Christian Pope will take over as athletic director of Milligan University following the upcoming Aug. 1 retirement of longtime administrator Mark Fox.
“Christian’s breadth of experience in athletic administration, combined with his strong Christian commitment, make him well-suited to lead Milligan University’s efforts to take our athletic programs to a new level of excellence,” said Milligan president Bill Greer.
“Mark Fox will be missed, and we’re grateful for the legacy of success he leaves behind,” Greer said. Fox’s success overseeing MU athletics includes two freshly minted national champion track and field athletes from Saturday’s final events at the 2021 NAIA indoor championships.
Pope has 27 years of athletic administration experience and has spent the past 10 years as associate director of athletics at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C.
“This opportunity is the realization of my lifelong dream to lead an athletics department at such an exceptional university,” Pope said.
Pope will oversee an athletic program that has won numerous conference titles and several national championships in the past decade, including two over the weekend.
On Saturday at the 2021 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championship in Yankton, S.D., Milligan University’s Tim Thacker won the national title in the mile and Nathan Baker took first in the 3-kilometer race.
Between the men’s and women’s track teams, Milligan athletes earned 15 All-American awards during the past few days.
Milligan has 31 intercollegiate sports that compete in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). MU’s athletics website is at milliganbuffs.com.
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News Briefs
Corey Ward, worship arts pastor with McDonough (Ga.) Christian Church, chose Kelly Clarkson as his coach, rather than John Legend, after both judges on NBC’s The Voice turned their chairs around, indicating their interest in Ward joining their team.
Ward, 34, performed Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own” for the judges. He told the Atlanta Journal Constitution he “blacked out” after the chairs turned and doesn’t even recall the rest of his performance. “I had to ask someone, ‘Did I even finish the song?’”
Ward said his experience on The Voice thus far has inspired him to go back to writing and recording more music and performing outside the church once the pandemic is over.
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The show was able to go on . . . and Boulevard Christian Church in Muskogee, Okla., gets partial credit for that.
Muskogee High School drama director Penny McGill told the Phoenix newspaper that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic prompted students to practice and perform Bright Star, the Musical with masks and social distancing. Two casts rehearsed the show in case of sickness.
But then, when snow and subfreezing temperatures hit the area for two weeks in February, the show needed to be postponed and MHS had to find a new building to practice in. Cast members rehearsed at Boulevard Christian Church when they could not come to MHS, she said.
“I’m so grateful for them for letting us use that facility so we can keep rehearsing,” McGill said. “I am so proud of these kids for making these transitions.”
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Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Mo., will host “In Awe,” a women’s event, on April 9 and 10. “In Awe” will feature Margaret Feinberg, along with Beth DeFazio, April Kehrer, Teresa (Welch) Roberts, and Mallory Jenkins. The event will include biblical teaching, corporate worship (with Samantha Snow), personal application time, and electives to engage women in community and equip them for what God has called them to do. There are in-person and virtual options. Go to occ.edu to see the associated fees and to register.
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A “little pantry” outside the Fremont (Neb.) Campus of StoneBridge Christian Church has been seeing increased usage since being placed on the campus lawn in December.
The “cupboard on a post” is filled with a variety of nonperishable items like spaghetti sauce, cereal, and soup, the Fremont Tribune reported.
“A variety of people are using it,” said Tim Karges, campus and worship pastor at Fremont. “It’s not just one demographic.” The church has gone from refilling the pantry every two days, on average, to every day.
Karges believes the pantry works well for people who may not need food stamps or government assistance, but who are struggling toward at the end of a week and need some pasta and sauce for an evening meal or bread and peanut butter for sandwiches.
Church members and people in the community are donating to the pantry.
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The Museum of the Albemarle and Mid-Atlantic Christian University are partnering to bring “Judges, Joshua, and Jesus: An Archaeological Journey Through the Bible” to Elizabeth City, N.C. The traveling exhibit, which will run March 19 to mid-November, will highlight artifacts found during archaeological work at Khirbet el-Maqatir, the biblical city of Ai of Joshua 7–8. The exhibit will include more than 50 artifacts that help illuminate biblical history, including Egyptian scarabs, alabaster and ivory pendants, lamps, weaponry, coins, stone bowls and cups, and gate socket stones. Learn more about the free exhibit at the Visit Elizabeth City website.
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Town and Country Christian Church, Topeka, Kan., and Harvesters, a community food network, handed out about 40,000 pounds of food to folks in need on Thursday morning, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported.
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American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI)—a group that represents hundreds of Christian leaders—sent a letter to President Biden last week proposing a number of guiding principles the ACLI sees as significant for his administration regarding the security of the United States, Israel, and the Jewish people.
Some of the guiding principles include requiring bilateral negotiations to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and not re-entering the Iran nuclear deal. (Click here to read the full text of the letter.)
“ACLI is deeply concerned with the rising incidents of anti-Semitism in the United States and around the world,” said the group’s director, Dr. Susan Michael. “We want to ensure this administration works to combat this evil and also keeps the United States’ relationship with Israel strong.”
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