You just may say, "We're going
to agree to disagree on this." Okay, so can you all do that with me? Awesome. Okay, the first thing
are buffalo wings. Now, this comes with a caveat. I'm not talking about like,
honey barbecue buffalo wings. We all know that's good, okay? I'm talking like buffalo sauce.
Like buffalo sauce, buffalo wings. If you like those, raise your hand. Okay,
ick, but whatever. Okay, if you don't like those, raise your hand. Okay, so there's the majority
kind of falling that don't like, but there's still an even balance. What about this? I think I know
this, but I really wish my wife was here to see this. Brussels sprouts. If you like, hold on.
There is no way. We're starting with like. There is no way that many people like. If you like
Brussels sprouts, raise your hand. What? What? Do y'all have taste buds?
Like if something just smells like a Brussels sprout, that's a bad thing.
Much less taste. If you don't like Brussels sprouts, raise your hand.
God, no. Hey, there's no booing. We'll boo here in a little bit, but that I am so shocked.
Do not tell my wife you like Brussels sprouts. That's disgusting. Okay, this is easy. The office.
If you like the office, raise your hand. Guys, more people's hands should be up.
If you don't like the office, raise your hand. Okay, so these are people that don't like to
be entertained. They're people that don't like laughter and humor. You don't like joy. Do what
they don't like stupidity. Season one is for sure that way. And Michael Scott is the definition of
stupidity, but okay. This one is near and dear to me. Easter is approaching and every Easter,
these things come out that we're not talking about whether they're good for you or not.
I don't even want to know what is really in the ingredients of a Cadbury egg.
But if you like Cadbury eggs, raise your hand.
There is a place in heaven that will be just Cadbury eggs. I'm certain of it. If you don't
like Cadbury eggs, raise your hand. Why? Really? Okay, okay. That's fine. I said,
I'm not going to judge you. Working out. If you like working out, raise your hand.
If you think working out is dumb, raise your hand. Okay, I get it. I like working out. I think
working out with legs is overrated and really dumb. My legs work. I can walk. Watch me walk
off stage. It's fine. So, okay, okay. Now, something important. And I'm saying this with
all seriousness, okay? Because there really is just one NFL football team. If you like the Dallas
Cowboys, raise your hand. That's okay. That's okay. For those of you that booed, please check
your email for summons later this afternoon. If you don't like the Dallas Cowboys, raise your hand.
Okay. And I'll say this. Maybe, maybe if our president liked the Dallas Cowboys,
he wouldn't have people asking whether he was a righteous man or not.
Maybe, maybe they would know, but he's not here. So you, G, you can tell him I said that. Okay.
So I appreciate your participation, but it leads me to what I want to talk about.
And that's chapel. And this is a safe place. So I'm going to ask you one last question.
Raise your hand if you like chapel. And Hey, there's no stones if you don't. So don't feel
peer pressured into this. Okay. Raise your hand. If you're like, I'm indifferent,
or I don't really care about chapel. That's okay. Like I, I appreciate your honesty and
your transparency in that. Okay. And, and there's a few things that I want to remind you because
I want to remind you because like we live in a world and, and, and I get it. Cause I operate in
this way. I've got kids who have operated in this way. Like our life experiences, we're really
viewing through one thing. We're viewing that through our own lens. So for instance, Brussels
sprouts, the vast majority of you raised your hand. I don't, I don't need to know why you will
not convince me because I've literally like my Angie does this. She's like, just taste it. I'm
like, I have. And like that face isn't my, I know my normal face kind of is like this, but like
that face I make when I eat Brussels sprouts, isn't it's a reaction to what I've put in my
mouth. Okay. And so I don't, I don't need to be convinced of it. I just know, listen, when we
talk about chapel, uh, I get the committee understands chapel may not be your favorite
thing. Here's one thing I really appreciate about Lubbock Christian University. LCU has said
chapel is a part of our identity. It's a part of who we are, who we are back in the day. They're
like docs not in here. So doc really doc is the only one who might know what we're talking about
here. But back in the day, like it, it was integral to bring that community together,
to spend time worshiping God and to connect with one another. Okay. Um, it was a part of the student
experience. I'm going to argue so many years later in 2025, it's still a really neat part of the
student experience. And one reason is because very few times in life during our work lives,
we have Wednesday nights, we have Sunday morning, Sunday nights, we may have devotionals or Bible
studies as specific times, but very few times during our work life, do we get to say, Hey,
we're going to stop midday and we're just going to spend time learning about God. Like that,
that's a great opportunity for us as a community. Okay. And I, you know, I'm with you. I would love
to see every seat in here filled because it's such a unique opportunity and I recognize,
and there's no shame. I stand in the back. Okay. It's really easy. Like these things,
when, when you're on your phone, like you may be doing this during my chapel talk,
I'm going to assume you're praying and that's good. Okay. But if you're just playing, uh,
I don't think people play words with friends anymore. I don't know if you do it's 2025,
get a new game. Uh, but, uh, I don't know the game where the little, it's not Tetris,
but you put the little blocks in to fill the road. Yeah. You know what I'm talking about? Okay.
So maybe you're doing that. I get, I get it, but I really want to challenge you to,
to embrace the opportunity that God may be trying to speak to you during chapel.
Okay. Um, what, what a neat opportunity. The other side of it is we do love the,
you hear the word community time and time again at LCU. When you toured LCU,
the, our admission staff, the, the people you would talk to talked about community, community.
There is something special about this place. I'm going to use the word special, not different,
not weird, special. It is unique to walk through a campus on a college campus and have people say
hi when they don't know you or to make eye contact. And some of you like, listen, I'm like
a 60, 40 introvert. So I understand. Uh, but like it's, it's weird when like people come around you
and they say, hi, and you're like, I don't know you. Why are you talking to me? Like, like,
am I in trouble? Like those kinds of things, man, the community of LCU is special. And we get to do
that Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and even Friday in small groups. We get to do that in the chapel
experience, find people that we sit by. Like, it's great that you have found folks to sit by.
I'm going to encourage you. If you find someone sitting by themselves, invite them over. I saw
someone today, I saw a group say, Hey, come over here. I've missed seeing you come over here.
That's powerful community. Okay. Now, if you're like, I'm sitting by myself for a reason, Josh,
don't do this. Cool. Just when someone says, come over and be like, no, I'm feeling sick,
or you make me sick, whatever. Like, uh, I'm good where I am. That that's okay too.
But the community of this place is really unique and really special. And the fact that like old
school, when, when some of us were students here, like we had assigned seating and even then like
not being with your people, it fostered a different kind of community. You connected to the
people you sat next to, or in front of, or behind, like you connected with those folks. And so, uh,
chapel really is an opportunity to encounter God and encounter an opportunity to encounter each
other in this community of LCU. There's a couple of things I'm going to let you know that we're
doing differently in chapel. And then we're going to be dismissed. Uh, the chapel committee met in,
and we decided to, to look at what do we want out of the chapel experience? And, and, and I
understand you may come to chapel and you may be like that speaker really wasn't for me today.
You definitely may be like, not feeling them. Okay. That's okay. But I want to challenge you
that whatever's going on on this stage, if it's not resonating with you, that doesn't mean that
the Holy Spirit's not using that program to reach someone else's heart. And so give them the
opportunity to connect with what's going on, allow the spirit to move, to move in that. Okay. Because
some messages I know if we get David Fraze up here, you're, you're going to be entertained.
You're going to laugh. And Dave's going to have a really good point to, to point us to, uh,
opportunities of faith. Okay. Also know that sometimes we have people here who are speaking
to specific things and you may be like, that's not my jam. That's okay. It may be someone else's jam.
So allow them to engage. We're doing some things different this semester. So every Monday,
obviously not yesterday, obviously not next Monday, cause we're off for, uh, as we observed
Dr. Martin Luther King day. So the following Monday and so on every Monday is going to be
testimony. So someone, a student, a faculty, a staff, someone from the outside is going to get
up and they're going to share their story. Okay. Now it may be like, this is how I'm encountering
Jesus right now in this phase of life. It may be, this is where I came to, to know Christ.
It may, I don't know, it's their story to tell. But one thing we've heard from students is you
like hearing people's stories. So every Monday, it's going to be like testimony Monday, and they're
going to share how Jesus has encountered them. Every Tuesday, we're going to do a themed
conversation. So every Tuesday it we're calling it faith in action, uh, lessons or excuse me,
teachings of Jesus. So our Tuesday speakers are coming in to talk about different lessons from
the gospels where Jesus said something. And we want to, we want to know what they're going to
say. We want to hear what they're going to say. So Monday is going to be testimony. It's going to be
personal. Tuesday is going to be more themed with the, this faith in action, teaching of Jesus.
And then Thursdays, cause you asked for it. Thursdays are worship days. Okay. And, and
Thursdays may be, it may be Best Friends up here, like this Thursday, it may be two people up here.
It may be one song leader in a praise team. I don't know. We've got people that are tasked to
do those things. But Thursday's going to be a time where we come in, we worship God through song.
And if you didn't grow up in, in the church of christ tradition. So you come in here and you're
like, I don't know these songs. I get it. Neither did I. Okay. And I remember showing up and
everybody's singing. And I was like, this feels weird. Okay. I don't know this song. And I even
did, I even mouth watermelon, watermelon, watermelon. So it just looked like I was singing
along with what they were saying. Like, if you don't know those songs, it's okay. Read the words
on the screen. Maybe that, maybe the spirit spirit is using that song, not to engage you vocally,
but to touch your mind, touch your heart through the lyrics of that song. So that's what chapel
is going to be this semester. Monday testimony, Tuesday, a theme conversation, teachings of Jesus.
And then Thursdays are worship. Fridays, we have small groups. You should get an email
later this week for you to sign up in small groups. Small group is a great time to do something we
can't do in here to have discussion. It's hard to have discussion in a room full of six, 700 people.
It's easier to do it when there's 40 or less in that room. The other thing in, in some of you are
going to feel me here. Okay. How many of you have ever come to chapel the last two weeks of chapel?
Okay. So that means one of two things, either you just like chapel or you didn't get your spiritual
life credits the way you're supposed to. And you needed those spiritual life credits.
If you come to chapel the last two weeks of chapel, it's kind of like going to nursing home
and seeing that family member who wonders why the kids don't come by anymore, or is really just
waiting to be taken home. Okay. It's, it's rough the last two weeks of chapel. So here's what we're
doing. Chapel will end corporate chapel will end on Thursday, April 10th. So we'll have spring break.
And then we have three weeks of chapel. And then we're, we're done with chapel since we're
modifying the schedule like that, instead of 45 spiritual life credits that you've had to get over
the previous number of semesters, you have to get 40 spiritual life credits this semester. Okay.
Now hear me. Yeah.
For, you know what, for people like Reed Brown that need the grace of the university to
be able to be involved in things at, because of chapel, I expect that there are, there are
going to be 36 days of corporate chapel, 36 days that we're in here. Then you're going to have
the seven online or virtual chapels. Okay. This year I'm talking to club. I've emailed club
presidents, but club presidents are going to be the ones that are doing that. You'll just watch
their video. You get a credit for doing that. Dansby surprise. And then we have Friday
small groups. So I have 10 or 11 Friday small groups to be a part of. And then we have things
we have outside things. We have things with different student organizations. We have things
like LCU for LBK, where you can get a spiritual life credit. There there's, there's a lot of
outside opportunities. Last semester, you had to get 45 spiritual life credits. You had over 70
opportunities to get those 45 spiritual life credits this year, even though we're cutting
chapel a little bit different. I think we're going to have between 60 and 70 opportunities to get the
40 spiritual life credits. So you're going to have ample opportunity to get those credits. Okay. But
part of it is educating you. Okay. So if you're transferring here and you're like, this is the
first time I realized I have to go to chapel. Ha ha, we gotcha. Okay. Like, yeah, chapel is a part of our
identity. It's part of who we are. You need to go to chapel. If you have any questions about that,
you can come see me or Kaili or Shirley or anybody in student life. Okay. But we wanted to let you
know, one, this is what you can expect in chapel this semester. Monday is something specific.
Tuesday is something specific and Thursday is something specific. And also let you know about
your credit opportunities. Cause that's important. Our goal is not to find anybody. I would love
nothing more than if we got to the end of the semester and there were no fines because everybody
got their spiritual life credits. Okay. And just so you know, like last semester, we lit, we literally
gave out more spiritual, like free spiritual life credits. Like you didn't even have to be there.
You just got it. Then we have in my 19 years as a Dean of students. Okay. So there's opportunity
to get those spiritual life credits, whether you like chapel or whether you don't, we want to meet
you here and we want you to feel seen and valued here again, maybe come to chapel and be open to
the Holy spirit, engaging you in either a way that you expect now that you know what the schedule is,
or maybe in a way that you don't expect. And you maybe allow the spirit to move in ways that you
haven't thought of yet and touch your heart. And listen, Jesus hasn't come back yet. I pray all the
time for Jesus to return. Jesus hasn't come back yet. So you still have time to become Dallas
cowboy fans. Okay. All right. So we love you. We're glad you're here. We hope you have a great
great semester. You guys will be dismissed. You're out of here.