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"Then Jesus told him, `Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29)
My wife, Beth, and I have been pinching ourselves ever since we took the first group of adults to Israel in 2005 for what would become the first "Dean's Tour." I love taking people I know (or people who know people I know) to places I have loved my whole life—places where the events recorded in the Bible took place. Going from one significant site to the next inspires me all over again no matter how often I visit—from the Nile River to the Temple of Luxor where Moses would have studied as a boy, to the southern steps of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem where Jesus would've stood, to the Sea of Galilee where he would have sailed and fished, to Mars Hill and Corinth and Philippi and Rome where Paul preached, to Ephesus and Pergamum and Laodicea where early Christians received letters dictated by Jesus to to the Apostle John. I am totally enamored with biblical backgrounds because knowing the context helps make sense of the sacred text. I am so thankful that Harding allows me to lead these tours as part of my job which also makes it possible for me to lead them free of charge. Being in "the room where it happened" (or maybe an archaeological site where it happened) will put a gleam in your eye and a spark in your faith as the puzzle pieces of God's story start to fit together in a new way.
For 20 years now we have been taking groups to Israel, Egypt, Greece/Italy and Turkey. To keep it more personal and intimate, we limit the group size to a single bus. You only know about it because someone else told you who has been with us before. You've never seen a brochure. (We don't have one.) The guides in each country are my personal friends who have partnered with me for many years in leading these tours. Beth is always along to tell me when to slow down and when to allow more time for shopping, like a good cruise director.
About the Coxes
Monte and Beth served as missionaries in Kenya from 1982-1992. Monte has taught Bible, Missions and World Religions at Harding University since their return in 1992. Monte earned a PhD in Intercultural Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago in 1999. Dr. Cox has served as dean of the College of Bible and Ministry at Harding University since 2005. He is the author of the book Significant Others: Understanding Our Non-Christian Neighbors (Leafwood 2017). Monte is also an elder at the Downtown Church of Christ in Searcy where he was the preaching minister from 2013-2022. The Coxes have three adult children and four grandchildren.