When a classroom became a chapel
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Reflections
Michael J. Brooks
A recent trip to the Auburn University campus brought back memories of my residency there. I often remark to current students I meet that I spent 18 months in Haley Center. This brings an instant bond!
I knew Haley well since all my classes were there, and I had a small office on the sixth floor as a graduate teaching assistant. I walked the stairwells many times because Dr. Ritchey, my adviser, was claustrophobic and wouldn’t take the elevator when we were together.
It was in Haley that I had a unique experience.
It was testing day in class. Two students met me at the door. One said, “Mr. Brooks, we can’t take the test. We’ve got to go pray.”
I thought he was joking and I joked back: “You should’ve prayed before the test!”
Then I saw he was serious. This young man shared faith with his classmate, and the classmate was ready to pray a sinner’s prayer. I waved them on and got back to the matter at hand.
So, Haley for us that day was a testing site. For these two young men it was a chapel.
I’ve encouraged our church members in recent days to schedule a daily appointment with God. Some call this a daily devotional, and some call it a “morning watch.” I don’t think scripture commends a distinct time, such as morning, and I counsel my parishioners to find a time and place that works for them.
For some this may be their daily commute when they listen to audio scripture and pray. For others it’s the kitchen table or the office desk.
No matter, the important thing is a daily “habit,” in the best sense of that word.
But we also have those moments when prayer is like taking a deep breath. It’s not planned, but spontaneous, as needed. I think we do this when someone swerves in front of us when driving. We say, “Thank you, Lord, for saving me.” And we do it when we learn someone we love has a health crisis: “O, Lord, please heal my friend.”
I heard a speaker years ago who said he breathes a prayer when an ambulance passes him on the highway. He asks God to be with that person in need – the one in the vehicle – and with his or her family in crisis. This so impressed me that I most often do this now.
I suppose the evangelistic effort I saw in the classroom so long ago was, likewise, a spontaneous event. It wasn’t planned like a gospel invitation on Sunday morning, but it was no less a gospel invitation.
A college student began his trip to heaven from Haley Center.
“Reflections” is a weekly faith column written by Michael J. Brooks, pastor of the Siluria Baptist Church, Alabaster, Ala. The church’s website is siluriabaptist.com.
