Did you know the chapel stage was once almost on fire? A half-century ago, before the Benson Auditorium was built, chapel was in the Anthony and Wright Administration Building auditorium. Back then, social clubs organized some of the programs, and one club wanted to recreate a campfire singing onstage. They filled a metal tub with sand and non-flammable wood. A little dose of a certain chemical would ignite a small fire in the basin. But in the scramble to get everything ready for chapel, one club brother \u2014 Why are you not shocked that this was a men\u2019s club? \u2014 thought the tub needed a bigger dose, so he dumped the whole bottle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During chapel, the flame got higher and higher while the club sang its songs, and soon two brothers had to haul the tub off stage where their friend was standing ready with the fire extinguisher. Disaster was averted. This story can be told now because the statute of limitations has run out the laws broken that day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes, bits of hilarity were only appreciated by the faculty. One semester \u2014 before we went to two services for the next few years \u2014 the Benson was so packed the faculty had to be seated in the spot under the stage usually reserved for the orchestra. When you are that close under the podium, you see more saliva spray than you want to remember. Rain hats became common. And some chapel speakers that semester took great pleasure in working specific Bible passages into their talks. \u201cHe has redeemed my soul from going to the pit,\u201d said one wag. An inside joke to be sure, but the slightly damp audience loved it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I admire the courage of anyone who leads singing in chapel. It\u2019s hard enough just to start a round of \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d at family parties \u2014 imagine trying to turn 3,000 people into a decent chorus. That\u2019s why I felt for the guy who was leading \u201cWhen you pass through the waters\u201d one day when he made a mistake and overcorrected. The slide said, \u201cwhen you pass through the waters.\u201d But he started the verse that said, \u201cwhen you pass through the fire.\u201d A sharp turn in the middle of a word resulted in him leading us all in a verse of \u201cwhen you pass through the farter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which reminds me of the time my friend was asked to lead the closing prayer at church. What he meant to say was to ask forgiveness for our shortcomings. What came out was, \u201cLord, forgive us our falling shorts.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But my all-time favorite chapel story is from 2006. Dr. Jeff Hopper, who was then dean of the Honors College, came up with an idea for a spoof of \u201cAmerican Idol.\u201d The show was just 4 years old then, and our version was called, \u201cFaculty Idol.\u201d Naturally, we had a panel of judges, based on the original cast from the show. A Walton Scholar named Denise Sandoval was Paula Abdul, women\u2019s soccer coach Greg Harris was Randy Jackson and Keith Cronk, now vice president for IS&T, was Simon Cowell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several faculty members appeared as contestants. Dr. David Cole did a chemistry experiment, and Dr. Donny Lee gave a flannel-graph lesson. Always cutting edge, that College of Education. Of course, I can\u2019t say anything; I represented the English Department and diagrammed a sentence. Then business professor Dr. Randy McLeod gave an economics lecture. Finally, Dr. David Burks got up as a contestant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judges asked what he did as president, and he said, \u201cI read announcements.\u201d Then, Burks held up his arm in a hip-hop pose and proceeded to rap an announcement \u2014 as only he could. Yes, it was awful, but that\u2019s why the crowd loved it. Then, the judges had the nerve to critique this brave performance. Harris tried to be positive. He said, \u201cYour lyrics are tight.\u201d Then he said, \u201cBut your delivery,\u201d and he put his head in his hands and moaned for 25 seconds. I don\u2019t remember the other comments, but whatever Cronk said was the last straw. Burks stormed off the stage, went out the side door and slammed it behind him, which brought the house down again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Proverbs tells us \u201ca cheerful heart is good medicine,\u201d and the psalmist says, \u201cWe were filled with laughter and we sang for joy.\u201d Over the years, I\u2019ve experienced a range of emotions in chapel: I\u2019ve been moved and inspired, saddened and angered, filled with hope and challenged to think. Many a spiritual feast has been set before me. Yes, there have been some cold leftovers, but overall, chapel has been a blessing. I\u2019m especially grateful for those times when \u2014 planned or not \u2014 something funny happened. May there be many more of those moments. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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