by Camryn Given | Apr 2, 2021 | News, News Slider
Summer Celebration, a Lipscomb tradition, is a time for members of the community to gather on campus and spend time with a particular biblical focus. Since such a large gathering was deemed unsafe, the event has again been postponed until May 2022. However, there will still be a way for those interested to take part this summer. According to Scott Sager, Vice President of Church Services, “Our summer program for SC 2021 will be a weekly virtual speaker sent out each Sunday evening.” This summer’s session is entitled “Out of Exile: Rethinking and Renewing the Post-Covid Church.” Each week will cover a different topic with a different lecturer, similar to 2020’s format. Though there will still be virtual conferences this year, Lipscomb is placing a lot of emphasis on next year’s in-person meetings. In their announcement they said, [Summer Celebration 2022] will be a celebration like none other!” Next summer’s theme will be “Disciplemaking: the Church’s Core Mission”. The dates have already been set and the sign-ups are open. “Please make plans now to join us for SC2022 on June 29-July 1, 2022. We still believe it will be our most significant program ever!” You can read Lipscomb’s official announcement here, as well as sign up if you’re interested. Hopes are high for next year’s Summer Celebration as it will offer a return to normalcy for this...
by Mckenzi Harris and Kathryn Farris | Jul 1, 2019 | Arts and Entertainment, Galleries, News Slider
Lipscomb closed out the Summer Celebration conference with the music and fireworks of the 15th annual Bison Block Party. Summer Celebration, previously known as the “Lipscomb Lectures,” is when Lipscomb opens the campus for guest speakers and hundreds of visitors from the community. The celebration started over 90 years ago and is one of Lipscomb’s oldest traditions. Each year since about 2003 Lipscomb has celebrated Independence Day by hosting the free, grand finale Bison Block Party in the Allen Arena Mall. This year’s big finale was June 28. The block party kicks off the Independence Week celebrations by offering the community an evening of food vendors, live music and fun. Lipscomb alumni bands Arcadian Wild, Dave’s Highway, and S. Grant Parker performed as did the Faculty Brass Quintet with Ben Blasko. The full evening was hosted by retired long-time WSMV-TV sports anchor and Christian inspirational speaker Rudy Kalis. The night ended with a free fireworks show set to music from the Faculty Brass Quintet. Check out the following photo gallery from Mckenzi Harris and video from Kathryn Farris. ...
by Anna McClure | Jul 1, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Summer Celebration — Lipscomb’s annual lectureship that for more than 85 years has brought thousands of people to Lipscomb for three days of art, music, films and spiritual programming — has returned. Seminars and worship kicked off the event on Wednesday, and all events will continue into Friday evening, when the celebration will come to a close with live music and a fireworks show. “It’s a three-day lectureship series that’s been going on for decades,” administrative assistant for cChurch services Jenna Schrader said. “We have about 110 speakers over the 2 1/2 half days.” The lectureship, which has annually drawn Christians from across the country, has a new theme each year. This year’s theme is “Deployed in an Uncivil War: the Apocalypse of John,” “This year our theme is called Deployed, and it’s talking about Revelation and the Second Coming,” Schrader said. “All of our keynotes are in line with that theme, and then during the day we have breakout classes.” Some of the lecture topics will include “The Apocalyptic Mind of J.R.R. Tolkien,” “Can You be a Gay Christian” and “Jesus vs. Godzilla” as well as more traditional subjects such as textual studies of Revelation. One of the most notable speakers will be Dr. Kent Brantly, the first person to be treated for Ebola in the United States and the first in the world to receive the experimental drug ZMapp. Formerly a medical director for the only Ebola treatment unit in all of Southern Liberia, Brantly now speaks on behalf of Samaritan’s Purse as its medical missions advisor. Another notable person present at this year’s Summer Celebration will be featured artist Rolando Diaz. “[Diaz] is at...
by Colleen Casner | Jul 2, 2014 | News Slider
Summer Celebration keynote speakers Rick Atchley and Shon Smith called audience members to examine their sin and recommit to God at Tuesday morning’s gathering in Allen Arena. The messages, based on Joshua 7-8, were just two of the ten keynote messages Summer Celebration attendees heard over the course of the event. Rick Atchley (to the right), minister at Hills Church of Christ in North Richland, Texas, related Joshua 7 to the problem of sin within the church and how the sins of the individual affect the group as a whole. “Would we please stop ranting about what’s wrong in Hollywood and what’s wrong in Washington,”Atchley asked. “It’s not a shock to heaven when sinners sin. Let’s stop criticizing the sins of others and start dealing with our own.” Atchley’s message spoke poignantly to Samantha Davis of Americus, Georgia. An active member of her church community, Davis said her biggest takeaway was that “sometimes, we tend to forget that we have to fix ourselves before we can reach out to others.” Shon Smith, the minister at Naperville Church of Christ in Naperville, Illinois, focused his message on the temptation to live apart from God and the need for Christians to recommit to living godly lives. “There is a nasty tendency for us to drift,” Smith said. “Any amount of drift, however slight, if it goes on long enough, eventually you find yourself miles away from the person you desired and committed yourself to be.” Smith compared the Israelites’ need to redefine themselves as God’s people in Joshua 8 to Christians’ need to recommit to God to avoid drifting. “The message...
by Colleen Casner | Jun 27, 2014 | News Slider
With a vast array of programs, Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration has something for everyone. Campus is about to get a lot busier in the next few days as it gears up for Summer Celebration, an annual three-day lectureship, beginning on Sunday, June 29. Summer Celebration features messages from 10 keynote speakers, various worship services, a movie series, an a cappella singing festival, children’s activities and more than 100 classes to choose from. All of these programs are free, although visitors are requested to register. This year’s theme is “Reviving the Mission: Insights from Joshua.” Summer Celebration culminates on Tuesday evening with a family picnic, a concert from the Annie Moses Band and a fireworks display on the Allen Arena Mall. Last year’s event brought more than 2000 people to campus. This will be the first Summer Celebration for Kaitlin Shetler, Lipscomb’s Director of Disability Services, who will be teaching a two-part class on disabilities in the church. “I’m looking forward to the collaboration of people coming together from different ministries and letting us know what’s happening with them,” Shetler said. “I’m excited about meeting a lot of different people.” For more information, visit the event’s official website. Photo courtesy of...
