By Maddie Cox, Staff Writer
The CM retreat is a well-known event that people around campus look forward to. There are several reasons why one may look forward to the retreat, but more than likely it is because of its intentionality. The CM retreat is a time in the school schedule that is set apart so that students can intentionally connect with God without the normal distractions of campus life.
This year, the main speaker of the retreat was Jason Curry. Jason is the pastor at Church at Rock Creek. He has previously spoken in chapel, which gave many students a familiar face when listening to him speak over the course of the retreat. Another very important part of the CM retreat is breakout sessions. A breakout session means that the large group of students get to pick from an array of speakers with a multitude of topics and choose which session they would like to go to. There are five options for breakout sessions and three times they are held.
This fall’s breakout sessions consisted of Dr. Justin Allison leading a “Silence as Prayer” session, which included an hour of students practicing silence and being in the presence of the almighty God without distractions.
The second breakout session listed was led by Dr. Justin K. Hardin, where he talked about the letters and writing of Paul. The session was titled “When Paul Reads the Bible.” In this session, he broke down key topics and words from the writings of Paul that are still useful to us today. Clara Griggs, a senior at OBU who attended the retreat, said that this particular breakout session was her favorite part of the whole trip. When she was asked why this particular session stood out to her, she said, “I loved how he connected all of the Old Testament references in 1 Corinthians and showed us how Paul studied the Bible. It made me want to dig deeper into Paul’s letters and the messages that he would relay to churches.” Many can attest that the retreats do exactly what Clara recounted- they make you want to dive deeper into God’s word.
The third breakout session was done by Holly Hatcher and was titled “Staying Grounded through Transitions.” A former student herself, Hannah is now the Assistant Director of Campus Ministries. In her breakout session, she shared her personal experiences with change and major transitions in her life. She gave students amazing skills and tools that they can lean on to stay rooted in the Lord, who is constant, even when our circumstances are not.
The fourth breakout session was “Priorities When Jesus is Lord.” This session was done by Toni Koonce. This session was all about helping students direct their steps upon Jesus and to align their priorities and their lives to him.
The fifth and final breakout option students had was done by Shane Seaton. It was titled “Experience Creation.” In this session, students got the chance to sit outside in the beautiful nature of Camp Paron and learn about how the Lord is seen throughout creation and our relationship we have with creation through him.
Aside from breakout sessions and large group worship, students also gain community at meals and at a Friday Game Night. There is something so special about getting to fellowship with people who I may or may not know well yet and put God’s love into action. The late night is fun because the students can choose their games and if they want to play a calmer board game or a more competitive game with their friends.
While looking at the CM retreat, the word that once again keeps coming up is intentional. How wonderful is it that the school sets apart intentional time for students to rest and regroup before launching into the excitement that is Tiger Tunes. We cannot wait to see what the following years for this campus tradition will look like and how the Lord will move.
