Leaving Chapel Early is a Matter of Disrespect

I was sitting in chapel in the front center row of the balcony. I enjoy chapel; there is a lot of listening involved. I like to listen. The week was PRAXIS week; that is, one week dedicated to Christian life, and how to live more fully for Christ. The topic for the week was listening, which I find important to someone of my caliber -- the musician. But the message was not on the nuances of musicology, but rather, it focused on specifically listening to God's voice given primarily through convictions in scripture.

The speaker gave his speech. Suddenly, about 10 to 15 minutes before the conclusion, I heard shuffling behind me. Bookbags were zipping up, feet were marching down the stairs (sometimes falling, as in one case). This continued all the way through dismissal, where it was then appropriate to stand up and leave. Actually, the music after dismissal is called a recessional -- you are supposed to leave at that time. Not during the last prayer as with Nathanael's prayer on Monday. When the final word is given, then you may leave.

I was asked one time to sub for the salad bar from noon to 1 p.m. on Friday. I have a personal commitment to attend every single chapel service -- not for any other reason than I want to get something out of it that I did not have before, and it doesn't even matter whether or not I agree with the speaker. I will still get something out of it. Substitute jobs are very few and very far between, so I immediately jump on it, and he asked me to leave 10 minutes early from chapel. I know that this is when the speaker is at the peak of his message, so I simply say that I cannot leave until I am dismissed, and I will be among the first out; the salad bar will not die because of 10 minutes, trust me.

These chapel speakers are flying in from 600+ miles away, giving their time just to speak to you. There are so many more campuses twice our size that they could be going to, but instead they chose here. I have asked the opinions of many on this subject. Zina Teague, senior, puts it very explicitly, "It is extremely annoying as well as distracting when people decide to get up and leave chapel early. It is understandable if some have to leave, but it is ridiculous when a ton of people decide to get up at the same time to leave chapel. I think that it is also rude and can be disrespectful to the person who is speaking in chapel." Brothers and sisters, if you cannot stay for the entire chapel service, don't even start. You are just as bad if not worse than the scan-and-scrammers who only stay for a few seconds. Are there exceptions to the rule? Yes. For you? Probably not.

It is so disrespectful to the speakers to see upwards of 50 people just get up and leave. Where I come from, this essentially means either "I do not approve of this message, so I will not stay" (Proverbs 14:7), or worse, "I have something more important to do than to listen to you talk." Unless you have a good reason to leave early (such as a medical emergency), you are not justified. Even still, you are being disrespectful, but at least you aren't doing anything wrong. Congressmen attended Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, and I'm sure of a few who definitely did not approve, but also did not leave. It is only out of respect to hear someone completely without interruption.

Junior Jennifer Freeman, our SGA Commissioner of Communications, says, "I hope we can have a class schedule that works with chapel and lunch. All three should be available to all students every time, and if the exterior issues were resolved, I think the number of people who leave early would drastically reduce." I also hope we can have accommodations by next semester; it's on administration's eyes.

In music, it's just as bad as having a melody line and. Or going to the grocery store and not. But what if everyone would stay for? Or if we would just follow through with the rest of our? Wouldn't chapel be so much more enjoyable if we could let the speakers finish their sentences?

I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, that there are people on this campus who think going to chapel two times per week is this heavy burden, and it is too much of a chore than what it is worth. This is the exact wrong mindset we need to have towards chapel.

Chapel should be a time between you and God. If you go with your eye on the clock, you are not giving all of your attention to Him who deserves it. If your tuition covers your classes, you have free chapel. We should be going with the mindset of making the very best out of the time that we are given, and if that means listening to someone (heaven forbid it), then why not?

I want to end with this: that in order to have any "revival" on this campus, we have to want it to happen. Going to chapel and leaving in the middle is what the "lukewarm" Christian does. Excuse me for being so judgmental, but prove me wrong.