In a surprising turn of events, two faces of the chapel office are bidding Lipscomb goodbye.
Cyrus Eaton told Lumination that he and his wife, Nicole, are heading to Abilene Christian University, where Cyrus has been hired as the school’s next chaplain.
“It’ll be very similar to what I get to do here,” Eaton said on Friday. “Except it will give me an opportunity to lead more initiatives instead of being focused on carrying out a few of them.”
This is a fresh development that wasn’t a consideration until “about two months” ago, Eaton said.
“We weren’t looking to leave, we weren’t looking for another opportunity,” Eaton said. “But a friend of ours put it on our radar and asked us if we’d be open to exploring it, which we felt like was a very safe thing to say ‘yes’ to. And over time, we realized that [the] thought of exploration was actually becoming more real.”
The development comes just two months after Scott McDowell’s departure for ACU this summer.
“I’m very excited to work with Scott again,” Eaton said. “Not only was it good working with Scott, [but] I’ve been mentored really well by Scott.”
Eaton, the Joshua Project director, has teamed with Nicole, the Women’s Campus Minister, in various aspects of ministry. 2018 would have been Cyrus’s fourth full year at Lipscomb.
He credits God for leading the Abilene Christian move. What helped affirm the decision was a gut-wrenching cancer diagnosis for Nicole’s mother, who lives in Houston. The presence of a brain tumor, revealed in an MRI, was discovered just four days after Cyrus’ ACU decision.
“Even through the next few weeks after they found the mass and they removed the tumor, we didn’t quite know just how bad it was until [early September],” Cyrus said.
Glioblastoma is the official name of the cancerous tumor, according to Eaton. The Mayo Clinic calls glioblastoma “an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord,” and there currently is no cure.
The Eatons are also new parents as of June 18. Nicole’s maternity leave began close enough to the ACU development and her mother’s cancer diagnosis that her absence from Lipscomb became permanent. Rather than beginning a new job, Nicole will focus on raising their newborn and caring for her mother.
Cyrus said that the drive to his mother-in-law’s residence in Houston takes about five hours from Abilene.
Replacements for the Eaton’s have yet to be hired. Cyrus will officially vacate his position in early October.
Steve Davidson, Lipscomb’s Senior Campus Minister and Associate Dean, offered an email statement on the Eatons’ departure.
“Three years ago when we were searching for a Campus Minister and a Director of the Joshua Project, I remember calling one of Cyrus’ references,” Davidson said. “He said, ‘The dude can [lead] discipleship in his sleep’. And I quickly learned that is Cyrus Eaton’s heart. He understands culture and leans deeply into it. Thus Cyrus and Nicole know how to connect with students on a heart level. He and Nicole have been amazing Campus Ministers. They will be missed big time.”
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb University