Torch, Summer 2004

subordinate position to the prevailing culture in order to gain his audience. He was not arrogant or patronizing. He recognized that the Athenian culture was a reflection of the many worldviews of its inhabitants. Paul’s motivation came from a broken and troubled heart. He engaged the Jews, the common people, and the intellectual elite to bring them to an understanding of the good news of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. Paul was thoroughly equipped for his work. His breadth of knowledge and depth of heart gave his ministry an effectiveness wherever he went. A Cedarville education is designed to equip our students in this way — to be able to think deeply and broadly. But we don’t stop there. The heart of compassion that was the motivation for Paul’s ministry is just as important. Without this heart — a heart that burns for those outside of Christ — we have not fulfilled our mission. For too long we have looked at externals and excluded the very people who desperately need to see authentic lives and hear authoritative truth. In today’s culture, the blue hairs are not the old ladies in the front pew but the 13-year-old boys in the back. The question is, where would Jesus sit? (Probably both places!) So when we think about Harry Potter, Eminem, and all the icons of popular culture, we have to recognize the influence they wield by the questions they raise and the answers they give. We should seek to leverage that influence in a way that demonstrates how the gospel answers those questions. The attitude of our hearts and the altitude of our minds give us the ability to be salt and light to a world that is so unsavory and dark. continued from page 7 12 TORCH / Summer 2004 Engaging the Culture with the Mind and Heart of Christ D r. William E. Brown became president of Cedarville University in June 2003, following a ten-year presidency at Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn. A graduate of the University of South Florida, Brown holds a master of theology degree and Ph.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary. As a nationally-recognized expert in worldview, he has authored three books (Making Sense of Your Faith; Where Have All the Dreamers Gone?: Observations from a Biblical Worldview; and Making Sense of Your World with Gary Phillips) and more than a hundred articles for journals, magazines, encyclopedias, and newspapers. Brown and his wife, Lynne, are the parents of April and Alex. T