by Olivia Waldorf | Apr 11, 2017 | News Slider
To kick off Resurrection Week, presenter Chris Smith addressed The Gathering Tuesday morning. “Our inheritance and ourselves are guarded through faith and salvation,” he said. “Through this we rejoice, even if for a little while. Jesus admits the legitimacy of our suffering but He tells us that it’s for a little while and not forever. “Our story has a happy ending.” Smith began with the discussion of abundant life, mercy and grace and how these things relate to the gifts God has given His people. Smith said that everyone at some point will be disappointed in life, but reminded students that God’s mercy is a guarded gift. “This is an inheritance,” he said. “Kept in heaven for you. You are being protected by the power of God.” Smith used an example from Les Misèrables. A theif steals the silverware from a respected bishop and gets caught. This man is brought to the bishop but instead of throwing this man in jail, he shows mercy and tells the guards that the man took what was his and actually “forgot the candlesticks” as well. This changes the thief’s life. This extension of mercy changed the projection of a life. “By God’s great mercy, He has given us a new birth,” Smith said. According to Smith, everyone wants a do-over, no matter who they are or what they have done. There is always a moment in which people pray for a chance to prove themselves again. While a do-over is rare in the secular world, God has given His people a do-over, a fresh start to begin again. “Hope means means confidant...
by Olivia Waldorf | Apr 4, 2017 | News Slider
In Tuesday’s Gathering, Lipscomb’s very own Anna Cannone came to speak about her test of faith. Cannone led by saying, “Learning to clothe yourself in God’s love every day is so important.” She then began to explain how she was called to Lipscomb even though she was set on another school. She refused to get out of the car and tour Lipscomb’s campus with her sister, but eventually she did and immediately felt that it was home, saying that the Holy Spirit was guiding her. Cannone told the audience that at the age of two, she was diagnosed with fibrous dysplasia. This rare bone disease causes fibrous scar-like tissue to develop instead of bone tissue, causing her bones to be weaker than average. “From the age of two on, I knew a lot of sterile white walls and strange doctors,” Cannone said. “My family sacrificed a lot of their life to let me know the love of Jesus.” Cannone remembers being isolated in therapy treatment rooms, lying there, realizing and being able to know that there is a God from a very young age. Cannone says that God gave her the strength to carry through, so she always kept a smile on her face. She was forced to transition from a different school every year, eventually being homeschooled. At the age of seven her dad sat down by her bed and told her that she needed surgery on her eye, or she would go blind. Cannone described what it felt like to know she was going blind at such a young age. She remembered being wheeled down the long corridor to have her first...
by Olivia Waldorf | Mar 28, 2017 | News Slider
Joining Lipscomb’s Gathering on March 28 was Bill Lee, one of Nashville Business Journal’s “Most Admired CEOs.” Lee began with pointing out that our parents’ mistakes and our own are the factors that shape us. We find ourselves through these trials, but those days are behind us. As college students, we are in a spot where our lives are in front of us. Lee was saved in college and lived most of his life in a dream-state. He had a beautiful family, a sprawling estate and a great job. He remembered and shared his wife’s reading a passage out of Job to him one day. In chapter 38, God tells Job, “I will take care of you.” One day Lee found his youngest daughter crying in the field. He immediately asked her if her mother was okay, but his daughter said no and continued crying. He found his wife had suffered an equestrian accident. She never recovered, which left Lee to take care of his four kids, himself and everything he worked to. “I had entered into the darkest season of my life,” said Lee. He then remembered chapter 38 in Job. “I opened up the Bible to that chapter in the hospital room,” Lee said. “God told me, ‘Your circumstances change, but I don’t.’” Lee saw God’s power through this time. Lee’s son attempted suicide shortly thereafter, but even so, Lee had the profound realization that God is in his life. He is in everything. “He will walk with you through everything,” said Lee. Even through the most bitter days in life, Lee said there is “a sweet bread of hope that weaves itself through those...
by Olivia Waldorf | Mar 22, 2017 | News Slider
Lipscomb’s own Chris Klotz took the stage for this Tuesday’s Gathering. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m the guy that you hate on the airplane. I’ll always want to get to know you.” Klotz said, beginning his message. He then played a video and paused on a frame of a man he said he met on a plane. Normally, people in movies want to be seen, if even for a split second. This man was just clapping, enjoying his two seconds on screen. Klotz explained his analogy: we all have two seconds of “screen time.” Our lives are relatively short in the grand scheme of things. He said that our culture tells us our time here should be self-centered. It tells us to make sure that our face is seen so people know who we are. Klotz said his humbling moment was when a coach asked him why he played soccer. Klotz answered with, “I enjoy it, it got me into college, and it’s brought me a lot of other things.” The coach pointed out that for every reason, Klotz talked about himself. The coach asked, “What if for the first time, soccer wasn’t about you?” This moment is when Klotz realized everything we do matters for reasons other than our own benefit. He told another story about keeping our eyes on God by remembering a mission trip to Africa with his team. After all their hard work, the mission team enjoyed a safari. They came across an area where a lion was spotted in the bushes. They were so fixated on this lion. They looked around and realized that all the other animals were silent and watching the lion, too....
by Olivia Waldorf | Mar 8, 2017 | News Slider
Three speakers from the Colorado Springs-based Axis organization spoke at Tuesday’s Gathering about what it means to be human in a digital world. Stephanie, Josh and Matt are members of AXIS, based in Colorado Springs, and have traveled across the United States and Canada to have positive conversation about media, culture and world views. They weaved through the crowd, getting on the students’ level, pressing everyone to think about how to live amongst the people of our culture. “God has a very good design for the world but it’s lost in translation because of things happening in our culture,” they said. The group from AXIS asked the students for comments, other thoughts and pushback. They wanted to start a dialogue instead of just speaking at the students. The phrases “be authentic,” “follow your heart,” and “be true to yourself” were used to ignite conversation in the crowd. “Look back at the beginning of this story,” they said. “God created something from nothing. He created man and woman in his image to help earth flourish. Adam means humanity and Eve means life.” The group continued by saying that Christians should strive to recreate positivity but sin always enters the picture. According to AXIS, communities live in a self-centered society, completely to the level of narcissism. “Let’s define freedom right now,” they said. “Is it to make a choice or have no boundaries? Whatever it is, we’re living in a unique cultural moment. We see 3,000 ads per day. Selling us ideas, products, what the good, happy life looks like.” These advertisements are focused on the consumer, and because of this, they become...
