GCU Arena

Chapel heard a message about social justice from Palmer Chinchen, lead pastor of The Grove church in Chandler. Chinchen, who was born in Liberia, has written a book (“God Can’t Sleep”) about the need for Christians to wake up to the world’s social concerns. “A lot of people put the name of Jesus Christ on their lives but they don’t live that way, and that’s what bothers me,” Chinchen said, citing Ephesians 5:14. “Justice is the raging heartbeat of the Bible. … If we have a God that can’t sleep, then I hope you can’t, either.”

Is there a better front man in Christian rock music than Mac Powell of Third Day? First, there’s the look. With his shoulder-length brown hair, full beard, flannel shirt, jeans and boots, this might be what Jesus would look like if He were in a band. Third Day and Powell have been making music for going on 20 years now, but it’s hard to imagine band and lead singer sounding any better than they did on Sunday night at GCU Arena. A 95-minute show packed with 17 songs and two encores showed that there’s still plenty left in the tank for the four-time Grammy Award winners from Atlanta.

Phoenix, the fifth stop on a 21-show arena tour, is a favorite place to play for country act Lady Antebellum, and the trio reminisced Thursday night about past performances — none of which, they said, compared to playing in the new Arena.

With his extensive involvement in stage design and merchandising for the rock band Third Day, bass player Tai Anderson has taken one long-running course in marketing. “Since 1996, I’ve been in the business world,” says Anderson, who joined the Georgia-based band at the age of 16. Nevertheless, something was missing, despite four Grammy Awards and being what Anderson calls a “trusted brand” among fans of Christian music.

The U.S. Postal Service stays plenty busy keeping track of Air Force families such as the one Smedly Yates grew up in. The roll call for Yates: Texas (twice), New Mexico, Alaska, Arizona (twice), California (twice), Illinois and Tennessee (twice). After bouncing around so much for so long, it’s no surprise that Yates, 36, seems happily rooted as one of two pastors at Grace Bible Church in Chandler, which began near the Arizona State University campus 10 years ago and now meets at Valley Christian High School. He’s also firmly planted in preaching the Bible.

GCU Arena will be filled with the sights and sounds of the holidays on Saturday night as Pandora’s Unforgettable Holiday Moments on Ice brings a unique kind of show to campus. The big question: How can an arena with a permanent basketball court become an ice rink for skaters to perform those triple lutzes and double axels? The answer: careful planning and preparation, as well as some really cool equipment.

Was that a Suns game on Saturday night? With purple everywhere and a loud crowd of 4,702 including several guests with ties to the local NBA team — Jerry Colangelo, Al McCoy, Dick Van Arsdale and Josh Childress among them — the men’s basketball exhibition game between GCU and Arizona State University had a playoff-type atmosphere. It was the place to be for hoops fans, and the Antelopes hung with the much bigger Sun Devils well into the second half before falling, 89-69.

GCU and ASU face off in a cross-town showdown Saturday November 5, 2011. GCU students get pumped up for the first Men’s basketball game in the new arena! Can you Hear the Thunder?

The parable of the workers in the vineyard from Matthew 20 was the focus of Jamie Rasmussen, senior pastor of Scottsdale Bible Church, at this morning’s Chapel. Rasmussen said God gives equal blessing in seven areas: eternal life, forgiveness of sin, victory over temptation, constant presence, peace and joy, purpose and meaning, and comfort in suffering. Four other areas, he said, are indiscriminate in blessing: wealth, health, talents and abilities, and comfortable circumstances.

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” The quote by Henry Brooks Adams was the theme of keynote speaker Amanda McAdams at the College of Education’s student conference in GCU Arena on Wednesday morning. The conference, put on in partnership with the Arizona Educational Foundation, was opened with a prayer by Dean of Students Pastor Tim Griffin and an introduction by COE Assistant Dean Carlyn Ludlow, who told the students that teaching has to come from the heart.