God’s faithfulness to his people has often been packaged in new beginnings. The inauguration of the 5th president of Knox Theological seminary on September 8, 2019 was just such a beginning. The Knox Community gathered together with the church in a spirit of celebration and expectation as Dr. Scott Manor was named President. Amid the formalities and festivities, each of us was asking the same question: “What is next for Knox?”
As Dr. Manor spoke about his vision for the future of seminary education and what that means for Knox, the answer began with a question. He asked, “When the challenges facing the Church seem insurmountable, what do we do? Where do we begin?” His admonition was to look to the example of the early church. Citing Ephesians 4:11-12, he reminded us that the task of “equipping the saints for the work of the ministry” has historically happened in, with, and for the local church as believers and ministers lived out their God-given callings in their own communities. In the same way, Dr. Manor believes that it is possible to train up the next generation of leaders without requiring them to uproot from their families and churches. He has spent his life seeking to understand, appreciate, and articulate Christ’s faithfulness to his people in the past and for this reason he is uniquely equipped to lead Knox into God’s providential plan for our future.
Once the mantle was passed, and the vision imparted, we all stood up to sing. The words of the closing hymn reminded us that the future of Knox depends fully on the grace of God, “Should nothing of our efforts stand / No legacy survive / Unless the Lord does build the house / In vain its builders strive.” Through the efforts of President Manor, the Knox community, and the churches we serve, “We’ll take a cup of kindness yet / All glory be to Christ!”
Dr. Scott Manor Bio
In the seven years since his arrival, Dr. Scott Manor has come to love Knox and its collegial culture, student diversity, theological integrity, and commitment to taking the Gospel more seriously than ourselves. Beginning as the program director for the MA (Biblical and Theological Studies) program, he has served in a number of academic and administrative positions including Dean of Distance Education, Director of the Doctor of Ministry program, Dean of Faculty, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Associate Professor of Historical Theology. Dr. Manor spearheaded the seminary’s drive to offer the M.Div. fully online and was instrumental in developing Knox’s distance learning program, which now serves hundreds of students all over the world.
Born and raised in central Florida, Dr. Manor holds a M.A. in Exegetical theology from Covenant Seminary and a M.Th. and Ph.D. in Early Christianity at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He has published various articles in Studia Patristica, Vigiliae Christianae, and The Expository Times, and his monograph was published in Brill’s Vigiliae Christianae Supplements Series. He has also presented his research at a number of conferences including the Evangelical Theological Society, the British Patristics Conference, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the Oxford Patristics Conference. Dr. Manor’s heart for integrating theological history into today’s ministry context is evident in the courses he teaches on the history of Christianity and the development of the New Testament canon of scripture. Just as Hebrews 11 demonstrates God’s work through men and women of faith proclaiming the Gospel, Dr. Manor believes in that the historical accounts of the early Church should inform our ministries and witness today. In his free time, Dr. Manor enjoys spending time with his wife, Rebecca, and their two boys, Iren and Clement, sailing, and watching Cardinals baseball. Dr. Manor is a ruling elder at City Church Fort Lauderdale, where he preaches on occasion and hosts a monthly community group.
