Welcome
President's Welcome
Friends, I’m delighted to welcome you to The Regent Vine.
Regent College was founded to equip the whole people of God—Christians of every background and calling—for works of service. This equipping has always taken many forms, from graduate degree programs, to summer classes, to public engagement through events and media of various kinds. Today, this legacy is upheld by The Regent Vine, the College’s latest foray into the world of publishing.
Throughout our history, Regent has focused on why and how theology matters for everyday life. As long-time Regent professor J.I. Packer put it, we have been about “the difference Christ makes to everything.” In The Regent Vine, you’ll find articles and other pieces tagged with a variety of topics—our attempt to bring a little bit of organization to the concept of “everything.” These topics don’t exhaust the proper subject matter for theological reflection, but they express something of the range of ideas our theological discussions can and should include.
In the words of our Global Mission Statement, “Regent College cultivates intelligent, vigorous, and joyful commitment to Jesus Christ, His church, and His world.” I hope and trust that as you engage with the material on The Regent Vine, you will be intellectually stimulated, moved to action, and inspired by the hope we have in Christ. Thank you for joining us today.
Paul Spilsbury
President of Regent College
Editor-in-Chief's Welcome
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. … I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” —John 15:1, 5 (NIV)
Welcome to The Regent Vine! We’re thrilled that you’re here.
The Regent Vine is cultivated by many hands. I am so grateful to our team and to the contributors who share their voices with us. To continue the horticultural metaphor, my hope is that The Vine will be a publication—as well as nurturing a community—that continually reaches up and out, bridging gaps and making connections even as it produces good fruit.
This desire to reach out and make connections leads to another term you’ll hear a lot about as you explore The Vine: conversation. We want this publication to have the qualities of a great conversation—one that brings together interesting people, introduces challenging and exciting perspectives, and motivates you to think and act differently.
A conversation, of course, is distinct from a monologue on the one hand, and from a fight on the other. We won’t paper over different points of view or enforce party lines. You won’t agree with all our contributors, and they certainly won’t all agree with each other. At the same time, our goal is not to sow or perpetuate discord or animosity. In today’s overheated media environment, calls for civility are easy to issue and easy to ignore. But we aim to answer a higher and more urgent call: the call to love our neighbours. The love we are called to requires us to treat everyone—regardless of identity, ideology, or affinity—with the compassion and respect due to human beings created in God’s image. Put simply, we’re here for real conversations, and we hope you are too.
Let me end this brief welcome by returning to where I began: what it means to be The Regent Vine. Produced in the context of Christian community, the title of this publication points beyond itself. The Regent Vine represents our humble effort to participate in the work of the True Vine, Christ himself. Whatever fruit this venture bears, it will be through him. May it also be to his glory.
Jeremy Stewart
Editor-in-Chief of The Regent Vine
