FROM THE EDITOR І TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cultivate Your Garden “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 By Ivey Rose Smith DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
“MISSIONS” IS MORE than just a trip to Africa. Opportunities for mission are all around us—at work, our neighborhoods, and in our hobbies. We can’t cast aside that reality to settle for a complacent Christian existence. Sometimes life is cracked, our faith brittle, and our ministry unfruitful, as our cover image illustrates. That imagery powerfully demonstrates what cultivating a life of faithfulness (Psalm 37:3) can result in and that brokenness is often the most fertile soil for Christ—for it is where He works and is magnified most beautifully. At Knox, we focus on cultivating authentic missional opportunities in all kinds of situations. In this issue you will read about an artist working out the tension between faith and vocation, a pastor called to leave a church he loved, an ex-con with a boldness for Jesus who started a biker church, a youth pastor trying to minister in a media-cluttered world, and how a student experiencing the powerful training in the MA (Christian and Classical Studies) is providing nuanced answers for our complicated world today. These individuals are being faithful right where God has them.
CITY POSITIVE, MISSION FOCUSED Knox Seminary is in the heart of a truly international South Florida, the fifth largest urbanized area in the United States, where pluralistic religion is rampant. Are such big cities morally-desolate wastelands that should be disregarded? We see them as opportunities. William Shakespeare says, “What is the city but the people?” A city is made up of people, lots of them, representing every stripe and tribe. This missional mindset is more than mere action or “having to do more” for the sake of doing more and more. It’s not meant to make you feel like you aren’t doing enough, pressing guilt on you. It’s reorienting your heart and mind toward an attitude of readiness and sensitivity for when and where God leads. Does this make you uneasy? Perhaps you are even squirming as you question the latest “missional approach” at the local purposedriven church. But be encouraged as many have gone before you. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul insisted that he would be all things to all people in hopes that he might save some. Shouldn’t we be the same—in the world but not of the world (John 17)? Are you ready? SEEK, ENGAGE, BELIEVE Our kind of urban world requires careful cultural analysis, and discernment. But we can’t be guarded against the many opportunities to create diverse and energetic communities of faith. As Christians, we should be able to engage with all kinds of people and circumstances, remaining secure and confident in Christ.
In this issue, we emphasize creating intentional opportunities for mission as well as cultivating beauty and goodness in our churches. Central to our hope is growth in the heart of the believer as well as the outward expression of God at work found in the highlighted ministries. Be nudged, take this theme to heart in your own life, pray about how God can use you right where you are everyday, and enjoy!
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2 KNOX NOW | SPRING 2013
CULTIVATING LIFE BY THE SPIRIT by Dr. Michael Allen FLY ME TO THE MOON? by Steve Jeck WHO AM I? BY GRACE I AM by Dr. Jonathan Linebaugh THE ARTIST AND THE CHURCH by Dr. Daniel A. Siedell PRACTICE MAKES FAITHFUL by Adam Taylor Bond THE IDOL OF SECURITY by Dr. Samuel Lamerson 2013 SCHOLARSHIP WINNER PROFILES WINDRIDER CHURCH by Ivey Rose Smith CULTIVATING CHURCHES OF TRUTH, BEAUTY, AND GOODNESS by Dr. Jim Belcher