Hilltop VIEW
For the latest, visit acu.edu/news facebook.com/abilenechristian twitter.com/ACUedu gplus.to/abilenechristian
finalist during the seventh season of Design Star this spring. Hale competed with other finalists from around the country, designing rooms in various Hale styles, drawing on her expertise from nearly 20 years in the furniture and design business. Amy (Daugherity ’96) Warren teamed up with Amanda Kelsoe and Hollee Ford – two of her neighbors in Euless, Texas – to shoot a video including footage of all three of their houses, entering a contest sponsored by The Rachael Ray Show. The producers of HGTV’s Curb Appeal: The Block chose the women to be featured in an episode of their show, which approaches urban renewal by revamping several homes on a single street. They chose to highlight Warren and her neighbors because of their strong sense of community: their entry video emphasized the close-knit relationships on their cul-de-sac. When asked to recommend neighbors for another episode of Curb Appeal, Warren and her neighbors suggested their friends, Nicki and Shane Pace, whose 2-year-old son, Trent, has a medical condition which will soon require him to use a wheelchair. The Curb Appeal team built a ramp from the Paces’ driveway to their front door, added a porch swing and gave their home a $20,000 makeover. Both shows aired this spring on HGTV.
Midland, Texas, and recognizes all types of servant leadership exhibited by friends or alumni of the university.
ACU director of alumni relations and annual projects Craig Fisher (’92) presents the award to Middlebrook, who was joined by his wife, Mollie (Waltman ’72).
Houston minister Middlebook receives Outlive Your Life Award
Chancellor Money to also lead new Siburt Institute for Church Ministry
It was an easy decision for ACU to name its new church outreach initiative after one of its leading voices in congregations over the past two decades, and ask a former president with years of ministry experience to lead it. ACU chancellor Dr. Royce Money (’64) has been appointed by president Dr. Phil Schubert (’91) to serve as executive director of the Siburt Institute for Church Ministry, honoring the late Dr. Charles Siburt (’68). Siburt, who died in July 2012 (see pages 78 and 79) had been ACU’s vice president for church relations in addition to teaching in the university’s Graduate School of Theology. “Charlie was a respected minister who committed his personal and professional life to understanding the complex needs of congregations. Students loved him, and he served as a mentor to countless young ministers, providing encouragement and counsel long after they graduated from the university,” Schubert said. “We can’t replace him, but we can honor him by building on the excellent foundation he built here through ElderLink, Ministers Support Network and other successful efforts.” Money was a minister for churches in Texas, Alabama, Maryland and Missouri before joining ACU’s Bible faculty in 1981 and becoming its 10th president in 1991. For more: acu.edu/siburt-institute
Alumni featured on two HGTV shows
Avid watchers of HGTV’s lineup of home makeover shows may have spotted a familiar face or two this year. Rebecca “Bex” (Allen ’97) Hale, owner of the Relics Home furniture and design store in downtown Abilene, appeared as a
An Integrative Habit of Mind
Capturing Head and Heart
JOHN HENRY NEWMAN ON THE PATH TO WISDOM
THE LIVES OF EARLY POPULAR STONE-CAMPBELL MOVEMENT LEADERS
By Dr. Fred Acquino (’89) ISBN 978-0-87580-452-1 • 140 pages www.niupress.niu.edu ACU professor of theology Acquino looks at the words of educator Newman and how teachers and researchers can use them to better inspire students to pursue wisdom by paying closer attention to their intellectual formation.
56
Fall 2012
(From left) Amanda Kelsoe, “Curb Appeal” architect John Gidding, Hollee Ford and Warren.
AMY WARREN
A life devoted to modeling service to others made Dr. Charlie Middlebook (’68) the newest recipient of the Dale and Rita Brown Outlive Your Life Award, presented May 12, 2012, at Commencement. Middlebrook once said it took a mid-life crisis to leave his full-time preaching job and begin Impact Houston Church of Christ. Twenty-five years later, Impact bears the marks of his dedication to transforming lives as an elder and minister of the congregation. The church has shared the Gospel while helping thousands of needy urban families with food, childcare, medicine, work, rehab, tutoring and college scholarships. As an Abilene Christian faculty member, Charlie taught on and off campus for more than a decade, including as a missionary-in-residence, urban missions coordinator and missions consultant until 2002 – welcoming students to Houston for short courses and Spring Break Campaigns. The Dale and Rita Brown Outlive Your Life Award is named for its first recipients, Dale and Rita Brown of
STEVE BUTMAN
AC U TO D AY
By Dr. Donald M. Kinder (’75) ISBN 978-0-8911-2316-3 • 182 pages leafwoodpublishers.com Kinder, the director of international enrollment for Bethel University’s global pathways program, takes a fresh look at the lives of six leaders of the Stone-Campbell Movement.