Slump Continues Wildcat basketball loses to Angelo State vol. 100, no. 31
Wednesday, january 25, 2012
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1 SECTION, 8 PAGES
Sports page 8
university
Make your faith your own; ask yourself the tough questions.” -alex carroll, co-producer of “beware of Christians”
‘Beware’ tackles Christian challenges Samantha Sutherland Features Editor
mandy lambright chief Photographer
Alex Carroll, co-producer of the documentary “Beware of Christians,” gives a plug for the film in chapel, encouraging the students to attend one of the two showings held on the ACU campus.
The Chapel Office welcomed the “Beware of Christians” crew to campus Monday and offered students a day full of opportunities to engage with the cast. “Beware of Christians” is a documentary that was released in 2010 and that has been circulating the country as a speaking and film tour. In the film, four recent college graduates journey to Europe to find answers to tough questions about Christianity. The men attempt to define what it means be a Christian. Between Chapel, a lunch and two forums, three of the four members of the team had the opportunity to share their stories and discuss what they learned about living out a Christian life. Alex Carroll, one of the producers and stars in the film, said his hope is that people who watch the film will realize that faith is made up of more than what they have grown up around. He challenges them to ask questions about why they really believe that Jesus died on the cross for them. “If you never ask yourself those questions and if you don’t come to it on your own understanding, then it’s not going to be your own faith,” Carroll said. “So make your faith your own; ask yourself the tough questions.” The film covered the topics included Christian identity, materialism, sex and relationships among others. The group spent the two weeks before they left the country fleshing out a list of topics they wanted to address, but they forgot the list in the U.S. The topics center around “What they’re doing is defining Christianity,” said Meredith Wilson, a former ACU student. “They go on a journey to different countries to define Christianity, because they’re so engulfed in American culture that they don’t know what it looks like from an outside perspective.” Wilson said what she most appreciated about the film was that it sparked a conversation between her see beware page 4
Chapel
Documentary inspires new Conversations series Mark Smith Managing Editor Chapel will offer many new series and features this semester, including a new Campus Conversations series based on Monday’s Chapel forum, “Beware of Christians.” Mark Lewis, assistant dean for Spiritual Life and Chapel programs in Student Life, said the ideals of “Beware of Christians” inspired an entire new series for Campus Conversations. “The series will talk about some of the big points the
film hit on, like following religion versus following Jesus,” Lewis said. “This is something that has a lot of students’ interests piqued.” Lewis said the Beware of Christians film team also indirectly kicked off the Monday semester series on the prophets, called “God’s Stubborn Love.” “The story of the Israelites is a people who trusted in God and then would somehow get distracted by their own desires that might not be in line with what God called them to be, and in doing so they fell away from God,” Lewis said.
“Any time you fall away from God there’s going to be some kind of consequence, and for the Israelites it was the exile. Then at the end of the books of the prophets you see they are restored by God’s love.” Lewis said the Israelites’ struggles with focusing on God directly relates to many Christians now. “It is so easy to find yourself distracted by culture to the point of literally losing focus on God and we lose balance and spiritual health,” Lewis said. “The goal of this series is to help us find ourselves in the stories and to call us indi-
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It is so easy to find yourself distracted by culture to the point of literally losing focus on God, and we lose balance and spiritual health.”
vidually and as community to continue to take our faith very seriously.” “Jesus is Crackers” will also return to Campus Conversations after a two-semester hiatus. Dr. John Delony, assistant dean for Residence Education and Housing, was unable
Mark Lewis assistant dean for spiritual life and chapel programs in student life
to lead the Chapel because of teaching commitments. The first “Jesus is Crackers” Chapel of the semester will take place on Feb. 14. Three departmental Chapels will take place this semester, the first on Jan. 31. The Student’s Association
approached the Chapel office to bring back class Chapel last semester. So far only one has been scheduled for this semester, set for Feb. 7. “We’re working with each of the class presidents to help coordinate those Chapels,” Lewis said. “We’re still figuring out where each class Chapel will be.” For more information on this semester in Chapel, visit acu.edu/chapel.
contact smith at mds10a@acu.edu
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Abilene Christian University
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