February 24, 2016
MARSHALL, Texas (2/24/16) – East Texas Baptist University students in the The Worship of God class in the School of Communication and Performance Arts recently organized a public reading of the entire Bible on campus. Students, faculty, and staff volunteered 20 minutes at a time to read the Bible continuously for 24 hours a day. This public reading of the Scriptures started on Thursday, February 11, and concluded on Tuesday, February 16.
“Our prayer as a class in this campus-wide event was that it would add significant meaning to our Spiritual Emphasis Week while marking the beginning of this Lenten Season,” shared Dr. Tom Webster, Dean of the School of Communications and Performance Arts and the professor teaching The Worship of God class.
Volunteers read the Bible out load from the patio in front of the Ornelas Student Center. The class provided a Bible, lectern, and sound system for those who read. The idea was generated during class discussion of the role worship in everyday life and the role of scripture in worship.
Sophomore class member Adam Vinson of Palestine shared, “In class one day we were discussing how God’s Word is powerful by itself and how it doesn’t need to be accompanied with music or with a sermon to be powerful.”
“I read the very beginning of the Bible on Thursday beginning at 12:40 p.m. and read again on Monday morning from 3:40 a.m. until 6:00 a.m.,” said Cassidy Hlavaty, a class member from Henderson. “This time, especially the early morning hours, gave me time to self-evaluate my relationship with Christ as well as to feel His presence. I realized that we never stop growing with the Lord and there is always something new we can learn and realize about Him.”
“Reading the Bible out loud was one of the best experiences that I have had reading scripture,” added Vinson. “I read a lot of the Bible I had never read before. While reading through the book of Job, I experienced the Holy Spirit connecting me with Job. I began to feel the emotions that Job felt and I connected to everyone in the story.”
The class discovered in a conversation with Dr. Scott Bryant, University Chaplain, this was not the first time of a public reading of the entire Bible has occurred on campus. “Dr. Bryant told us that when Baker Auditorium was dedicated by the student body in the early 1990’s a similar read of the Bible occurred,” said Dr. Webster. “According to a Marshall News Messenger article, they read through the Bible in five days but not reading during the night hours. Ours was a 24-hour continuous reading.”
“Having an event like this provides a unique way for the students, and the faculty, and staff here at ETBU to come together as a community of believers and proclaim the word of God aloud all day long, which is why I think it is important to participate in it,” said Karson Kent, ETBU Campus Services Assistant, who read after her fellow co-worker Debbie Rogers, Director of Campus Services, on Monday morning of the event.
“I love the fact that ETBU takes every opportunity available to share God’s message,” said Rogers. “Reading aloud the word of God spurs my heart to be more like Christ.”
Another member of the class, junior Joseph Latham of Texarkana, said, “It was very moving. Being able to just proclaim God’s Word with or without people around me was amazing. It went beyond reading to myself because I got to proclaim His truth to the world.” Latham read on Friday from 3:00 a.m.-3:20 a.m. and three different times on Saturday morning.
Dr. Webster observed not only his class members but those who stopped to hear the public readings that it was an extremely powerful experience.
“The ones who listened to the readings at various times heard bold and authoritative proclamations of the text. The concluding chapter of Revelation was read by Tabatha Contreras to a group of students who gathered to hear the Word and celebrate the completion of the project,” said Dr. Webster. “The moment was palpable as Tabatha was overcome with the emotion as she firmly but tearfully completed the reading. “
“I would encourage everyone to spend time focusing on the word of God alone rather than just hearing it in songs or during a sermon,” concluded Vinson.