A TRIP TO WHEATON AND NARNIA

Brian and I drove from northern Indiana to the Chicago area late last night so I could speak and sing at Wheaton College's chapel service this morning. Wheaton's 2400 students are required to attend chapel services held three times a week - well, they can skip nine a semester. So, since attendance I expected folks to nap, read a magazine or talk on their cell phone - that's what other schools' chapels are often like anyway.


But Wheaton's students leaned in and listened whie I taught and sang about why they're in college, why we're here, what it means to be "For Christ and His kingdom" as Wheaton's sign out front says. They sang along and laughed and did that furrowed eyebrow I'm-thinking-about-what-you-just-said thing that teachers love to see on faces and even found me afterward to say thanks. If I could do nothing but play chapels and have them be chocked full of students like Wheaton's I'd do it. Thanks to Wheaton's chaplain Dr.Kellough, his assistant Marilyn and everyone at chapel this morning for letting me do what I love. And for not reading magazines while I did it.


After chapel we headed over to Wheaton's radio studio for an interview with Joy Curry, who apparently reads SHLOG.


Then we did something we never make time to do: we became tourists. The great thing about this job is that I get to see three or more cities every week. The bad news? I see them from a stage and a hotel room and a rental car. We never have time to relax and site see. But today we made time to visit the Marion E. Wade Center, a museum on Wheaton's campus housing a research collection of books and papers from seven British authors: Owen Barfield, G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Dorothy L. Sayers, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams. Pretty cool stuff.


A map of Narnia drawn by C.S.Lewis.


The wardrobe some believe inspired Lewis' Narnia stories.


The plaque posted beside it tells the story of the wardrobe. (Click to enlarge and read.)


It doesn't work, by the way. Yea, I was bummed about that too.

Instead of Narnia I'm at Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky tonight and playing here in the morning. More from the road tomorrow.