by Brooklyn Dance
Spiritual deepening week kicks off today in chapel.
Jacob Edwards, lead pastor of New Beginnings Church in Lee’s Summit, Mo. will be the guest speaker this week. His theme for the week is “Bodies of Hope: resurrection in bodies broken, rejected and dead.”
He will be preaching out of the Gospel narratives; the stories of the life of Jesus and what we see of bodies of hope in those Gospel stories, Songer Gaines said.
“I knew I wanted to explore the relationship that Jesus had with real people, with real bodies,” Edwards said in a Trevecca news release. “Ones that bled and broke, ones that failed and were rejected, and ones that got sick and died—real human stuff.”
He also hopes to share his own story of God’s presence in his life.
“I will explore and tell the story of how I have come to understand God’s call in my life and how God was faithful to me in the midst of a deep struggle with doubt,” Edwards said.
Ultimately, Edwards hopes that students will grow in a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and His willingness to relate to them wherever they are.
Every semester Trevecca designates a week as a time of focus on relationship with Christ. The concept dates back to the American holiness revivals.
“It’s connected to theological tradition that really believes in the power of the holy spirit to revive not just an individual, but communities of people,” said University Chaplain Shawna Songer Gaines. “And that the spirit is poured out on groups of people in ways that impact communities.”
Songer Gaines explained that a big part of revivalistic history that that is often forgotten is when revivals broke out, it wasn’t just expressions of people rejoicing in the spirit and worshipping and praying.
“There were also incredible moves of social justice that accompanied those. A lot of the earliest homes for unwed mothers- social outcasts, were born out of the revivalistic tradition,” Songer Gaines said. “People who had so experienced a real encounter with the Holy Spirit, and they were so filled with the love of God, and the love of God was pouring out on those who were desperately in need of the tangible love of God.”
Spiritual Deepening Week is time set aside that is really attempting to remember and recognize the same spirit we see in the scripture and in Christian revivals is still alive now.
Songer Gaines’ hope is that students encounter the holy spirit.
“I hope students are formed and shaped to look more like Christ,” Songer Gaines said. “And that it is not disconnected from what we do the rest of the year. I hope students see the cross-overs between what they talk about in their classes, the organizations they serve in the community, the conversations they’re having in their dorm rooms… my prayer is that these worship services pull all of these aspects together.”
Chapels will be held Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday at 9:30 a.m., and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.
For Trevecca’s full chapel schedule, visit
https://www.trevecca.edu/community-life/faith-service/chapel
