Christ 120Academics Harding University hosted its 100th annual Lectureship the week of Sept. 24–27. The theme was “Inspired Purpose: Everyone Mature in Christ” and featured faculty, student and guest speakers. Meagan Justus, staff in the College of Bible and Ministry, was involved in planning, marketing and event execution for Lectureship. She had a part in brainstorming the theme and organizing the speakers. “The purpose of Lectureship has always been to serve the church,” Justus said. “At Harding, we have this collection of spiritual resources gathered together, and Lectureship is when we open our doors and invite churches and Christians to take advantage of these resources.” The structure of Lectureship was different this year. The goal was to offer topics that were applicable to students, like marriage ministry, spiritual disciplines and youth ministry. The College of Bible and Ministry also offered a seminar credit, and over 130 students signed up to participate. “The structure of Lectureship has evolved this year to a track-based approach,” Justus said. “This year, we are offering 19 workshops in three days tailored to students and those we serve in congregations.” In addition to having guest speakers students gave presentations. Senior Evie Boyd was one of these student speakers. She also served as a student representative on the Lectureship committee. Boyd spoke on Colossians 2 and focused her speech on walking with Christ. “My topic specifically, it’s a ‘Journey of Faith,’” Boyd said. “It’s Colossians 2:6–7, and then on into verses 9 and 10. What do we do with that? At this age, at this time? How do we walk in faith? What does the journey of faith look like for us?” Boyd said that as a member of the Lectureship committee, she appreciated the behind-the-scenes look at the importance of the event to Harding. Listening to professors on the committee talk about their love for Lectureship helped her understand what Lectureship meant to the Harding community. “[Harding] is about spreading the gospel,” Boyd said. “It’s about teaching about Christ. It’s growing our faith. It’s making us stronger. It’s increasing our love for one another in the community, and Lectureship does every single one of those things.” Senior Aiden Broome spoke on John the Baptist’s example of how to be a witness of Christ. “It’s a lot more pressure than I expected,” Broome said. “I’m not sure how many people will show up to my lecture, but if they choose to, I want to honor the fact that they may have come a long way and that they may be choosing to go to my lecture instead of someone else’s.” Lectureship provided opportunities not only for participants and visitors, but gave a platform for Harding students to share their inspired purpose. Written by Maggie Samples Shift in Lectureship program allows for increased student involvement. EVERYONE MATURE IN
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