Posted: Wednesday, November 16, 2016 6:00 pm
Attending chapel can easily be one of the most rigorous tasks you will face as a student at Northwest University. While there are no homework assignments, chapel can bring a fair amount of stress on its own. Thankfully, there are a surprising number of resources available to make your NU chapel experience less redundant and ultimately more rewarding.
1. Chapel period is the ideal time for naps. While many professors will call students out for falling asleep in class, the stakes aren’t so high in chapel. For an ideal napping experience, simply scan in, find a spot next to a friend in the back or in the balcony, kick back, and have your friend wake you up when the service is over to scan out.
2. Use your surroundings to your advantage. If you’re a perpetual texter, chapel speakers will have a hard time catching you on your phone if you conveniently locate behind one of Butterfield’s many arching supports. Additionally, phone usage behind the second row will most likely go unnoticed. Avoid the front row at all costs and don’t forget to lower your screen’s brightness for optimal secrecy.
3. Always take note of new Hillsong music releases. If you like to know what the chapel band is going to sing before they even step on stage, simply skim through the Hillsong catalog. Hillsong Worship releases a new album every October, which almost always serves as the basis of chapel’s music until the next Hillsong album comes out. Give “Let There Be Light” a few listens and you should be set for your next couple semesters. This also applies to the Pursuit services on Monday nights.
4. Don’t take anything the chapel speakers say too seriously. Remember, they are speaking strictly for your entertainment, and you have the option to ignore it if you wish. If you feel the Holy Spirit tugging at your heart through the words of a speaker, it’s probably time to hop back on your phone and anticipate chapel’s closing.
5. Chapel can be entirely avoided if you play your cards right. Only 35 spiritual life credits are required for the semester. Although chapel is the easiest and most convenient way to earn these credits, you should probably just skip anyway. 16 credits can be earned attending your floor’s weekly life group and another 13 credits can come from the much more energetic and engaging Pursuit services. You can scoop together your remaining six credits by attending various meetings and events across campus throughout the semester, which will often offer free refreshments.
Then again, maybe chapel isn’t so bad. Maybe spiritual life credits are required to keep the fellowship between student-to-student and, more importantly, student-to-God on track. Perhaps students would get more out of what chapel truly is if they would wake up, look up, stop putting so much focus on the sound and the flashing lights. We can simply bask in the beauty of what the Creator has made, the talents He has bestowed on those taking time out of their day to speak wisdom and renewal into our lives. In that way, NU provides something astounding that other schools can’t: a campus wholeheartedly dedicated to worship.
Contact staff reporter Landon Fleury at landon.fleury15@northwestu.edu
