College of Theology

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.

Starting any new program is difficult. Starting one during a pandemic is more difficult. Add in the importance of face-to-face conversations in the new Barnabas pastoral program, and it makes what the College of Theology pulled off that much more impressive. Students found great value in taking a deeper dive into ministry topics and learning about how various faiths compare. “I think I’ve learned more about the importance of spiritual disciplines in one semester than I did my whole life being raised as a Christian,” said Abbigale Burdett.

Dr. Randall Downs, Coordinator of the Worship Arts program, calls Nicole Swartz “a great songwriter” but is most impressed by the fact that she asks for songwriting advice and then acts on it. So Downs was pleased when Swartz’s song, “In the Waiting,” became her first solo on a Canyon Worship album. Fifth in a series on Canyon Worship 2021, scheduled to be released in September.

Chandler Blue sees perfection everywhere she looks in nature. In humanity, not as much. And yet God favors us with His perfect love, which provides the inspiration for her Canyon Worship 2021 song, “You Choose Me.” It’s Blue’s second song on the annual album but her first solo. Fourth in a series on Canyon Worship 2021, scheduled to be released in September.