Slideshow

How does Russ Pennell follow Russ Pennell? That was the question at Chapel this morning, after the Antelopes’ head coach for men’s basketball opened with a rousing blues-rock version of “Nothing but the Blood” — with the coach on guitar and vocals — that brought the audience to its feet. Using Luke 12:22-31 as his text and speaking on anxiety and worry, Pennell said, “When we worry and fret, we walk up to the throne of God and shove Him off and say, ‘I got this.’ Do you believe in what God has asked you to do (in life)? If the answer is yes, then why would He let you down?”

Pastor Justin Anderson of Tempe-based Redemption Church brought a thought-provoking message on prayer to this morning’s Chapel in GCU Arena, insisting, “Almost nobody’s good at prayer.” Using parables from Luke 11 and 18, Anderson said Christians need to be “audacious and annoying” in prayer. “The problem with our prayer life is a fundamental disbelief in the Gospel,” he said. “We don’t believe we’re deeply in need of anything outside ourselves. The heart of the Gospel is admitting we need grace and mercy. Ask (in prayer) out of a heart-level belief that He is God and He is for you and He loves you.”

Josh Riebock, the author of “My Generation,” spoke to this morning’s Chapel in the Arena, using Matthew 13:44 as his scriptural text and talking about a time in his life when he was chasing success. “Jesus says, ‘Life with me is like a treasure hidden in a field,’” Riebock said. “Is the Kingdom really the treasure for you, or is it something else? All other things are elusive. You’ll find the Kingdom when you get on your knees and look right in front of you.”

Our CEO, Brian Mueller, spoke on the subject of transition at this morning’s first Chapel of the fall semester — also the first in the new Arena. “Grand Canyon is transitioning from a small, sleepy college to a large university, and a lot of people are paying attention,” Mueller said. “In this period, there’s an opportunity to create momentum. We’re going to start each week with using this building for worshipping God.” The crowd for Chapel filled the horseshoe of the Arena, with the seven-piece band positioned at the north end of the basketball court.

The August job walk at the Arena, the last one before the grand opening Sept. 1, was one for the record books. About 200 people, many of them first-timers, showed up to get the last behind-the-scenes look at the stunning new building before it opens to the public. And stunning it is.

The countdown is on. “57 more days and then I’m out of here,” jokes Superintendent Neal Baker of Perini Construction. Starting July 5, there are now two separate shifts coming in to finish things up meaning things are shaping up quickly in the new GCU Arena. The July Arena Job Walk, which took place Tuesday afternoon, was attended by several first timers. With only one more job walk taking place in August, July boasted one of the largest crowds yet.

One year ago Saturday, more than 300 GCU employees and guests assembled on a grassy plot on the southeastern corner of campus, the site where a new Event Center would be built. The groundbreaking took place on a sweltering, 92-degree morning, with a large tent providing only temporary relief. A year later, it’s similarly hot — the temperature exceeded 110 degrees this week — but everything else has changed, including the facility’s name.

Atlanta-based Innovation Sports Marketing began installation of the main scoreboard in the new GCU Arena on Tuesday, adding another piece to a state-of-the-art facility that figures to rival some professional sports venues. The display itself is massive, hanging at the south end above the court. It measures 15 feet tall by 35 feet wide and weighs around three tons.

On Tuesday’s monthly tour of the Arena construction site, Superintendent Neal Baker of Perini Construction said the facility is only 85 days from its scheduled completion by Sept. 1. “That’s exciting to me,” Baker said. “I think I’ll take off work on Day No. 86.”

Russ Pennell, GCU’s head coach for men’s basketball, grew up 20 miles from Joplin. Mo., and describes the May 22 tornado as “a little surreal.” Troy Hill, his best friend from their high school days in Pittsburg, Kan., is an accountant in Joplin and lives less than two miles from the worst destruction. Although his house was not damaged, Hill was without power for eight days. “He says it looks like a war zone,” Pennell says. Tornado warnings are commonplace for residents of southwestern Missouri and southeastern Kansas. “People live with that,” says Pennell, who played in games at Joplin High School and visited people at St. John’s Hospital, both of which were obliterated by the savage storm. With its population of 50,000, Joplin was the “big city” to those who lived in smaller Pittsburg. “It was where you went when you wanted to get out of town,” Pennell says. The GCU relief team of Aaron Johnson, Jose Moreno and Jennifer Willis made it back to campus shortly before 5 p.m. Monday. Over the weekend, they personally delivered clothing and supplies to four families displaced by the tornado.