Miller offers guide for living interesting life

Donald Miller, Christian author and speaker, gave students his “rules to living a meaningful life” in The Gathering on Thursday. “The things it takes to live a good story are the same things it takes to live an interesting life,” Miller said, explaining that he learned a lot about storytelling while working with experts to produce the movie version of his book Blue Like Jazz, which will appear in theaters April 13. Miller said people have the ability to choose to live an interesting, enjoyable life or a boring, meaningless one. “The things that we’re doing with our lives actually shape whether or not we appreciate it,” he said. According to Miller, the first step toward living an interesting life is “you need to want something.” Miller said the reason people get bored during movies is the same reason they feel that life is meaningless–it’s unclear what the protagonist wants. “If I paused your life right now,” Miller asked, “and came to your closest friends and asked, ‘Ok, what do they want?’ Would anybody know?” Miller said he thinks people believe they have to want only God’s specific plan for their lives. But, Miller said he believes God doesn’t always have a detailed plan but allows people to choose what they do with their lives. He said too many people view God as “a dysfunctional dad who is controlling.” “I just see this picture of God as a dad, and He rolls out this big piece of butcher paper on the floor and He gives you a box of crayons,” Miller said, sharing his perspective. “And you and God get to...
Alumni invite students to ReLapse concert

Alumni invite students to ReLapse concert

ReLapse, a band that includes two Lipscomb alumni will perform with Jordan Baron, a former Bisons pitcher, at Mercy Lounge Dec. 14 at 9 p.m. Andrew Glass, the band’s front man and one of its founders, says the group hopes to see a large Lipscomb crowd at the concert. “I really loved going to Lispcomb,” Glass said, “and I think Landon really loved going to Lipscomb and I know Jordan loved going to Lipscomb. We would really love to see a lot of Lipscomb people come out. I really just want to engage that Lipscomb network because it means so much to where I’ve come from and probably where I’ll go in the future. It’s a part of me.” ReLapse has been doing various gigs in Nashville for almost a year, and most recently played at Lipscomb’s annual dodge ball tournament in November. “The Lipscomb crowd is one of the most fun crowds we’ve played for,” Glass said. “They’re just a really fun group of people to play for.” Baron has been touring on the West Coast with the stage name Harrison B., and the Mercy Lounge performance will be his homecoming show. “He’s really had success out there,” Glass said, explaining Baron’s popularity in the North West. “It’s really cool to see what he’s doing.” Glass, a 2009 Lipscomb graduate, started the band with Landon Rives, a 2010 graduate. The two lived together in High Rise with Barron when they were sophomores. The two began jamming together during their free time and realized they had a good sound. Now, Glass and Rives co-write all of the band’s songs....

Shopping Tips: All is fair in love and on Black Friday.

People will wake up before dawn Friday to get a head start on Christmas shopping, and Lipscomb students are no exception. Heck, some have even been camping outside the Best Buy and other “big box” stores for days before Thanksgiving. Ahhh the hallmarks of the holiday season: leaves falling off trees, the ubiquitous smell of pumpkin pie and apple cider, get-togethers and awkward small-talk with distant relatives, and the plethora of food that calls for elastic waistbands.The holiday season is also that time of the year where rules are bent. This isn’t more true than during Black Friday, when millions of people get an early start on their holiday shopping by waiting in lines, for hours at a time, in order to get discounts that more sane people likely will be able to get later. It’s common to see people fight for the same item, cut in line, kick, shove and elbow each other in order to get their items. Fortunately, here are some tips from Lipscomb students in order to avoid disaster and make sure your shopping is as pleasant and safe as possible. 1.) “Get there earlier than they open… make sure to eat and stay hydrated, and be careful of all the other shoppers that may knock you down or steal your items,” said Haleigh Seifert, a junior nursing major. 2.) “From personal experience I think people really need to price check different places. Last year me and my uncle went to three different places looking for the same TV. At the last stop (Costco) we found it for $30 cheaper,” said Josh Asres, a sophomore...

Campus prepares for annual Lighting of the Green

The seventh annual Lighting of the Green will begin Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 4 p.m. with an outdoor concert hosted by Amy Grant starting at 5:30 p.m. The event will begin with the Merry Marketplace in Allen Arena Mall, which features holiday vendors who donate a portion of profits to Lipscomb scholarships. Stephanie Davis, a junior from Farmer City, Ill., said she loves the annual holiday event. “I think it’s an awesome experience,” said Davis, a physical education and health major. “It just really brings the students together and the community together to celebrate the Christmas cheer. We have some awesome singers and special people. It’s just a special time. I love it.” As usual, free photos with Santa will be available in the campus center. This year’s concert will feature Amy Grant, Point of Grace, Melinda Doolittle, Jenny Gill, Sterling Glittens, Gene Miller, Lipscomb student choruses, Lipscomb University brass quintet and opera singer Amanda McCaslin accompanied by Jim Dausch. Isaac Reser, a theology major, had positive comments about the annual tradition. “I always enjoy Lighting of the Green. It is certainly one of those times where it makes it really pleasant to walk up and down toward Ezell,” said Reser, who is from Atlanta, Ga. “And I really like that they use environmental friendly lights out there that use less energy. That’s a change that they’ve made that really reflects student opinion in the past couple of years. I think that’s really cool that that’s somewhere they’ve been willing to change what they’re doing. “I would ask how we can make it more environmentally friendly because it still uses...

Lipscomb responds to ACU tragedy

A bus accident killed one Abilene Christian University student and left at least a dozen passengers injured Nov. 4 when the driver lost control on a curve, crashing the bus into a concrete culvert, causing it to roll and eject several students. ACU, Lipscomb’s sister school in Abilene, Texas, annually sends agriculture students to serve at a children’s home in Medina, a town about 230 miles from the university. The bus was carrying 12 students, three faculty and one faculty member’s wife. Anabel Reid, a 19-year-old student, was killed in the crash. Monday afternoon, Nov. 7, the ACU Optimist reported that two people were still in critical condition, three others were listed in good condition and three more were in fair condition. Seven had been treated and released. Several members of the Lipscomb faculty have ties to ACU and responded with heartfelt concern for the community. Kent Gallaher, chair of Lipscomb’s Department of Biology, taught at ACU from 2004 to 2008. He and ACU Professor Emmett Miller started the annual trip to Medina Children’s Home. “My dear friend Emmett Miller experienced major head trauma and a broken arm,” Gallaher said. “His wife, Pat, was very badly injured and, as of this morning, continues to be in a coma. “I’ve been in close contact with folks in Texas since Friday evening. It makes my heart ache,” he continued. “The annual Medina trip was something that Emmett and I did together. If I were still teaching there, I too would have been on that bus.” Lipscomb’s Jackie Halstead, associate director of the Institute for Christian Spirituality, worked at ACU for 12...