Gary Chapman shares message based on his newest book

Popular author and Pastor Gary Chapman spoke at Wednesday’s convocation service. Chapman, best known for his book “The Five Love Languages,” spoke about his most recently published book, “Love as a Way of Life,” which he began writing after an experience on an airplane left him wondering why some individuals are “lovers” and others are not.

“I don’t think it’s true that all Christians are lovers,” Chapman said.

Chapman pointed to several passages in the Bible that support the need for love in Christian lives, including Matthew 22:36-40:

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

“We have no idea the impact we could have on people if we simply treated them as though they were friends,” Chapman said.
According to his research, there are seven components to being a loving individual: kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity and honesty.

“Love is stepping down so others can step up,” Chapman said.

He encouraged students to apply those components to their own lives.

“Nothing enhances relationships more than you being a loving person,” He said.

Chapman is also the author of “Toward a Growing Marriage,” “Hope for the Separated: Wounded Marriages can be Healed” and more than 20 other titles. He currently serves as a senior associate pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., hosts marriage seminars around the world and has a daily radio program called “A Love Language Minute.”

CONVO NOTES:

• Also in convocation, Dr. Ergun Caner, Dean and President of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, encouraged students to participate in a mission trip to Israel this spring.

“We want you at least once to have the opportunity to go see the land of Christ,” Caner said.

• With a full week of Thanksgiving Break starting this weekend, students were encouraged to stay on campus to attend this Saturday’s football game against Elon University. The last game of the regular season will kick off at 1 p.m. in Williams Stadium. The Flames, already Big South Champs, stand poised for a possible playoff game — a would-be first for Liberty football — if they beat Elon on Saturday.