by Spencer Boehme | Sep 25, 2018 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
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...
by Russell Vannozzi | Sep 24, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
Another baseball season has nearly come and gone. For Lipscomb’s nine former players in the professional ranks, 2018 was a mixed bag. Several players had outstanding seasons, while others struggled to stay healthy and find consistency. Caleb Joseph appeared in a few MLB games with his younger brother, while Michael Gigliotti tore his ACL and missed nearly the entire season. Meanwhile, Chris Nunn found success in the independent American Association after being released by the Houston Astros. Those are just a few of the storylines that can be found in the full breakdown below: MLB (1): Caleb Joseph, C, Baltimore Orioles: 77 GP, 251 AB, 25 R, 54 H, 17 RBI, 3 HR, 10 BB, .215 AVG* After batting .256 in 2017, Joseph’s performance at the plate regressed some this season. He spent one month with Triple-A Norfolk to get more regular playing time, but the Orioles brought Joseph back to Baltimore in June. The Franklin native then got the rare opportunity to pair with his younger brother, Corban, who briefly called up by the Orioles this summer. They are just one of nearly 100 sets of brothers to became MLB teammates. Baltimore (45-110) is set to finish with the worst record in baseball. Joseph has been outspoken about the team’s struggles and told The Athletic’s Dan Connolly that he understands why Camden Yards is mostly empty on game nights. “I don’t blame (the fans) at all,” Joseph said of the Oriole faithful. “I’ve been through really bad seasons in professional sports as a fan in Nashville. It’s not motivating. Of course, I don’t blame them at all (for not...
by Erin Franklin | Sep 23, 2018 | News Slider, Newscast
This week in Lumination News, Lebron Hill and Anna Rogers anchor, bringing you the latest on Hurricane Florence, the one-year anniversary of Cottongate, Lippy Royale and more. Carly Reams gives the weather, and Tyler Harvey updates you on the latest in the world of Lipscomb sports....
by Erin Franklin | Sep 21, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Lipscomb has brought on a number of changes this year, ranging from new academic department locations to a new outdoor patio outside the cafeteria. Additionally, several new faculty members have joined the Lipscomb staff. One of these new professors is Dr. Ben Blasko, who was recently named band director for the classical music department. Blasko was a music education major at a small college in his home state of Pennsylvania. He then completed his graduate coursework at the University of North Texas and eventually became director of bands at the University of Dubuque, before moving to Lipscomb this fall. In addition to his role at Lipscomb, he’s also a professional trumpet player and has done film work, notably studying with Bruce Broughton, who has worked on films such as Silverado. “I came [to Lipscomb] because I was looking for a place where I could practice my faith and integrate it into my teaching,” Blasko said. “When I interviewed here, what really drew me [in] were the students and how the faculty interacted with the students. I very much got a sense of [the] mentor relationships between faculty and students.” Blasko said he is honored to work with a “legend in music” in Brown Bannister, Lipscomb’s Director of Music. Students in the classical department have also welcomed Blasko’s arrival, citing their readiness for new and specialized attention. The music department not only hosts the classical music side, but it also has the commercial music emphasis (previously titled contemporary music). Since the commercial program was started in 2015, some classical students said that they felt that a lot of attention was placed...
by Anna Rogers | Sep 21, 2018 | News Slider
Lipscomb’s department of history, politics and philosophy welcomed alumnus David French to its “Pizza and Politics” event. French is a graduate of Harvard Law, an author and an Iraq War veteran. French was also a potential independent candidate in the 2016 presidential election. French identifies as politically conservative. The thesis of his Monday night message was of acceptance. French spoke mostly about the freedom of religious expression, and how tolerance for Christianity in the modern world is fading. He used the example of Jack Phillips, a Christian cake-maker in Colorado who declined the opportunity to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, as an example of this. According to French, Phillips respectfully declined to bake a wedding cake for a two men, and liberal America was outraged and demanded legal action. This conflicted with his right to conduct his private business and practice his religious expression, French believes. On the other end of the political spectrum, French also brought up Collin Kaepernick, who exercised his freedom of symbolic speech at a 2016 NFL game by kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality. “Where was the tolerance?” French asked. “Where was the acceptance of something you might otherwise like, because the idea and the value of shared liberty transcended the political issue at the moment? It was nowhere to be found.” French addressed the country’s current tense political climate. “We are in the grips of something called negative polarization,” he said. He explained this as being aligned with a party out of fear and hatred of the other. French addressed this polarization and gave advice on...
by Quinn Gorte | Sep 20, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
It’s the end of a long week of classes and homework. How does live music and discounted coffee sound? Enter Well Friday, the cure to school stresses. Sponsored by Lipscomb and facilitated by the College of Entertainment and the Arts (CEA), Well Friday is a bi-weekly, two-hour time of live music and discounted coffee at The Well coffeeshop on Granny White Pike. This is a perfect time to “treat yo self” and to get “a great deal on lunch…while hearing great music for free,” according to the CEA’s email announcement. The first Well Friday will be held tomorrow from 11 AM to 1 PM. At each Well Friday, Lipscomb offers the first fifty attending students a free coffee, tea, or soda token. After that, The Well will provide a 15% discount on food and drinks to everyone else. Well Friday is a relatively new opportunity for Lipscomb students. “We launched a few test events last May as the semester was ending, but it’s an idea we’ve been working on for a while,” Scott Baker, Director of Marketing and Recruiting at the CEA, said. “[Lipscomb CFO] Danny Taylor really had the initial vision for it. He wanted a special time every now and then that the whole Lipscomb family could get together, away from work and school, and just enjoy each others’ company with good food, drink, and music.” The partnership between the CEA and The Well isn’t new. However, when the Black River Stage, a quaint, conveniently-located performing venue, was built in The Well earlier this year, the relationship between the CEA and The Well reached a new level....
