Spiritual Life

The church faces challenges all over the world, including from people who used to be churchgoers. But Mark Moore of Christ’s Church of the Valley told Chapel on Monday why it’s so important that we keep local churches strong — by serving, not just attending.

Danielle Rinnier’s promotion to GCU’s first Assistant Dean of Students is among three staff changes in Student Affairs. Rinnier was the Director of Spiritual Life, and her position will be filled by Braelyn Armenta, who was Life Leader Manager. In addition, Christine Pemberton was named the new Director of Student Care.

Dr. Valerie De La Torre, Instructor of Theology for Grand Canyon Theological Seminary, is a Grand Canyon alumna and is thrilled to be back on campus in an online teaching capacity. She loves it when students get a concept, and check out her little secret about Ethington Theatre.

In his role as lead pastor of Redemption Gateway, Luke Simmons gets a lot of prayer requests, of course, most of them involving sickness or death. The reason is simple: Those are things that make us feel desperate and hopeless. His Chapel talk Monday was designed to calm our fears.

How should we use our freedom? GCU President Brian Mueller told Chapel on Monday that the fifth chapter of Galatians makes it very clear — we first must be transformed by the Gospel. “We’re not really capable of living freely until we understand that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus frees us,” he said, adding that we must use our freedom by first helping others.

The spring semester schedule of Chapel speakers has three interesting new names, two of them from Phoenix. But there also are several returnees who have commanded the attention of the Chapel audience when they’ve come to campus before.

The Songwriters Showcase, a twice-a-year gathering on the Canyon 49 Grill patio to hear the latest songs Worship Arts students have written, once again featured several who have been regulars on the Canyon Worship albums, but there were plenty of new faces and sounds Monday night. “It’s so neat to see people rising right up and filling spots when people leave,” said Dr. Randall Downs, Coordinator of the Worship Arts program.

Photos by Gillian Rea GCU News Bureau The final Chapel of each semester at Grand Canyon University traditionally centers on music, and on Monday morning it centered on Christmas. Students sang Christmas carols and heard an inspirational Christmas message from Dr. Tim Griffin, Pastor and Dean of Students. The service was led by a combined group of the all-student Worship teams, who perform at Chapel every week. Students had just returned from fall break, which Griffin considers a time to reflect on what has happened during the semester, and next week will head off to winter break and Christmas celebrations. “I hope you’ll go into the new year with a fresh outlook but Jesus still will be number one in your life,” he said. Griffin read the account of Jesus’ birth in the second chapter of Luke, and the Worship teams then closed with “Joy to the World.”  

Dr. Tim Griffin’s talk about the Bible and wealth Monday was very informative — for both him and his audience. There are so many biblical references to money, the Pastor and Dean of Students had a hard time narrowing his selections to a manageable number. And it reminded him of all the skills he has learned about managing his finances.

Chapel talks get personal sometimes, and adopting children is about as personal as it gets. But Danielle Rinnier, GCU’s Director of Spiritual Life, had a good reason for making that her focus Monday — she wanted students to think about what it really means to participate in what God’s doing. “If we don’t say yes, we settle for a life that’s mediocre,” she said.