College of Theology

The first One Foundation Lunch and Learn of the 2021-22 academic year is scheduled for Monday, and this year’s topic offers faculty a topic ripe for discussion: “Human Flourishing: Embracing Our Purpose.” Monday’s session will focus on the greatest sermon ever, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

The official release of Canyon Worship 2021 on Monday was cause for celebration, but the student artists have long been celebrating their opportunity to work with producers Geoff Hunker and Dave Willey. But Hunker has news for them: He loves it, too. “The students are in a place in their life where they’re ready to learn and they’re open to hear,” he said, “and so it’s always a blast to be part of that.”

There are many things to like about The Grand Collective, the album produced by the GCU Recording Studio and released this summer. It has a variety of genres, including a fascinating rendition of “How Great Thou Art” that includes The Lord’s Prayer and a chorus in Hawaiian. But most important of all is that it was formulated and driven by students.

Every college at GCU has Lopes Live Labs. The final expanded excerpt from the cover story in the August issue of GCU Magazine features the new GCU Recording Lab (College of Theology) as well as labs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Doctoral Studies and Honors College.

Judy Eroe, GCU’s Executive Director of Academic Assessment, is celebrating her 30-year anniversary as a full-time employee at GCU. Ben VanDerLinden, her former student and now her colleague. explains why she has been so important to the University’s evolution.

Austin Bratton stands out among the Canyon Worship 2021 student artists for an interesting reason: He switched his major from Worship Arts to Christian Studies. His focus in writing “By Grace Through Faith” revolved around his desire to spread God’s Word: “How can I preach the Gospel in a song, just straight up?” Last in a series on Canyon Worship 2021, scheduled to be released in September.

Joseph Vaught has had a hand in many songs that have come out of the GCU Recording Studio, but he rarely composes music on his own. But then the pandemic happened, he had some time to himself and he was inspired to write “Swept Up in Your Wonder,” which was chosen for Canyon Worship 2021. It’s his second song on the annual album but his first solo.

Emma Mondello had never had a song on Canyon Worship before — because she never had submitted one. But she decided to give it a go before she graduated in April, and “In Brokenness” was chosen for the 2021 album. It’s the perfect finish to her time at GCU, which was marked by personal growth and remarkable friendships. “I’ve made some friends for a lifetime and experienced some things that are going to live with me forever,” she said.

Nicole Jasperse brings a folksy element to Canyon Worship 2021 with “You My God,” a song about waiting on the Lord that was inspired by the uncertainty of the pandemic. It’s her first time on the album, but songwriting is nothing new for her — she estimates she has put together more than 150. “Her writing is that of a storyteller with metaphorical stylings like a poet,” said Eric Johnson, Manager of the GCU Recording Studio.

Russell … the name sounds familiar to Canyon Worship fans. But now it’s Madison Russell, not her brother Harrison, who has two songs on the 2021 edition of the annual album. She seems made for this moment, but it’s only a recent development — she has been writing songs for only three or four years. “I think that’s an important lesson – not being afraid to try something,” she said. Sixth in a series on Canyon Worship 2021, scheduled to be released in September.