As well, please note, and save the date on your calendars now, Dr. Jennie McLaurin (http://www.jenniemclaurin.com/) will be closing out our nine month journey together as a bioethics cohort, Friday-Saturday, November 4-5. Dr. McLaurin has recently confirmed with me that, like her last visit with us a couple of years ago, the Friday-Saturday intensive course will be CME approved. Pre-registration for this CME opportunity is now open ($50). The fee structure for the weekend intensive is as follows: $250 p/person (with CME credit), $200 p/person (without CME credit), $350 p/ couple (without CME credit). Because we do not want anyone who wishes to participate to be excluded from this important dialogue because of finances, partial scholarships may be available per individual needs.

Please call me or feel free to contact Lauren (lclevenger06@comcast.net), Randy (rpardue1@me.com), or Laird (laird@apostlesonline.org) if you have any questions about the purpose and plans of New City’s Bioethics Cohort.

Download: New City Cohort – March 2011 – Re-cap (PDF, 74K)

Describing the culture of Knoxville is akin to asking the proverbial blind men to describe an elephant. One man, grasping the trunk, says an elephant is like a large hose. Another, holding the tail, declares an elephant resembles a stiff rope. A third, clutching a leg, says an elephant is like a sturdy tree. A fourth declares that the other three are altogether wrong: an elephant, he explains, is an immovable wall of skin and muscle as big as a house.

Point of view is everything. Let me acknowledge at the outset that this perspective on Knoxville culture is one man’s limited assessment of a monumental issue, a subject so large and diverse that no single person or perspective can hope to do it justice.

First things first: definitions. Knoxville I take to include the metro area inclusive of Halls, Farragut, Seymour, and Strawberry Plains. The word “culture” here with Webster’s Dictionary refers to “the sum total of the beliefs, accomplishments, and behavior patterns of a group of people.” Culture is captured therefore by our actions and the way in which these actions develop into habits, rituals, values, worldviews, and lived-out aspirations.

We start by stating the obvious: Knoxville is a suburban culture with an Anglo-American ethos. We enjoy four distinct seasons and social rhythms associated with being a University community. 7% of the metro population is Black or African-American.¹ Most of our roots as an Appalachian city are rural. 13% of us live at or below the poverty line.² And though few of our families lived the farm life the desire for land and the opportunity to be creative with it are evident in a variety of outdoor interests and avocations. That we live in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains and on clear days can enjoy their natural beauty seems to exert a certain influence upon us all.

Like most mid-size cities in America, we are a car culture, and we have cataracts of strip-malls, mega-malls, storefronts, and shopping centers to prove it. At one time in recent history, excluding San Francisco, Knoxville boasted more restaurants per capita than any other city in America. Since we are on the border of the Deep South church buildings are everywhere representing a rich variety of Christian traditions, a majority of which in Knoxville spells Baptist.

Knoxville culture plays itself out across city-county lines in clusters of socially, economically, and racially homogenous neighborhoods that extend North along Broadway, South on Chapman Highway, East along Magnolia Avenue, and West down Kingston Pike. Except for a few large corporations-Covenant Health, the University of Tennessee, Sea Ray, Pilot Oil, and TVA-Knoxville is a culture of small businesses that make for a stable local economic environment. The mantra here is “neither boom nor bust” and this carries over into a conservative approach to the way we handle our money and most everything else–especially art, religion, and politics. Expressed in educational standards, the status quo reigns and the rule is mediocrity.³ Where there is money there are exceptions.

With varying degrees of pride and prejudice most of us self-identify in terms of East, West, North, or South Knoxville. “The Strip” fixes people near the University and “downtown” has recently re-emerged as a distinct place on the cultural map of Knoxville. Of course, these designations connote far more than geographic locations. Rather, through their unique commercial, political, social, educational, and religious histories each of the areas represents somewhat distinct cultures within the larger culture of Knoxville. Tribalism is too strong a word here, but there might be something to the theory that the Scots-Irish penchant for in-fighting is to some degree a part of our DNA.

The roar you hear echoing through the heart of Knoxville’s neighborhoods is the concrete confluence of the two busiest roads in America (Interstates 75 and 40) doing violence to our city’s peace, beauty, and sense of unity. Because TDOT will not allow us to re-route fifty gazillion pounds of concrete, part of our cultural heritage involves coming to terms with the wound of our disconnected neighborhoods and the resulting social segmentation.

Accordingly, where we would look for cooperation, all too often we find territorialism and entrenchment: hence, Knoxville loses its AA professional baseball team to a smaller town a few miles up the road. Local business leaders and government officials refuse to put the interests of the city ahead of their private interests, and The Aquarium is built down-river in Chattanooga. Chris Whittle invites Knoxville to serve as the flagship of a national initiative for education reform, and local power blocs balk at the disruption of the status quo, and a whole generation of creative professionals depart Knoxville. Political dysfunction descends to a new low in the wake of Danny Mayfield’s death as his widow is denied her late husband’s seat on city council.⁴ And thanks to Bart Simpson’s infamous road trip to Knoxville, even the success of the 1982 World’s Fair is now a source of national notoriety for us.

And yet, deep within the soul of our city-like every city-there is a longing for purposive unity, a coherent identity reflective of indigenous assets, and a common commitment to a cause larger than our sectional self-interests. In the absence of a compelling vision, this cultural impulse today finds expression in Knoxville’s shared allegiance to-and, dare we say, adoration of-the University of Tennessee’s place in the pantheon of America’s national sports scene. In itself, recreational fandom can be a positive aspect of any city’s cultural life. But problems arise when this devotion supplants other more meaningful expressions of civic purpose.

And this is precisely our cultural challenge today: nothing unites the disparate strands of our community like UT Sports. Black, white, rich, poor, young, old, male, female, professional, laborer, white-collar, blue-collar altogether gather in mass at Neyland Stadium, Thompson-Boling Arena, or-if we can’t get seats–in front of our big screen tvs. And then we talk about it the rest of the week-on the radio, at the copier, before and after the business of our meetings. Let me be clear: I am not saying our cultural “problem” is that we cheer on the Vols. The issue here is that we have a default mechanism at work deep within our collective consciousness, and the time and energy we spend on all things Orange reflects-and does not respond to–our gnawing need for a more enduring sense of unity and purpose.

In this light, six years of progressive governance under a uniquely conscientious City Mayor as well as a sustained push for downtown renewal feels like it could be the very fresh, historic wind of civic achievement, corporate unity, and cultural advance for which we have waited so long. A genuine sense of excitement and unprecedented hopefulness therefore are in the cultural air of Knoxville today.

Bottom-line: we are a hard-working and optimistic people principally concerned to provide for ourselves and our families in a mid-size Southern city shaped by unrealized expectations. Whether through affluence or prejudice we too often succumb to pride and the status quo.

Because Knoxville sounds too much like Notsville, it is my hope as a citizen and my prayer as a Christian that God’s people would come to embrace our calling to embody the collaborative unity of the Kingdom in a good city with great potential that still hasn’t found what it’s looking for. Only in this case, it is not What we should seek, but Who.

1. www.census.gov/acs/www/products/profiles/single/2003
2. www.census.gov/acs/www/producst/profiles/single/2003
3. In an often quoted piece, Knoxville Chamber Partnership CEO, Mike Edwards writes: “We have hit an iceberg, and our ship is sinking.  Our ship – our public education system – is not going to get us to our port, and all hands will be lost if we don’t do something quickly.  By any national standard, our public education system is not preparing students to face the future that the world is presenting them. We are at the bottom of every national ranking – test results, educational standards, graduation rates, and funding.  Fundamentally, we are not providing our children the tools they will need to succeed in a world that requires critical thinking, technical skills and competence in math and science. Our local economy is dependent on a workforce that has these skills.  Without these skills, our workforce cannot do the job, our businesses cannot compete and our economic well-being is at great risk.  There is increasing acknowledgment at the local and state levels that major changes are required for our education system to meet these challenges. www.tbroundtable.org/library/docs/Mike%20Edwards%20Article%2007.doc  
4. “The night it all came down I could not stop shivering. It changed the way I viewed a lot of things. For the first time, sitting on Council [with Mayor Victor Ashe], I really felt I was in the presence of evil. I had disagreed with people on many occasions and felt strongly about many things, but I never ever had felt something I could describe as the presence of evil. Until that night. There was just darkness. Hopelessness. But never, until Danny’s death and the appointment of someone other than his wife, and knowing the orchestration that took place to make it happen, did I realize that I could never again go back to that body without carrying with me my belief that they were capable of the worst possible actions.”  -City Councilwoman Carlene Malone, Metro Pulse, “Malone Alone”, December 13, 200

After ten years of fruitful ministry in Knoxville’s Old City, New City has entered anew season.

Since 1998, by God’s grace and with the help of an amazing army of artists, musicians, and volunteers we were able to cultivate a sense of Christian community in the heart of a struggling section of downtown among a diverse group of people. Long before the word carried much traction, our project was decidedlymissional. For some time New City had prepared to relocate under a new name in the context of a new center-city initiative. In the end, and with a measure ofdisappointment, this move did not materialize. What has developed however is an abiding sense of a strategic calling to cast the missional vision that marked the Café.

Today, more than a decade since New City folk first walked through the Old City looking for a suitable site for the Café, our commitment is to come alongside local, regional, and national projects and help them achieve missional authenticity. What this means is that New City is now principally concerned to inspire the Church with a vision for missional living and equip God’s people to flesh out a life of faith, hope, and love as embedded witnesses within an alien Culture. Of course, an emphasis on missional Arts will remain at our core.

Significant changes to the website will be forthcoming in the weeks and months ahead as we unpack New City’s new season of equipping and encouragement. As before, we value your prayers and ideas for enriching the kingdom.

Peace and Blessings, 
 
Kenny Woodhull 
New City Resources
kennywoodhull@comcast.net

After nearly ten years of work in Knoxville’s Old City District, New City is pleased to announce a merging of interests in the form of a new partnership in historic downtown Knoxville’s Market Square, opening Fall 2007.

Since 1997, and in two different locations, New City has cultivated a sense of community among faith-based artists and their audiences and also worked to equip people for marketplace integration.  It has been a wonderful decade rich in relationships and bridge-building.  We remain overwhelmed with God’s presence and provision through the years.  We are especially grateful to you: the many people who brought life to New City through thousands of hours of volunteer help, sacrificial financial support, enthusiastic participation, and Spirit-inspired creativity.

As a way of marking these ten years-closing out one season and preparing for another-we will gather on April 24 at Fellowship Church (www.fefc.com) for a very special evening of celebration and dedication. Of course, New City can’t do anything without music. So a gaggle of incredibly gracious and gifted folk will descend on Knoxville to help us out: Alathea, Ed Cash, Randall & Amy Goodgame, Jill Phillips & Andy Gullahorn, Matthew Perryman Jones, Ryan Long, Andy Osenga, and Andrew Peterson. This is an unprecedented gathering of some of the best singer-songwriters of our generation, a genuinely unique event that will serve as a fitting close to New City.

Tickets are available on line at www.etix.com.  All proceeds will go to facilitate New City’s transition from the Old City to Market Square. We hope you will join us for this important occasion.

In order to better prepare for our future, the Café has now closed.  Our final week at the end of January pulled a great gathering of local musicians who have long looked to New City as a friendly space in which to explore their faith and express their artistic giftedness. New City will continue our Marketplace Cohort series this March 30-31 with Professor Paul Williams, www.regent-college.edu (details below) and we will host the Ninth Annual Singer-Songwriter Contest, Wednesday-Thursday, April 11-12 (upstairs at Patrick Sullivans on the corner of Jackson & Central) with the winner performing live at the April 24th Benefit concert.

There is a lot more to say about the shape and character of our future involvement at Market Square.  For now, I’ll leave you with an image.  When a woman marries she oftentimes drops her maiden name and assumes the name of her husband.  In this manner, for purposes higher than herself, she aligns her passions with another and develops in very new ways that nonetheless draw deeply from the well of who she was and will always be. Something new from something old. Selah.

Respectfully Yours, 
 
Kenny Woodhull,
Executive Director, 
New City, February 2007

In fact, the bewildering beauty of the Kingdom crashing into our world is rarely glimpsed by dwelling on the counterfeit. This I am learning, and I’m finding it easier now not to get drawn into the negative. 

I was helped to see this in the rediscovery of a remarkable passage in a Worldview conversation with some friends at New City this Fall. “For you know,” the Apostle Peter writes, ”that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you…but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect, who was chosen before the creation of the world…” (1 Peter 1.18-20). I’m now using this scripture as a True-North point to help me navigate my seasonal curmudgeonly tendencies (known in some circles as SCT disorder!).

It is truly an astounding thought.  From the very beginning, God knew creation would cost him dearly, the very life blood of his beloved Son.  Before the first stars were cast from his hands into the heavens, he knew these hands would-one day-grow flesh, hold a carpenter’s hammer, and shatter in the piercing of a nail through bone by the fullness of our rebellion.  Still he created.  And even still, he came!…a lamb without blemish or defect, who was chosen before the creation of the world…

Advent is the time we remember and most celebrate God’s climactic and sacrificial engagement with creation-born in a barn, tempted in the wilderness, executed on a hill.  Immanuel, God with us, redeeming and esteeming every square inch of our lives and releasing us, his image-bearers, to engage redemptively the people and places around us.

This essential truth-and not the counterfeits that want to arrest our attention–is what we should focus on this Advent season.  And this is the truth which New City has strived to flesh out through a cultivation of Art and Dialogue in nine years of ministry in Knoxville’s Old City: cultivating opportunities for the redeemed to experience and express God’s love.    In this way, through the songs, stories, parables, pictures, and seminars we present at the Cafe, our ultimate aim is tocreatively engage the imagination of the church and the world for Christ, and pray for transformation–our own and our neighbors.

Thank you for taking time to read this, and thank you for the various ways-direct and indirect-that you have participated in New City‘s redemptive efforts.   In the graciousness of your prayers and continued financial support we have walked through a sabbatical season and arrived at a very deep place of blessing and promise. More on that later.  For now, let us celebrate the coming of our King, the Lamb chosen before the creation of the world.   

Respectfully Yours, 

Kenny Woodhull,
Executive Director, 
New City, Advent 2006

To this end, New City is delighted to announce the rekindling of one of Knoxville’s longest running weekly singer-songwriter evenings. Come join us every Wednesday night, starting March 1 at 8:30pm. Greg Adkins will shepherd the group through a strong team of volunteer hosts, stage hands, and wait-staff. As during the previous eight years of ministry, New City will also host regional and national artists on a regular basis. Several CD release concerts are now slated for the Spring, as well as a ticketed event with one of New City’s favorites, Ryan Long.

Numerous worldview workshops, Cohorts, seminars, and city-wide discussion groups continue to function through the efforts of New City Resources. And so, we say: “Further up and further in.”

Respectfully Yours, 

Kenny Woodhull,
Executive Director, 
New City, March 2006

After seven years of fruitful ministry in Knoxville’s Old City, New City Café is preparing to enter a season of rest and reflection. While the Cafe will continue to host a number of special events in October and November, our last regular weekend of music in 2005 will be Friday, September 30 with Andrew Peterson and friends.

To mark the end of a long and blessed season and the beginning of a Sabbath period, we would like to invite everyone to gather with us at the Café for a unique celebration service on Sunday, October 2, at 4pm. Along our journey, since first meeting on the sidewalks of the Old City in 1996, we have endeavored to walk with God-neither rushing ahead nor lagging behind his leadership. Our sense now is that we are being asked to wait, to take a break from the sustained pace of the Cafe and pause in such a way that we can more clearly discern the shape of his future purposes for this essential aspect of New City’s work.

To the many musicians who have graced our stage and engaged ourimaginations and to the many artists who have enlivened our walls with their work, New City says THANK YOU. To the army of volunteers who have served faithfully over the years-motivated solely by a desire to serve God and others-New City says THANK YOU. To the countless guests who have sipped cappuccinos, slurped New City Frizzles, and indulged themselves with New City’s famousPeanut Butter Pie, we say THANK YOU. To those who risked their resources in the form of financial donations, investments in the kingdom for purposes of sharing the gospel, cultivating community and encouraging Christian creativity, New City says THANK YOU. To our dedicated and skilled staff-special souls willing to relocate, work bi-vocationally, and/or labor for little or no remuneration at all-men and women who tirelessly merged the work of ministry and the ministry of work, blending hospitality and service with a humble willingness to sacrifice so much for the cause, New City says THANK YOU.

With this said, we very much need your help in making the next few weeks-running up to our celebration service on October 2–the best ever at the Café. Like never before, we need lots of volunteers to serve and offer hospitality to our many guests. Since most of our operating expenses will continue through September (and to an extent through November), we also humbly request your continued financial support to help us end this season well and in away that will allow us to honor all our current obligations. If you’ve always wanted to help New City and you never could figure out how or when, now is the time to jump in.

We would also like to have your input, advice, and prayers as we explore options pertaining to the future shape of ministry at the Café. At the end of this reflective process, we look forward to serving you in a new and vital ministry that is both consistent with the character of our past and progressive in its commitment to listen and respond anew to the Lord. During the Café’s sabbatical period, New City Resources will continue to utilize our location at 116 S Central to cultivate a variety of initiatives promoting the arts, city-wide unity and discipleship.

And so, we pray: gracious Lord thank you for your abiding presence and generous provision over these eight years. We ask now your blessing on the Cafe’s Sabbath rest that we might in the near future and with renewed strength honor you and the vision you have asked us to steward.

Values and vision are essential to authentic community. Values speak to the principles that help us maintain who we are, clarifying what is important, and what is acceptable or unacceptable. Vision refers to mission, reminding ourselves of the bigger picture–where we have been, and what we are moving toward.

Regardless of what different terms might be used, it is important for every family, community, church, or organization to periodically revisit its values and through a process of reflection recast its vision. In a certain sense, this is what the Lord repeatedly asked of Israel. And it is precisely what his people repeatedly failed to do. A stanza of a favorite Hebrew song (Psalm 78) makes this clear:

Though armed with bows, they turned back on the day of battle.
They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by the law.
They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.

In other words, Israel refused to live out her values, forgot her incredible history of deliverance from slavery and, though properly equipped, proved the coward in the heat of battle. It is a compelling picture and a powerful reminder for all of us to keep our hearts soft and full of God’s values and NEVER forget his miraculous provision for his people past, present, and future.

Accordingly, every year at this time, New City’s leadership withdraws from the battle and assesses our adherence to our values and measures progress in the light of our vision, repenting when necessary and realigning for the future. Like Israel, New City has a remarkable history of God’s provision: our first year (rent-free!) on the corner at 102 S Central; the raising of an army of volunteers from around the city to staff the Café EVERY Thursday, Friday, and Saturday since July 1998; and God’s gracious and miraculous provision (August 2002) of our current home for both Café and Consortium ministries.

The Lord has been VERY good to New City and all of this flows directly from your gracious giving of time, money, and skill! As we praise God for his ongoing provision, we want to thank you for your part in helping us carry out the vision: that is, to establish Christian community in the Old City through the cultivation of the Arts and Christian discipleship.

And now for two requests: Please pray for New City leadership as we retreat together Saturday, December 11. We also ask you to remember us in your end of year giving. While New City now generates 50% of it annual operating needs through activities related to the Café, as a non-profit organization we remain dependent upon charitable giving to cover the remaining 50% of our budget each year. Thanks for your time and your participation in this ministry.

Kenny Woodhull
New City, Director

Shalom to you and yours from Knoxville’s Old City. Without a whole lot of fanfare, New City entered its seventh season of ministry July 4th. Thanks for supporting us as you do. Please know that we could not do what we do without your involvement.

The Cafe continues every Thursday-Saturday night with special events occurring somewhat regularly now on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Recently, we hosted a reception for student-workers involved in Operation Backyard. In June, Doug Floyd facilitated a showing of Andre Rubelevâ’s Passion, a strange but stirring film by famed Russian director, Nicolae Tarkovsky, concerning war and betrayal, beauty and redemption. In August, over a pot-luck dinner coordinated by our own Sunny Penner (kitchen manager), we viewed Jesus of Montreal (a clever Canadian contemporization of Christ’s life, 1989). It is especially enjoyable to watch these films on a super large screen through on our newly donated video projector!

The Consortium is developing in a healthy fashion as well. After a hugely successful launch year, RegentCollege (Vancouver) has committed to another year of partnership with us. We are presently assembling a new group of students for our second Marketplace Cohort, and we still have a few seats available in the new group! Father Stephen Freeman, founding priest at St. Anne Orthodox Church (Oak Ridge, TN), will lead a series on the Gospel in Dostoyevsky starting in September. In addition to these on-site initiatives, New City coordinates numerous church and para-church entities under the auspices of the New City Consortium.

While what New City does through the Cafe and the Consortium is important, who we are is of equal significance. Accordingly, it was with a measure of sadness in July that we said goodbye to Chris Tappan, our manager. Chris came to us just out of UT and, after two years of ministry at New City, is now pursuing an MBA at Eastern Seminary (Philadelphia). In Christ’s departure, however, we see evidence of God’s gracious provision in Mark Vowell’s eagerness to assume a greater level of leadership at the Cafe. Mark is a long-time friend, long-term board member, and a gifted musician. Helping Mark with the shepherding and cultivation of the singer-songwriter night every Thursday is Rick Huemmer. These men are godly servants, and we are tremendously blessed to have them both at this time. Sunny remains in charge of New City’s kitchen and always seems to invent some incredibly delicious (and affordable!) special each weekend for the many guests who come to us as strangers, guests, and friends.

As the Executive Director, I am quite spoiled with this staff. When I figure in our board of directors and our faithful volunteers, I am deeply humbled by the Lord’s abiding presence in this project. He clearly cares greatly about his people and those that come to the Old City for something real and meaningful. Hope to see you soon.

Kenny Woodhull