A young adult’s take on the Encounters series
Published on: 08-28-2022
They are authentic stories. They are genuine stories. The Encounters series offers a complex tangle of different people’s journeys as they collide in the offices of two university chaplains somewhere in Europe. The main characters are two chaplains and the students they meet. The different characters represent a diverse international presence with varying worldviews, perspectives, values, and culture. This gives the series global relevance as it explores humanity’s quest for purpose, value, meaning, and acceptance.
The series doesn’t shy away from hard questions. Rather, it asks the questions we often wonder about silently but fail to verbalize. Nothing is sugarcoated. Topics range from addictions, relationships, abuse, religious identity, purpose, death, and conflict.
No character is perfect. They all carry baggage—even the chaplains. The characters make mistakes. They struggle. They cry. And yet there is hope. There is laughter. There is spiritual growth.
The script feels real. It tactfully adds information and perspectives that hint at the hours of research conducted to create this series. It’s not a neatly organized simple plot with black-and-white answers. The plots are situations that could well have happened to us, our classmates, coworkers, our families. They offer an exploration and a journey of finding God in the hard places, the valleys, and the question marks.
The series is gripping, thought-provoking, and enriching. Ultimately, in the wrestling we can learn more about the beauty of God; the pain that comes to the forefront again and again hints at the spiritual war we face and the hope of falling in love with a good God.
The series reminded me again that Christianity is more than neatly packaged answers. It’s more than a theological discourse. It’s a call to the gospel in action. It’s about building a relationship with the God of encounters. Somehow, in the midst of our questions, our pain, our loneliness, our fears, and even our guilt, He finds us, and we can finally meet Him.
Sarah Klingbeil
Sarah Klingbeil is a senior at Southern Adventist University, where she is pursuing a double major in mathematics and English with an emphasis in teaching English as a foreign language.
