Archive for November, 2011

Chapel heard a message about social justice from Palmer Chinchen, lead pastor of The Grove church in Chandler. Chinchen, who was born in Liberia, has written a book (“God Can’t Sleep”) about the need for Christians to wake up to the world’s social concerns. “A lot of people put the name of Jesus Christ on their lives but they don’t live that way, and that’s what bothers me,” Chinchen said, citing Ephesians 5:14. “Justice is the raging heartbeat of the Bible. … If we have a God that can’t sleep, then I hope you can’t, either.”

It is logical to think that there are only two reasons to run: toward something or away from something. But what if there were a third reason? To run for something? GCU’s Eva St. Arnauld, director of student success for the Center for Learning and Advancement and coach of the Antelope dance team, felt there was a third reason and decided that she had something to run for: to inspire others. On Nov. 6, St. Arnauld ran in the New York City Marathon, something that very few people — even avid runners — get the chance to do.

The GCU College of Fine Arts and Production presents Legacy – a winter dance concert honoring dancers in history. The production was choreographed by Zari Le’on, Susannah Keita, Jessica Rajko, Sonja Mitrovic and Antoinette Proctor. Performances are December 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Ethington Theatre. Tickets are $10. To purchase tickets, call the box office at 602.639.8880 or ethington@gcu.edu.

A former professor who was ahead of his time with ideas on how to grow GCU’s enrollment visited campus Tuesday for the first time in several years. As you might expect, Dr. Jim Witherspoon was amazed by what he saw: a campus bustling beyond his wildest dreams. “It’s always fun when things are growing,” said Witherspoon, accompanied on a tour by his wife, Becky, and Assistant Dean Anna Faith Smith of the College of Arts and Sciences. “We had been told (the campus) had changed remarkably. We weren’t prepared for all the cars. We had to look awhile for parking!”

At Thanksgiving, Christians need to remind ourselves of these blessings lest we forget what God has provided for us as part of our kingdom inheritance.

You wouldn’t expect a church in suburban Chandler to be leading the charge for social justice. In the land of SUVs, strip malls and youth soccer games, who has time for that? Well, Palmer Chinchen does, and he has given his ministry over to it. As lead pastor of The Grove church, he took more than 100 parishioners with him to Africa in the summer of 2010. When he brings a message to Chapel on Monday in GCU Arena, don’t expect him to dance around concerns that he says the evangelical church “has historically been deaf to.”

Is there a better front man in Christian rock music than Mac Powell of Third Day? First, there’s the look. With his shoulder-length brown hair, full beard, flannel shirt, jeans and boots, this might be what Jesus would look like if He were in a band. Third Day and Powell have been making music for going on 20 years now, but it’s hard to imagine band and lead singer sounding any better than they did on Sunday night at GCU Arena. A 95-minute show packed with 17 songs and two encores showed that there’s still plenty left in the tank for the four-time Grammy Award winners from Atlanta.

Amahl and the Night Visitors is a Christmas opera for the whole family. Gian Carlo Menotti weaves an intimate portrait of a poor mother and son on the brink of homelessness. They are visited by three resplendent kings on their way to see the Christ-child. Throughout the evening, the three guests guide the impoverished family from their state of despair to ultimate hope as the kings tell of the birth of the Earth’s true king. What can Amahl and his mother do for a child who promises to save the world? Miracles abound in this beautiful gem of an opera that is sure to touch hearts of all ages.

Phoenix, the fifth stop on a 21-show arena tour, is a favorite place to play for country act Lady Antebellum, and the trio reminisced Thursday night about past performances — none of which, they said, compared to playing in the new Arena.

By Jennifer Willis Communications Staff  GCU sophomore Andrew Arndt of Gilbert was a junior in high school when his world was turned upside down, and Sunday’s Third Day concert at the Arena will have special meaning for him.  Andrew’s 11-year-old brother, Aaron, was hit on the head with a basketball the day before Thanksgiving in 2007. What originally was thought to be a headache soon became something much more serious. Aaron’s headaches got worse. His heart beat at a runner’s pace even while asleep, and he couldn’t hold any food down. After many frustrating visits to the doctor, the Arndt family started to get some answers. Aaron was found to have a chiari malformation, meaning that part of his brain was protruding downward. When he was hit on the head, a nerve was struck. He also had idiopathic intracranial hypertension, also known as a pseudotumor cerebri. Basically, the brain had built up a lot of pressure, as if  there were a tumor. Yet no tumor was present. Aaron went through several medications and two separate surgeries. The medication helped ease his heart and stomach problems, but in turn he became weak and lost his ability to walk. “He’s a tough kid,” Andrew says. “He’s a real trouper.” While most kids […]