Partners, July 2014

HIGHER EDUCATION

LIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Garth Pleasant, former longtime basketball coach at Rochester College in Michigan, was sitting in church May 18 when he received a text. The text informed him that coaching legend Don Meyer — his friend — had died at age 69.

“As I finished reading the text I realized the church was singing ‘Victory in Jesus,’” Pleasant wrote on Facebook. “The legacy this man has left is matched by few in this world. He touched countless thousands. I so miss my friend, but I rejoice for him. Love you, Coach, and thanks for the memories.”

Meyer, a member of the Aberdeen Church of Christ in South Dakota, coached at Lipscomb University from 1975-1999. 

Philip Hutcheson, athletic director for Lipscomb, and Don Meyer in a recent photo. Meyer coached Hutcheson at Lipscomb. (PHOTO BY LIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY)

OHIO VALLEY UNIVERSITY

VIENNA, W.Va. — About 100 members of the Ohio Valley University community gathered recently to celebrate the retirement of Philip Sturm.

Sturm taught history at OVU for 44 years. He also was the first person to sign on as a student when the Christian college was founded in 1960, the  Parkersburg News and Sentinel reported.

“The remarkable influence this man has had on this college, his friends and thousands of students is limitless,” OVU President Harold Shank said.

Philip Sturm receives congratulations. (PHOTO BY OHIO VALLEY UNIVERSITY)

OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

Doug Peters OKLAHOMA CITY — Doug Peters will serve as Oklahoma Christian University’s first Baugh Chair of Gospel Preaching.

His selection comes after Benton and Paula Baugh, members of the Memorial Church of Christ in Houston, donated $1.7 million to establish an endowed preaching chair at Oklahoma Christian.

Peters has 27 years of experience in ministry and preaching, including the past 13 years as pulpit minister for the North Davis Church of Christ in Arlington, Texas.
K-12 CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
GREATER ATLANTA CHRISTIAN

Jesse C. Long Sr. NORCROSS, Ga. — Jesse C. Long Sr., who served as Greater Atlanta Christian School’s first president from 1963 to 1998, died May 15 after an extended illness. He was 81.

After retiring as president, Long served as chancellor until his death.

In a 2007 Christian Chronicle interview, Long said the school had remained true to the founders’ original vision: “When I spoke in chapel the first day of school, I said, ‘This will be God’s school. This will be an excellent school. This will be a school of winners.’”

Long had served as an elder of the Campus Church of Christ on Greater Atlanta Christian’s campus from 1972 until his death.

He was active in the Christian education movement of Churches of Christ and one of the originators of an annual conference that led to the creation of the National Christian School Association.
RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT
HEALING HANDS INTERNATIONAL

NAIROBI, Kenya — Healing Hands International is partnering with the Nairobi Great Commission School to teach preachers income-generating activities. These include fish farming; free-range poultry; kitchen gardening; a tomato greenhouse; baking and the sale of bread; and the sale of water from NGCS’s well.

Students are encouraged to pass the training on to their communities. The holistic approach provides the means for making a living on earth combined with preparation to go to heaven, administrators said.

Healing Hands International provides technical expertise and initial financing for these activities.