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Interim Chapels: A “Tour” of Churches
Bethel students who didn’t go abroad for one-month interim courses
were rewarded with a “tour” of area churches right on campus.
In a chapel series called “La Tour de Church,” pastors
from seven prominent Twin Cities-area churches—plus the Chaplain
of the U.S. Senate—were asked to address Bethel students and
answer the question, “If there is one message you want to share
with the college-age generation of the Church, what would it be?”
The messages they brought to chapel were remarkably varied and practical:
Pastor Darrell J. Geddes (S’97) of Christ Church International challenged students to walk with God, meaning to “be decisive, available, and consistent in their interaction with Him” (Genesis 5:21-24).
Michael Binder of The Exchange at Woodridge (and a current Bethel Seminary senior) urged students to “defy expectations”—rather than feel “pressure to get married, buy a house, and get 2.4 kids and an SUV right out of college” (Isaiah 30:15).
Pastor Jin Kim of the Church of All Nations told students that “good news for our time” is the opportunity described in Matthew 25—ministering to Jesus by serving “the least of these.”
Associate Pastor Jonna Fantz (C’91, S’01) of Christ Presbyterian Church recognized our culture’s addiction to comfort, and described how pain—“rightly interpreted and integrated”—can move the Christian life “beyond its current capacity for kingdom life to new places of depth and authority.”
Junior High Pastor Heather Flies (C’05, S’02) of Wooddale Church talked about “biblical math.” In Christian dating, she contended, 1 + 1 = 1, because both people must be “whole” to create “one whole relationship.”
Barry Black,
Chaplain of the
U.S. Senate
Pastor Joel Johnson (C’80, S’86) of Westwood Community Church tried to help students avoid divorce by describing “four compatibilities that help discern whether singles should stay, develop, or leave a relationship.”
Pastor Bob Merritt (C’79 S’83) of Eagle Brook Church realized that students can feel “a little depressed and hopeless” in January, so his message emphasized that “There’s a Time to Laugh.”
Barry Black, Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, concluded the series on January 25 with an address on “Running to Win,” preaching from Philippians 3:13-14. Black is the Senate’s first African-American chaplain and the first to come from the military.
Listen to Bethel chapels at www.bethel.edu/its/itunes-U. Simply log in and register as a guest.