Cofounder of the Belonging Co. and published author Alex Seely spoke to the Trevecca student body during chapel on February 25. Seely encouraged students to realize that their desire for greatness is a God-given trait but stressed that greatness must be tempered with humility.
“I’m just going to sow a seed into you guys about the secret to becoming great,” Seely said. “I think every one of you in this room was called to be great. There is an innate quality in each and every one of us to be a person full of purpose and destiny. That is a God-given gift … Whoever wants to become great, must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first, must become like a slave, just like Jesus.”
Born and raised in Australia, Seely moved to Nashville in 2012 with her husband and two children where they founded the Belonging Co. in the basement of their own home. Attendance at the Belonging Co. now ranges between 3,500 to 4,000 people.
Many Trevecca students attend the Belonging Co., including singer Rion Paige, who led chapel Tuesday morning.
“It was incredible,” Paige said. “The fact that I was able to share the teaching that I’ve been sitting under for the past three years to my school was breathtaking. … Leading worship at the Belonging and at Trevecca is something that I will never take lightly.”
Belonging Co. church member and music business major Courtney Long also commented on what stuck with her from Seely’s message.
“I think the message that impacted me the most was when she discussed her insecure years growing up,” Long said. “As humans, many of us have insecurities, and if we aren’t careful, those insecurities can cause us to be prideful of ourselves because we are just longing for that greatness, fame, praise and approval. Many people think from a perspective of only being one or the other (insecure or prideful), but Alex brought a word that revealed we can actually be both if we don’t recognize that our approval comes only from God.”
Erik Gernand, University chaplain, said he wanted students to take away the theme of servanthood from Seely’s visit.
“What I hope that students will take away from her talk is that in the kingdom of God, there is a different measure of what is great. To be great in the kingdom, as Jesus says, we have to learn to serve.”
Media contact: Mandy Crow, 615-248-1695