Summer Celebration 2015 brings hundreds of Christians to campus from across the country
University Communication & Marketing |
Updated on Friday, July 3 at 10:30 a.m.
Summer Celebration 2015 photo gallery
Day 3
The final day of Summer Celebration included keynote sessions by Josh Jackson and Don McLaughlin, of Atlanta, Ga.; Buddy Bell, of Montgomery, Ala.; and Rick Atchley, of North Richland Hills, Texas.
At the final session of the evening, Charles Caudill, president of World Christian Broadcasting, and his wife, Kathy, were recognized for their tireless work to spread the Gospel throughout the world as recipients of the 2015 Kopio Award. Located in Franklin, Tenn., WCB broadcasts Christian programming and the gospel message throughout the world in Chinese, Russian, Spanish and English.
Charles Caudill serves as president of the organization and Kathy serves as his assistant, working as team to run the organization that was established more than 40 years ago. Most recently, WCB has spent more than 10 years working to establish a new broadcast tower in Madagascar, which will reach much of the globe not currently covered by the WCB tower in Alaska.
“Charles and Kathy Caudill would never seek this kind of attention for themselves,” said Dan Dozier, a development officer at WCB who read some of the comments the organization’s staff had to say about their bosses.
“I have never known anyone with greater faith or greater patience,” Dozier read.
“When Charles is walking along the streets of heaven, people from all over the world will be stopping him and thanking him for saving their soul,” wrote another.
Upon accepting the award, Charles Caudill displayed characteristic humility, saying if, “It’s not about us, it’s about Him… If you go away from this with anything, remember that it is God who is in control.”
Summer Celebration guests have come from across the country for Lipscomb's annual spiritually focused lectureship.
“Summer Celebration is something we can bring our whole family to, it is not just a lecture for women or men or for older or younger people – it truly is a family event and I appreciate that aspect because we try to do everything as a family," said Amanda Owens, of Saint Louis, Mo., who attended this year's event with her husband, Brian, and their five children. Owens has attended Summer Celebration for the past 15 years.
"I enjoyed what Josh Ross said in one of his classes — that the church isn’t a place to escape," said Mark Maybrey, preaching minister at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Florence, Ala. "The church is a place to engage the world.In today’s society and culture, we find ourselves being foreigners, so we need to be deployed. It is up to us to be the hearts, the arms, the legs, the eyes, the ears of Jesus and engage the world.”
Attendees enjoy the variety of session.
“I’m overwhelmed by the options at Summer Celebration and enjoy the diversity and specialization of each lecture," said Kent Hoggatt, assistant professor of communication at Rochester (Mich.) College and two-time Summer Celebration attendee. “I was also attracted to the theme of this conference and it inspires me to join with other people and study a text that we can apply in our daily life.”
Summer Celebration ended with its traditional Independence Day celebration with a family picnic, inflatables for children, a concert by Acappella featuring George Pendergrass and a fireworks display.
Day 2
The second day of Summer Celebration was capped off with a main session including a touching tribute to overseas missions and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Abilene Christian University graduate and Ebola survivor Kent Brantly and Abilene Christian University instructor and popular speaker Randy Harris speak together on one stage.
The pair decided to co-teach their text from Revelation 6-11, describing a plague and famine that overcomes the world and two witnesses who preach hope, are killed and then are brought back to life by God.
Brantly, who served in medical missions beginning October 2013 and ran Liberia’s Ebola ward in Monrovia until contracting Ebola himself in July of last year, spoke about the hope the two witnesses brought in a world of chaos, saying trite promises that everything will be OK are not enough to serve a suffering population.
“In the midst of Ebola, ‘a mansion just over a hillside’ doesn’t quite cut it,” he said. “In the Ebola unit, my hope didn’t save anyone’s life, but what ministered to patients was a deep hope that God is who he says he is and will make everything right.”
During the keynote session, attendees heard an encouraging story from Lipscomb’s newest missions coordinator Mallory Clancy, who believed that as an engineering student, she would have to give up her passion for missions to pursue a career. Instead, she discovered Lipscomb’s engineering missions program all the way from Florida and has now affected the lives of 100 families in Guatemala with clean water systems through the missions program.
The crowd took up a collection for Lipscomb Missions, which provides 527 days of service per year in more than 50 locales around the world to those in the Lipscomb family and beyond.
Finally, the night concluded by awarding Brantly and his wife Amber the second 2015 Kopio Award. Brantly’s medical service in Liberia would have been enough to earn him a Kopio, noted President L. Randolph Lowry of the honor that recognizes those who work to exhaustion for the cause of Christ, but the Brantlys tireless advocacy for the people of West Africa upon Kent’s recovery from Ebola has been a further achievement for God, Lowry said.
Carrying their tired pre-schoolers on stage with them, the Brantlys accepted the award with their typical plea for Christians to stand up and help West Africa, which is still suffering from the Ebola outbreak. In fact, new cases in Liberia have surfaced this week, despite the country being declared Ebola-free earlier this year.
“Thank you for praying for me when I was sick,” Brantly said. “Thank you for standing with us through a difficult time and encouraging us on this side of it. Pray for the people of West Africa as you prayed for me. Look for ways to help them. Please keep praying.”
Earlier in the day in one of the class sessions, Lipscomb University President L. Randolph Lowry led a discussion about race relations in the nation that reflected on recent events in the country such as the shooting in a church in Charleston, S.C. Opening with a question, Lowry, asked audience members to think back to the time that race became something they were conscious of in his interactive lecture.
The crowd shared openly their memories and experiences related to the topic of racism.
Jovan Barrington, senior minister at Littleton Church of Christ and one of the speakers at Summer Celebration, shared how he was born into a mixed family, having an African American mother and a caucasian father. He explained how in his hometown one was defined by skin color, so on a standardized test at school he claimed to be caucasian like his father. Barrington explained that is when race truly set in for him. Another audience member, Sandra Parham, director of library services at Lipscomb, explained how when she was born in 1953, schools were all segregated and after being in an all-black school until 1967, they decided to merge with the all-white school. She said enduring the challenges of being diverse in a mixed-school is what truly set race into focus for her. She also recalled riding on the bus with her mother and they would always go to the back of the bus. Parham said that it was not until the Rosa Parks movement ended that her family proudly sat in the front of the bus.
The day's activities included numerous other classes and special sessions throughout the campus.
Day 1
More than a thousand people gathered in Allen Arena, Wednesday, July 1, for an evening of worship to kick off Summer Celebration 2015.
Keynote speakers Chris Seidman, of Dallas, Texas, and Chris Altrock of Memphis, introduced the theme for this year’s annual festival of faith, fellowship and fun—“DEPLOYED! In an Uncivil War: The Apocalypse of John.”
Over the next few days, class sessions and keynote speakers will discuss topics related to the book of Revelation.
To deploy means to organize and send out people to be used for a particular purpose. “Battles are waging all over the world physically, but there are spiritual battles we must be aware of too,” said Scott Sager, vice president of church services. “Are you prepared to act on the calling of being deployed for Christ?”
A highlight of the opening evening was the presentation of the Kopio Award to Lipscomb President L. Randolph Lowry and his wife, Rhonda.
“Each year during Summer Celebration, Lipscomb University recognizes select individuals who have given distinguished service to the Kingdom of God,” said David Scobey, chairman of the Lipscomb Board of Trustees. “This award—the Kopio Award—is the highest non-academic award bestowed by the university. Randy and Rhonda Lowry have worked tirelessly, from morning until night. They don’t do anything for their own glory.”
The Kopio Award name comes from a transliteration of a Greek word that is used to describe a person who labors to the point of utter exhaustion with the help and for the glory of God. Lipscomb established the Kopio Award to honor those individuals who give of themselves in this manner in service to God and the community.
“There are a number of individuals who work tirelessly in service to the Kingdom,” said Hilton Dean, immediate past board of trustees chairman. “Summer Celebration is a great opportunity to recognize and celebrate this some of these special servants. Randy and Rhonda are the embodiment of this award.”
Dean noted that exactly 10 years ago that night, on July 1, 2005, Randy set foot on the Lipscomb campus for the first time and the next day interviewed for the job as president of the university. He began his tenure as president in September of that year.
“I cannot tell you the joy it has been to share in this chapter of our lives with everyone here,” Rhonda told the audience. “You have challenged me, made me pause and threw me into the hands of God. It has been an amazing experience, and the great joy is that we get to walk this journey together.”
“You are so gracious, and I thank you very much,” Randy said. “It has been a tremendous joy being here these 10 years, and I look forward to continuing this journey for years to come.”
Since Randy became president in September 2005, the university has experienced an immense period of growth including an 82 percent increase in enrollment and the addition of numerous academic programs and facilities.
Summer Celebration continues through July 3. Keynote speakers for Thursday, July 2, include Samaritan's Purse missionary Kent Brantly, M.D.
Brantly served as medical director for the Samaritan’s Purse Ebola Consolidated Case Management Center in Monrovia in 2014. While treating Ebola patients in Liberia, Brantly contracted the disease and was later flown to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Brantly was the first American flown to the U.S. for Ebola treatment and was released after being 20 days Ebola-free. After his recovery, Brantly donated his plasma to subsequent American Ebola patients Nina Pham and Amber Vinson.
Check back often for updates about Summer Celebration 2015.