by Sam Remington | May 6, 2015 | News Slider
Freshmen Jack Judkins and Tim Newman made the Ezell Center chapel home to a different kind of service during the spring semester. Every Thursday the two held a worship service and prayer time for anyone willing to come. The only catch — there was no chapel credit offered for coming. Judkins said they wanted a place where students could worship and pray together to spend time in the presence of God and fellowship with other believers at Lipscomb. “It’s a really simple time to take a moment out of your week and reflect,” freshman Danny Marsh said. The idea began when a group of freshmen were at The Gathering, a local worship service. Judkins and Newman said they felt God telling them to begin a similar type of service at Lipscomb on the weeks that The Gathering didn’t meet. “The crazy part is that a friend of ours was sitting on the opposite side of the room when God gave her the same idea right around the same time as He did with us,” Judkins said. “We spent a lot of time after that praying and working out the details of organizing our own chapel.” The special chapel service became a meeting place for approximately 30 students on a regular basis. The name of this special worship event — “Dwell” — fits the atmosphere of the place as people come for a stripped-down worship service and prayer time, according to the organizers. Judkins, Newman and the other freshmen leaders who organize each chapel said they are serious and motivated about creating an environment where people can come midweek and be surrounded by the...
by Erin Turner | May 3, 2015 | News Slider
A record number of graduates, a 1950s pop icon who rewrote the Lipscomb alma mater and Yellow Ribbon scholars who sacrificed so much were among the highlights Saturday when Lipscomb students were celebrated in the commencement ceremonies in Allen Arena. That icon, Pat Boone, introduced his “new” version of Lipscomb’s alma mater. He led that special part of the ceremony during which over 400 undergraduates crossed the stage to receive their diplomas and jubilant friends and families joined in the celebration. Boone, the original author of Lipscomb’s alma mater, recently made a few changes to the lyrics, but the melody remained the same. He described how he and Don Henley created the original song that he “rebooted” to make more modern this year. “I listened to some of the other college alma maters, and they’re impressive, and some are fight songs,
and based on my experience here, and knowing what Lipscomb is about, I felt it needed to have an anthem quality,” Boone said. “It needed to have a spiritual quality, because that’s who we are. “Not many colleges around this great United States can say that.” Backed up by four Lipscomb students, Boone led the audience in the updated alma mater. Like others who were toasted during the commencement exercises, Boone worked extra hard to attend the school where his spirituality was nurtured. Long before he became a Hollywood mainstay and resident of Beverly Hills, Boone and his brother worked through the summers so that they could afford going to Lipscomb Academy. His reasoning, likely echoed by all the graduates who were at saluted during the ceremony, was he wanted an education in a Christian context....
by Erin Turner | May 1, 2015 | News Slider
Gathered around a table in Pat Boone’s house recently, Lipscomb University President Randy Lowry and the Lipscomb-educated ’50s pop icon drafted a new version of the university’s alma mater. “My wife and I went out to Los Angeles to Beverly Hills about six to eight weeks ago, and we actually sat around a table in Pat Boone’s house and looked at the old music and then started playing with new words for the new music,” Lowry said. Lipscomb eliminated “David” from its title 10 or 15 years ago, and that was one of the major changes made to the song. In the lyrics “David Lipscomb” has been replaced with “Lipscomb University.” In addition to that change, Lowry said there were two places in the lyrics that were not inclusive for this time period. “[‘Brotherhood’] was a word that a church community would use and they would talk about all the churches ‘in the brotherhood,’ but it’s not particularly inclusive of women,” he said. With the help of Boone an updated alma mater was crafted using alternatives words. “An alma mater really tries to articulate some sense of relationship with this institution, and I think that one [the updated version] has a lot of really good stuff in it. “My sense is we always want to be alert to those moments where we can be a little more relevant, a little bit more sensitive, a little bit more inclusive, and after singing the alma mater for 10 years it just dawned on me: this is one of them,” he said. Keeping the original tune, Boone and Lowry gave the new lyrics an...
by Patrick Carpenter | Apr 29, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
McCarley Thomas and Mimi Cartwright, both Lipscomb softball stars, share many similarities. The young women were rival pitchers in high school, but at Lipscomb, they play with each other. During their senior year in high school, they pitched against each other in the Region 5-AA semifinals. Cartwright (Goodpasture, 18-4) pitched a two-hitter, struck out 14 and walked none while Thomas (Lipscomb Academy, 10-13) pitched a three-hitter, struck out 15 and walked none in her final high school game. Their positions aren’t their only similarities — both were homecoming queens their senior year and have been roommates at Lipscomb the past two years. “We had a mutual friend who said ‘Hey, ya’ll should room together’ and so we met up and here we are,” Thomas said. Since her time on the high school mound, Cartwright has switched positions and is the Lady Bisons’ starting third baseman. Thomas, standing at 5-11, is listed as the third pitcher in the line-up and has seen action in relief several times this season. While there is sisterhood and similarity, the two have different types of personalities. Cartwright said she loves competition. She said she trives off it, and that is obvious. “When I’m challenged to something I just know that I want to win — like I’m gonna win and that’s all I think about,” Cartwright said. During her time at Goodpasture she also lettered in basketball and is known as a pool shark by her close friends. On the other hand, Thomas said she enjoys writing outside of being on the field. “I would much rather just go climb up in a tree and...
by Danielle Kinnen | Apr 26, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb University held its Don Meyer Evening of Excellence Saturday night to recognize the journey of coach Jim White, who is the subject of the Disney movie McFarland USA. The Don Meyer Evening of Excellence is named after the legendary former Lipscomb basketball coach who passed away in May of 2014 after a battle to cancer. Meyer coached at Hamline University for three years, Lipscomb for 24 years and Northern State for 11 years and finished with a career record of 923-324 in 38 seasons. Over the last six years, Lipscomb has had speakers that include Coach Meyer, former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, Duke head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens, Phil, Si and Kay Robertson from Duck Dynasty and “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks. The evening in Allen Arena was filled with Lipscomb donors, athletes and family of the soon-to-be graduated seniors. White coached McFarland High School to nine cross country state championships in 14 years. Most of White’s runners were the children of immigrant field workers, as McFarland is one of the poorest cities in California. White shared some advice of his well-rounded programs with Lipscomb’s athletes. “No one can tell you that you won’t achieve something, because I just turned around and did it anyway,” White said. “You must continue to do right the things that you know how, and be patient. It’s a process — it cannot be built over night. “You have to have that drive in all aspects of life and especially for the student athletes who continue to work hard on and off the field.” Lipscomb alum Keith Hayes was impressed by the work put...
by Gemikal Prude | Apr 26, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb softball swept the three-game series against conference foe Kennesaw State with a victory of 4-1 on Sunday afternoon at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. The Lady Bisons took a 1-0 win in Saturday’s first game and 13-1 win in the second. During the last home series of the season there was a senior celebration with the class that’s been the most successful in Lipscomb softball history. Seniors Jordan Abell, Paige Neely, Laura Dukes, Brianne Welch and Gracey Aguirre received praise from their teammates and coaches on individual success and how they have positively impacted the team. “I can’t believe this is it,” Welch said. “It’s so hard for me to really believe that this will be the last time I get to suit up with these girls and compete at this field.” “I’ve played this very sport since I was four years old,” Aguirre said. “And these girls — I’ve grown so much with them and because of them, and I know for a fact that they will have a lasting impact on my life.” But the celebrations of the seniors didn’t stop them from coming out to compete in Sunday’s game. Kennesaw was kept far away from home plate, and at the bottom of the third Neely hit a single into left field bringing junior Brittany Elmore in to score. Dukes hit a homer in the next inning to make the score 2-0. In the fifth inning, a throwing error allowed the Lady Owls to reach home to make it a 2-1 score, still in the favor of Lipscomb. At the bottom of the fifth, Aguirre hit Neely...
