Q Union Takes on Bryan College

Written by: Rylee Evans, staff writer

 

The Worldview Fellows hosted an event called Q Union where speakers got broadcasted nationally to help students engage in society’s difficult conversations.

 

They hosted it in the Rhea County Room on February 28, setting the mood with soft music and lamp lighting. The room filled with a diverse crowd of faculty, athletes and even the Dayton community. Senior Spencer Baker said, “This event is very well put together. It is exactly what I expected from the Worldview Fellows- down to the centerpieces.”

 

Jack Saunders, leader of the Q Union event, explained that he has attended several Q Union events over the past three years. He decided to bring Q Union to Bryan to inspire unity and hard conversations through a biblical lens. Saunders said, “We need to be equipped to take on the hard and tough questions in life.”

 

The Q’s motto encourages people “to stay curious, think well, and to speak good.”

 

Each speaker had exactly 10 minutes to present their topic. The night consisted of three nationally broadcasted Q talks, three live student-led talks and time for questions at the end of the talks.

 

Jo Saxon, author and church planter from Nigeria, started out the night talking about the gift of hospitality. Saxon asked the crowd, “What do you think when you hear hospitality?” She explained to the crowd that hospitality is brotherly love, seeing the other person as an equal. Hospitality is an instruction. According to Saxon, we should show hospitality to one another, leaders and authority and even strangers.

 

Junior Titus Prude, politics and government major, took the stage afterward, approaching the topic of “Embracing my Suffering Neighbor.” Prude said, “There are so many ways to fix ourselves, but not many ways to fix others.” We do not have to solve all of the problems. Sometimes, silence and just being there for the person alone can help. We should not pledge general support. Lastly, we should not minimize the person’s pain. We need to make the person suffering feel comfortable and give them hope.

 

Junior political and history major, Jake Poulakis entered the spotlight to talk about “Re-Imagining Tolerance.” Poulakis said, “10% of college professors are atheist.” Christians in America are not treated the same as other countries. Faith grows where it is being tested. Africa is very dangerous to live in, but it happens to be true that one-fourth of Christians live there. Cultural tolerance is required to fit in. But tolerance is not the same as love. To have tolerance, we must first, have an understanding of the word of God. Second, we have to recognize the issues around us. Lastly, we must respond to them. Redefining tolerance will help us engage our culture well.

 

After a short break, Scott Harrison, founder of Charity Water, was broadcasted on the projector screen to talk about “Solving Problems Together.” Harrison started out by explaining his testimony. He worked in a night club and sold drinks for $10 or more. After going on a mission trip, he saw several children dying from thirst and dirty water. He made it his mission to help children such as these; he created Charity Water– a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries.

 

The speaker with the most anticipation was Bob Goff, a former lawyer and current author. A woman from the community stated, “My daughter and I have read Bob Goff’s books and when we heard he was going to speak tonight, we couldn’t miss it.”

 

As Bob Goff appeared on the screen, he talked about his book “Everybody, Always.” Goff had a witty personality with his presentation. He stated with his lawyer mentality, “I’m not trying to be right; I’m trying to be Jesus.” He tells us to ask people what it is that they want rather than explaining what we would like. We should show everybody love, always. Jesus does not need our help, rather he needs our hearts.

 

Closing the presentations, junior Emily Brown, psychology major, was welcomed on the stage, and discussed “Asking for Empathy.” Brown challenged the crowd to love our neighbors well despite their views. No matter what it costs us, we should love our neighbors. Empathy naturally breeds compassion. We should frame our relationships with empathy. To do so, Brown gave us three suggestions. First, we must recognize the individual as a person rather than an ideology. Second, we should get into the trenches with them and take their perspective. Lastly, we need to offer words of life. Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter the places of pain and to share in brokenness, fear, confusion and anguish.

 

The Q Union allowed curious minds to engage in group conversations and response questions. Despite being surrounded by different people, the conversations reflected insights.

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Rylee Evans is a Freshman Communications: Digital media major at Bryan College. She is from Pikeville, Tn and graduated from Bledsoe County High School. Rylee is on the women’s soccer team, and she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, hunting, and boxing.