Archive for October, 2014

Joanna Simpson earned her master’s and doctorate from Grand Canyon University, her hometown university. But she also has a longtime connection with former high school mentor and College of Education dean Dr. Kimberly LaPrade, with whom Simpson is now working closely with as COE addresses the needs of new teachers.

You may have read the book, now you have the opportunity to watch “Little Women,” the charming Louisa May Alcott classic, set to music — opera music. The College of Fine Arts and Production brings the Mark Adamo work to Ethington Theatre this weekend and next, and GCU music students are ready to display their vocal and acting chops. GCU Today has a preview here.

By Rick Vacek GCU News Bureau Christians talk about getting their hands dirty and their feet wet in practicing their faith. Dr. Palmer Chinchen takes it to a whole new level on the lower extremities. Chinchen, lead pastor of The Grove in Chandler, spoke and his pastor of worship, Josh Havens, sang Monday in the second installment of the Grand Canyon University College of Theology’s Ministry Forum. Together, they challenged audience members to practice what they preach. “A lot of people are willing to follow Jesus into an air-conditioned church,” said Chinchen, whose mantra is, “Take off your shoes and walk the holy ground of a broken world.” Not long ago, Chinchen created what he calls “The Barefoot Tribe” and challenged his congregation to wear their favorite shoes to church, then take them off, throw them in a pile and walk barefoot the rest of the day. The shoes would be donated to people who don’t have any shoes to wear, and for one day the Chandler churchgoers would know what it feels like to walk in the footsteps of those people. He wasn’t sure how many people would participate, but he was overwhelmed by the response. A movement was born. Call it sole […]

By Rick Vacek GCU News Bureau If the subject of Dustin Tappan’s talk on Monday morning at Grand Canyon University Arena sounded new to the Chapel crowd, it’s because it was. Tappan, lead Next Generation pastor at Christ’s Church of the Valley, was emphatic and direct: It is not enough to just follow Jesus on your own. Pointing to Ephesians 5:25-32, Tappan said that just as Christ gave his life for the church, you must be an active, regular participant in a church to truly be committed to God. GCU’s Dean of Students Pastor Tim Griffin said it was the first time in his four-plus years at the University that he could recall a Chapel speaker delivering that message. “That’s why we have pastors speak — to raise the identity of the local churches,” he said. “It’s important that students hear this and get connected with a local church.” Tappan quoted from a March 2014 survey conducted by Barna Group, which found that only two of 10 Millennials (age 30 and younger) consider church attendance important, 35 percent said they are anti-church and 59 percent who grew up in a church said they have dropped out at some point. You […]

By Darryl Webb GCU News Bureau Christ’s Church of the Valley‘s Dustin Tappan struck a chord with a large audience at Monday’s Chapel. Christ gave His life to the church, Tappan said, reading from Ephesians 5:25-32: “His heart still beats through the church. It is functioning today.”        

A group of GCU students got a first-hand look at the what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur when they visited the Seed Spot office in downtown Phoenix for “Venture Friday.” The Colangelo College of Business has created a partnership with Seed Spot, a Phoenix business incubator that helps entrepreneurs turn their ideas into thriving businesses. GCU Today has the story.

Nearly two dozen GCU nursing and counseling students spent Friday afternoon and evening at the Phoenix Dream Center, offering free health screenings, education and mental-health assistance to center residents and those living on the streets.

This week’s Antelope Intros feature three new employees with special but very diverse gifts in the areas of healing, movie/music trivia and dance. GCU Today has their stories here.

By Marette Hahn GCU Career Services In the workplace, understanding that people are different — from their communication, learning and leading styles to their strengths, weaknesses and personalities — can help employees learn to work together toward common goals. At some point in your education or career, you may have taken a personality test, such as Myers-Briggs. It rates people on their: Extroversion (outer world) vs. Introversion (inner world) Sensing (focus on basic information) vs. Intuition (interpret and add meaning to information) Feeling (consider people when making decisions) vs. Thinking (utilizing logic to make decisions) Perceiving (staying open to new ideas) vs. Judging (making hard and fast decisions) After taking the test, you will be placed into one of 16 groups, such as INFP (Introvert, Intuition, Feeling, Perceiving) or ESTJ (Extrovert, Sensing, Thinking, Judging). Not only is it a good idea to understand your own personality, you also may want to create a “Type Table” that maps the personalities of everyone on your team. That way, tasks can be delegated more efficiently, and the team members’ strengths and weaknesses can be maximized. Understanding each other’s personalities can help in a variety of areas. For example, there are significant differences in […]

GCU Arena will be the site of two big Christian music events next week. Rend Collective visits on Wednesday, and “Bubba’s Bash,” an evening hosted by pro golfer Bubba Watson and featuring Lecrae, will be here on Saturday, Oct. 11. GCU Today has all the details here.