by Spencer Boehme | Sep 25, 2018 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
In a surprising turn of events, two faces of the chapel office are bidding Lipscomb goodbye. Cyrus Eaton told Lumination that he and his wife, Nicole, are heading to Abilene Christian University, where Cyrus has been hired as the school’s next chaplain. “It’ll be very similar to what I get to do here,” Eaton said on Friday. “Except it will give me an opportunity to lead more initiatives instead of being focused on carrying out a few of them.” This is a fresh development that wasn’t a consideration until “about two months” ago, Eaton said. “We weren’t looking to leave, we weren’t looking for another opportunity,” Eaton said. “But a friend of ours put it on our radar and asked us if we’d be open to exploring it, which we felt like was a very safe thing to say ‘yes’ to. And over time, we realized that [the] thought of exploration was actually becoming more real.” The development comes just two months after Scott McDowell’s departure for ACU this summer. “I’m very excited to work with Scott again,” Eaton said. “Not only was it good working with Scott, [but] I’ve been mentored really well by Scott.” Eaton, the Joshua Project director, has teamed with Nicole, the Women’s Campus Minister, in various aspects of ministry. 2018 would have been Cyrus’s fourth full year at Lipscomb. He credits God for leading the Abilene Christian move. What helped affirm the decision was a gut-wrenching cancer diagnosis for Nicole’s mother, who lives in Houston. The presence of a brain tumor, revealed in an MRI, was discovered just four days after Cyrus’ ACU decision. “Even...
by Stephanie Schiraldi | Apr 7, 2015 | News Slider
The women of Lipscomb learned what it meant to anchor themselves Monday night in Collins Alumni Auditorium. Campus Ministry hosted the event “Anchored,” featuring singer/songwriter Ellie Holcomb; creator of She Reads Truth, Raechel Myers; and blogger and author of “If You Find This Letter,” Hannah Brencher. “Tonight is about anchoring ourselves to the truth of who God is and who God says we are,” said Caroline Morris, campus minister for women’s ministry. “When we do that, we begin to feel the freedom that we are destined for when we anchor ourselves to truth.” As each of the three guests told their stories, they revealed the truths they anchored themselves to in order to gain the freedom Morris described. After graduating college and moving to New York City, Brencher began leaving love letters around the city for people to find as a means of dealing with her depression. As Brencher struggled through her fear of being alone, she said she began to find God’s purpose for her life by anchoring herself in love. “I am learning that whatever you feed will grow, whether it is lies or truth,” Brencher said. “I’m either going to choose to be rooted in love or I’m going to choose to be rooted in fear, and I don’t want to be rooted in fear anymore.” Myers discussed the hardship of losing a child and clinging to God during rough times. She said that in this season of her life is when she realized that there is no truth but God’s truth. “The reality is I found God in the valley and I found God on the mountaintop, but...
by Brianne Welch | Apr 1, 2015 | News Slider
The paintings done in Bison Square during resurrection week are a Lipscomb tradition, but for senior Shelby Smith there is more to enjoy than just the paintings. The tradition began during her freshman year when she didn’t even think she was supposed to be involved. “I actually thought they had the wrong person when Jake [Burton] asked me to do it,” Smith said. “I was like, ‘I’m not an art major. My last name’s Smith. You may have the wrong person.’ I was a freshman so I was second guessing everything.” Smith said she quickly realized that she loved doing the paintings — so much that she has done it each year. One of Smith’s favorite parts of participating is getting to interact with the student body in the square. “I paint once a year, for this,” Smith said. “When I’m out in the square people start talking to me, which is one of my favorite parts, which is funny because I’m an introvert, but I like getting to see all the people I know and meet new people who just come up and say nice things.” Four painters, including Smith, gather in the square at Lipscomb each year during the week of Easter to paint what this time means to them. Campus Ministry chose the 2015 theme to be “Journey to the Cross.” “The theme has something to do with [the paintings] every year,” Smith said. Smith said that in past years, she, along with campus ministry, have normally chosen artists just from people they knew, but this year they widened the search. “This has been the easiest year, because as I’ve come back to...
by Colleen Casner | Aug 19, 2014 | News Slider
At Tuesday morning’s Gathering, campus ministers Jake Burton and Caroline Morris introduced the 2014-2015 chapel theme, Journey, which uses the metaphor of a college road trip to provide insights for students’ faith journeys. The Gathering will use this metaphor to explore such questions as where does the journey of faith lead, how to reach the destination, and how to handle “roadblocks” along the way. Burton feels students will relate to this message because “we are all on this faith journey. We are all trying to get somewhere.” He believes that the metaphor of a typical college journey will provide practical answers to important questions in a way that students in particular will understand. Morris relates the metaphor to John 14, in which Jesus answers the disciple Thomas’ questions about faith journeys with the proclamation, “I am the way.” This theme will continue to be featured in chapel sessions throughout the 2014-15 school year, and will be featured most prominently in The...
by Janice Ng | Mar 29, 2014 | News Slider
Campus Ministry held a dialogue session in Swang Center’s Stowe Hall on Friday following the events that transpired at the most recent Wednesday Night Devo. The speaker for the night, a Lee University graduate, shared his opinions of salvation and his missionary aspirations, which sparked a response from Samha Siddiqui, an audience member of the Muslim faith. Siddiqui was part of a panel at the dialogue session, which included Campus Minister Jake Burton, Tom Seals, an associate professor in the Bible department and the staff sponsor of Aurora Interfaith student group, and SGA President Andrew Hunt. Students who attended also had a chance to pose questions anonymously to the panel. Burton headed the discussion with a few words on campus ministry’s approach to issues of faith. “Conflict isn’t a bad thing, in my opinion,” Burton said. “It provides an opportunity for dialogue. That even though we disagree, we can still love one another.” Siddiqui said she felt that speaking out during Wednesday night’s devotional became necessary when the speaker’s message wasn’t in line with what she believes to be true. “I feel like missionary work requires a lot of knowledge,” Siddiqui said. “Knowledge of your own faith, knowledge of the people you’re trying to explain your message to. “It’s because I felt that the speaker didn’t have enough knowledge about the community he spoke about that I felt motivated to speak up.” Siddiqui said she’s happy to be at the university, and that learning from this event can be the best way to move forward. “I’m glad I made the decision to come to Lipscomb University,” Siddiqui said. “I’m glad I...
