^ ebb ^ ^11 1905 Gardner-Webb University THE PILOT October 22, 1997 Issue #5 The Official Campus Newspaper Boiling Springs, NC Staley Lecture Speaker spreads encouraging message by Megan Setzer staff writer Boiling Springs is about as away from Philadelphia as you can get, geographically and culturally. But Bart Campolo, president of KingdomWorks, brought the Penn sylvania inner-city with him to talk to GWU students during the Staley Lecture Series Oct. 7-9. This inner-city mission organization develops children’s and youth programs in partnership with urban churches. In the opening statements of the series, Campolo told students, “Most people spend their entire lives doing things that don’t matter. Nothing will last except the good that you do for others.” Recalling a friend’s story, Campolo told of a woman who had a well-paying job in a clean, safe school. She spent a summer teaching kids in the King domWorks program. After returning to her regular job after that summer, she promptly quit. “Why would I want a job 100 other people can do? I want to teach and love children who no one else will,” she said. “Someday the company you’ve worked so hard for will be out of business,” Campolo said. “The money you’ve earned will be gone. But the smile you put on someone else’s face will never be wiped away.” Campolo, co-author of the book. Things We Wish We Had Said, has spoken at conferences, youth gatherings and college campuses. He attended Haverford College before graduating from Brown University in 1985. Campolo lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Marty and their children, Miranda and Roman. The Staley Distinguished Christian Scholar Series was estabhshed in 1969 in memory of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Staley and Judge Mrs. H. H. Haynes. The Foundation seeks to bring distinguished scholars/artists who truly believe and who can clearly commun icate the Christian gospel to college and university campuses of America. It is persuaded that the message of Christian gospel, when proclaimed in its historical fullness, is contemporary, relevant, and meaningful to any generation. photo courtesy of PUBLIC REI-ATIONS Bart Campolo, president of KingdomWorks, talks to GWU students before one of the Staley Lectures, held Oct. 7-9. Kingdom Works is a mission organization which develops programs for youth and children in Pennsylvania's inner cities. Local writer and GWU alumnus shares poetry, Hction by Nic Floyd staff writer KAREN BROWER/staff Ron Rash, author of When the New Jesus Fell to Earth, entertained an audience of students, faculty and community members on Tuesday, Oct. 14, in Noel Hall 300-30L Rash also spoke to two classes during the day. He read poetry and excerpts from When the New Jesus Fell to Earth and from his new collection, Casualties and Survivors. Ron Rash — Crest High School track star and GWU alumnus turned success ful poet/author — returned to campus on Tuesday, Oct. 14, to share his experien ces and give advice to aspiring writers. The last time Rash visited GWU was March 6 of this year. During that visit. Rash captivated his audience with his de piction of life in a small southern town. Rash talked about his grandfather's quest to find a home and read another short story, “My Father's Cadillacs.” On his latest visit, Rash spoke to two classes. He encouraged students to “read constantly” and “write every day.” Rash answered questions like “How do you start the writing process?” Rash opened his evening reading at 7 p.m. in Noel Hall with a poem called “Fourteen.” This poem related the first time that Rash and his friend saw a nude woman in a movie at the Boiling Springs movie theatre (owned by a local deacon). Rash said he still doesn't know if it was a mix-up of reels or a practical joke. “It was the first time I realized that there were movies without Don Knots or Julie Andrews,” said Rash. Rash's last reading, “Fly Ash,” was a “sneak peek” at his latest collection of short stories ,Casualties and Survivors. “Fly Ash” is a colorful story about a boy whose father tries to get rich by making bricks out of fly ash and clay, and the boy's attempt to win the love of a classmate, Rebecca. By the end of the story, the father's bricks prove to be worthless and the boy loses Rebecca. But Rash feels the lessons that the characters learn overshadow the less-than-happy ending. “Lasting water,” a North Carolina mountain phrase meaning “a spring that never dries up,” can be used to describe Rash. He has a wealth of experiences that are just waiting to be put on paper. Rash lives in Pendleton, S.C., with his wife and two children, and is a professor at Tri-County Technical College. In this issue. • t Homecoming Review pages 4-5 GWU Sports pages 6-7 Comedy Sportz pages