Bible study has wide reach
ISSUE: 02/28/07 > news > bible study has wide reach
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| Students can choose from many Bible study groups that meet at Belmont. |
Every semester University Ministries offers the student body new ways to discover how to grow in their relationship with God. A big part of what University Ministries has to offer are small group Bible studies that cover a variety of topics such as how to conduct a productive Bible study to how to realize your spiritual gifts.
While Belmont has traditionally been a Tennessee Baptist-affiliated institution, there are no denominational limitations placed on the range of Bible studies at University Ministries. Every student on campus is welcome to attend any or all of the Bible studies offered by the university. It is the university’s intention that the campus benefits from religious diversity, said Dr. Todd Lake, Belmont’s vice president of spiritual development.
“The diversity is a really good thing because when you get students from all different denominations you can really learn from each other and that’s what college is all about: meeting different people and learning new things,” said freshman journalism major Melissa Gore, a campus Bible studies participant.
| Campus groups offer fellowship |
Face-to-Face Encounters: Communion with God from Genesis to the New Kingdom Mondays @ 10 am Quiet Time with God Mondays @ 10am Love Your God with All Your Mind Wednesdays @ noon Missions for Life Tuesdays @ 2pm Spiritual Gifts: Discerning God’s Purpose in Your Life and in His Plan Thursdays @ 12:30pm The Deeper Life Wednesdays @ noon |
The religious diversity oncampus can be witnessed in any Bible study the school has to offer, according to Crystal Jones, Wright Hall residence director and leader of the Quiet Time with God Bible study. “I definitely feel like it helps bring community,” she said. “If you come to a Bible study and you have maybe 10 people that come from different backgrounds and Christian views then that’s going to deepen the study. You have all these ideas of what they think and what shaped them to be who they are and that will bring understanding instead of dividing us.”
With so many negative feelings surrounding the break with the Tennessee Baptist Convention, some people were left wondering what turn in spiritual development the university would take. If you ask Dr. Lake this question he would advise you to take a look at Guy Chmieleski, Belmont University's minister. Chmieleski attended a Baptist College, a Methodist Seminary and worked at Pepperdine University, which is associated with the Church of Christ. He now works at Belmont and attends a Baptist church.
And the student body? While there are now many different denominations officially representing the university, there has been a wealth of religious parity on campus long before December’s diversification of Belmont’s Board of Trustees. Lake said 30 percent of Belmont’s students are from Tennessee. Of that number, only 25 percent are Baptist.
“If you just limit it to Tennessee Baptists you are disfranchising a vast majority of our alumni. We can’t afford to lose those individuals who want to be a part of the Belmont board,” Lake said. New members of the board include gospel artist CeCe Winans and Christian publisher T.B. Boyd.
The Tennessee Baptist Convention is still a part of the university’s board, but now it is not the dominant faith among the members. The diversity celebrated in Belmont’s student body will now also be represented in its leaders, “Drawing on the strengths of various Christian traditions and saying we’re going to be better and stronger as a Christian institution if we can celebrate what different streams of Christianity we bring together as we grow together at Belmont,” Lake said.
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