...letter to the editor...

Forgive me if I just come across as too judgemental, but I wanted to post a letter to the editor of the newspaper at Biola regarding something that just irks me. 


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I have a secret.

It's been several years since I graduated from Biola and I still attend singspiration.  Ever since my freshman year, I looked forward to that one-hour block of worship on Sunday nights.  It was something I missed when I graduated and since I live in the area, I decided I would sneak in whenever I have a chance.

So you could imagine my shock and horror when I attended Singspiration last week.  Of course, numerous things have changed since I started going as a student years ago.  PowerPoint slides have replaced the overhead copies and bands have come and go.  Calvary Chapel has gone through renovation and songs are newer.

As students started to pile in, I noticed that the crowd was particularly larger than usual.  "Cool."  I thought. "It's nice to know students are excited to come and worship." I thought to myself.  But something seemed not right.  Students hollering to their friends across the chapel, calling their friends on their cell phones.  I was disgusted when the Worship Major next to me tried some pick up lines on the girl sitting on the other side of him.

And then the slide on the screen confirmed it all-"We need your help for Singspo!  If you would like to help us scan ID cards…"

So Biola is now offering chapel credit for Singspiration.

Since I came to worship God and not with any intention of casting judgment on anyone or on Biola, I have to honestly say I struggled with my thoughts all night.  On one hand, I can see what Biola was thinking, I mean after all, what is the difference between offering chapel credit for chapels versus earning credit for singspiration?  Isn't it the same thing?  Then I was tempted to judge the students in the chapel that showed up, and that wasn't right either.  It's not like God has given me the authority to search people's hearts and question their motives for why they have shown up-to worship God at a time that's more convenient than Monday morning, and get credit for it?  

In a perfect world, we would always have the right motives whether we attend chapel, singspiration, or even church on Sundays.  But we are far from perfect and the people who decide on what counts as chapel credit and what doesn't are far from perfect.  And I understand that Biola, as an institution, does these things to hopefully instill lives of discipline to seek out the Lord and worship Him on a regular basis.  But at the end of your senior year, when you are decked out in your cap and gown and you walk towards your diploma, there is no more chapel credit and there are no "credits" given.  You, as always, even as a student at Biola, are accountable to God for your motives.

There's something upsetting when it takes the opportunity to earn chapel credit to fill a room packed with students worshipping God.  It's the same kind of feeling when more freshmen and transfers show up to the Convocation chapel than upperclassmen because they know that everyone gets credit for it.  At least that was the case when I attended Biola.  

I sincerely pray that students at Biola will continue to give their motives to the Lord-not just at Biola, but in their lives beyond.  It's hard to see, but in life, ultimately the things we receive when we choose to spend time with God are not measured by credits, nor are they things we can "make-up" if we choose not to spend time with Him.