Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Spelman Spotlight December 18. 1979 Page 6 Our Whole School for Christ Organizations Serve Spiritual Needs "Spelman College is Christain in origin. The attitudes toward life exemplified by the life and teachings of Jesus is the ideal which governs the institution. The College strives to emphasize and develop all Christian virtues in relations among peoples and nations These words about Spelman, as stated in the 1977-79 College Bulletin, are also descriptive of JnterVarsity Christian 'Fellowship, Campus Crusade for Christ, Navigators and the Baptist Student Union. These organizations serve the spiritual needs of students in the College community. They are unlike other organizations, in that, they require no "joining," no mem bership fees and no initiations. Campus Crusade for Christ (Second of a two-part series) By Linda Fritz Have you seen fliers around campus advertising “College Life” or the Discipleship Training Institute (DTI)? Well, both are connected with an organization called Campus Crusade for Christ. Campus Crusade for Christ is an international Christian organization founded on 1951 on the campus of UCLA. There are Campus staff members in over 100 countries around the world. There are several divisions or ministries within the organization, but the goal of the campus ministry is to share with college students and faculty how they can establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Books on Sale If you are tired of reading books like Phycis, Contemporary Economics, Government by the People. Modern Spanish and Chemical Principles, you should drop by the Booktable located outside the ,dining hall during meal times. There is a book there for you. You have the option of purchasing, borrowing or maybe . getting a book free. The titles include Becoming a Christain, Three Kinds of Love, How Do You Say "I Love You". How to Live with Your Feelings. The Golden Cow and Rich Christmas in an Age of Hunger. The titles are enticing, aren’t they? See you at the Booktable. and if one already exists, to help them grow or mature in that relationship. In order to do this, there are teams of Crusade staff on major college campuses (AU Center included) around the country. They share with studen ts through group meetings such as College Life, through classroom lectures, in small group Bible studies and in dividually. They have found that most students do not reject Christianity, but are a poor representation of it’s doctrine. So, for those who really want to know what being a Christian is all about, there’s practical help available. That is one of the goals of the Discipleship Training In stitute. Here are some of the upcoming activities of Campus Crusade for Christ at the Atlanta University Center: -Discipleship Training Institute (DTI), every Wednesday, 6:30- 8:30 p.m., Giles 18. -Christmas Conference, December 27, 1978 thru January 1, 1980, Atlanta Biltmore Hotel. -Social activities as announced. !'&VfGATORS No. Navigators is not the group who has Bible study on a boat! But, if you are interested in studing the Word of God on a boat, a Navigator-staff member will willingly accompany you-life jacket and all. Navigators is an in terdenominational group whose goal is to help students grow in faith in J esus Christ through small group Bible study. The organization focuses three major points: 1. to help students develop the character of J esus Christ, 2. to help students learn to ap ply the Bible in their everyday lives, and 3. to teach students to share their faith with others. One of the projects being un dertaken by the Navigators this year is “The Power Line.” “The Power Line is a rap session in which participants see for them selves what God has to say about abortion, J esus, sin, pot, disco, heaven, hell, money, purpose, family, sex, death, friendship and anything else that you may want to discuss. These discussions are held on Monday nights at 7:00 p.m. in the Lounge of Thurman HaLL. Too, The Navs teach Sun day morning Bible Study at 8:30 a.m. in the Thurman Hall Lounge. If you are interested in learning more about the Word of God, at tend “Power Line and meet the Navigator staff. They are eagerly waiting to meet you. Words from Norman R. Rates College Chaplain CHRISTMAS IS FOR ALL "GOD S CHILDREN" The little boy threw his head back and sang out loud and clear: “Deck the halls with Boston Charlie”. Well, that’s what he thought the other children were singing when they said ‘boughs of holly’. The adults nearest to him chuckled and one admiring mother smilingly remarked, “How cute”, and, with nodding assent from the other spectators confirmed their innermost thoughts with the adjoiner,“Well after all, Christmas is for- children”. How true it is, and yet how misleading the statement is at the same time. Christmas is not only for children but for people of all ages, as well. Yet, when we clothe Christmas in children’s language and celebrate the season with fairy tales and fan tasies. we do an injustice to the true meaning of the holiday period. The mythological Santa Claus that is forced upon children becomes the mythological god when they become adults. The “gimme” syndrome of childhood becomes a carry—over into adultlife and when we become too old to expect miracles from Santa Claus we turn to the Big Giver in the sky to see what He can pull out of his bag of tricks. And when we don’t get what we asked for, then there is too often the temptation to discard Him as nothing more than a hoax, just as we discard Ole Santa in our later childhood. Christmas is not a childhood fantasy, however, it is an event based on true human experience. The realness of Christmas can be found in the human drama that was played out in the lives of a number of people nearly two thousand years ago over in the Holy Land. There was a troubled J oseph who, in finding out that his virgin bride—to—be was pregnant, became filled with the human emotions of jealousy, suspicion, rage, shame. Getting a hold on himself, J oseph resolved, however, that he would not scan dalize Mary by making her a public example. Instead, he made up his mind to “put her away privily” (Matthew 1:19), only to have an angel of the Lord explain the divine significance of this great human drama to him. There was the young Virgin Mary who could not explain in human terms what had happened to her but whose womb carried a human child. But no matter what explanation she carried within herself, think of the things she must have gone through in facing others. Some ascertain that she was around fourteen years old. But regardless of her age, she was still a virgin. And I know that the women on the block were really wagging their tongues all over the place. If there had been a local Planned Parenthood Association, it is likely that they would have worried over not having educated her about family planning. And, if there had been an enterprising abortion clinic in town, they would have readily made them selves available to help destroy the embarrassing fetus. However, in the midst of all these human complexities, a much troubled Mary accepted her condition with faith in God with the resolution: “Behold the hand maid of the Lord: be it unto me according to Thy word” (Luke 1:38). For she could not explain a divine situation in human terms. Then there was Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth who, years beyond menopause conceived her one and only child, John (to be know as the Baptist). Her husband, Zacharias the priest, was so dumbfounded with disbelief that he lost his speech. And Elizabeth was so startled that she hid her self from her neighbors and friends for five months, probably wondering if it was all really true. Later, it all made sense to the elderly couple when cousin Mary visited them and revealed her condition. But what about the local skeptics? What about the medicine men who knew that Elizabeth’s situation was im possible? What about...well you know all the people who would make up the cast for this human drama? They were all on stage, acting out their parts. Then there were those lowly shepherds watching their sheep in a field outside the city of Bethlehem some months later, late at night. How do you think they reacted when voices from the sky burst out with a sound unequalled in their lifetime, hailing the birth of the Christ—child and declaring “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). How many common folks and even the religious leaders of their time had had the privilege of having “the angel of the Lord” to come upon them and “the glory of the Lord” to shine around them? Very few, if any, except for the Holy Family and their relatives. And yet here were these shepherds being led to the manger to be the first to see the Christ—child. What do you think they said when they went home? Who do you think believed them? And what about the wise men from the East who followed a mysterious appearance in the sky until it led them to the Holy Family? And think of the life—time ambition of an old man call Simeon being fulfilled when he saw the baby J esus in the Tem ple in Jerusalem? Who could know the joy of the widowed prophetess Anna who had been a widow for eighty—four years but who too looked for the coming Messiah? Her joy was fulfilled when she saw the baby J esus. All these and many more people went into making the cast that participated in the human drama of Christmas. It was hardly a series of events that was for children only. More significantly, however, Christmas is a divine drama which, when played out, goes beyond all human com prehension, regardless of whether we are children or adults. The divine drama requires but one thing from us all—to ap proach it with the faith of a little child. This is the one time that Christmas is for children of all ages. College Life Assembly Held in Abby Hall By Amell West Leighton Hayes Campus Crusade for Christ, one of the most active campus ministries in the A.U. Center, held their monthly “College Life” assembly on November 7 in the Abby Hall lounge. Campus direc tor Tom Fritz rendered a humorous presentation on the topic, “When is God Going to Get His Act Together?” The evening started off with some light entertainment-a skit- and two testimonies, followed by the featured message. Fritz brought out questions dealing with various misconceptions of Christianity, and some distorted views about. He also pointed out the three attributes of God- omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Fritz stated that God “got his act together” when He provided the way to eternal life for all through His son, J esus Christ. He then asked the stu dents, “are you a part of the prob lem (sinfulness), or are you a part of the solution (life in Christ)? Finally, Fritz presented the student audience with a challenge to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior, and get their acts together with God. Af ter all. who knows more about life than the Creator?