Two phrases – not counting “my hero” – describe Bobby Cox (MDIVCE ’04), say his son Israel Cox (MDIV ‘00) and grandson Noah Cox, a current student in the M.Div. in Christian Thought program.

Israel likes to say his dad “walks slowly” at church. Noah sees his grandfather as “open-handed.” Both are meant as compliments.

As a child, Israel Cox didn’t always appreciate waiting in the car after church as his father “walked slowly” through the crowd, talking and listening. “He was doing ministry,” Israel Cox said. “He was just talking to people and building relationships and listening. He was just giving himself away.”

But as the third generation representative of the Cox family to attend NOBTS, Noah appreciates a grandfather who modeled what it means to hold on to material possessions lightly.

“When I think of someone who knows that everything they have is not theirs, but God’s, I think of my grandparents,” Noah said. “[My grandfather] lives his life very ‘open-handed.’”

While Bobby’s ministry is marked by humility and service, his journey to seminary had a not-too-typical beginning. After retiring from a career as a high school agriculture and shop teacher, Bobby and his wife Elaine sold their farm in Colquitt, Georgia and moved to New Orleans to begin classes – not long after their son Israel had walked the graduation stage.

While Bobby insists his ministry is simple, his family knows his example is something special.

“He’s my hero,” Noah insists.

“He’s mine, too,” Israel added. “Some of the most important things I learned about ministry I learned long before I ever knew I was going to be a pastor. I learned from him.”

RETIREMENT CAN WAIT

The unexpected call to ministry came as Bobby and Elaine led a young adult Sunday School class at their home church in Colquitt, Georgia, one of many ministries in which they served. Bobby was set to retire from teaching. Israel was nearing graduation at the time. 

“So we went,” Bobby said. “If I wasn’t the oldest guy on campus, I was close to it.”

Israel said his father took his “slow walking” habit to seminary with him and soon was pouring his life into others. One student -- who knew English as a second language -- benefitted from Bobby’s many hours of help with grammar and language, Israel related.

After Bobby and Elaine joined Edgewater Baptist Church, near the NOBTS campus, Bobby worked alongside David Platt (PHD ’04, MDIV ‘02) in the church’s French Quarter ministry, serving the homeless community. Platt, then Dean of Chapel but who went on to become president of the International Mission Board and a New York Times bestselling author, met with Bobby as a prayer partner before chapel each week, for one semester.

While the classes and times with professors made a great impact on his life, Bobby made sure to attend every chapel service.

“A big part of my seminary experience -- and you can pass this along -- I never missed a day of chapel,” Bobby said in interview. “I love good preaching, and they had it.”

Bobby still returns from time to time to the five notebooks he filled with notes from chapel, a resource he calls “a wealth of information.” 

Graduation meant another step of faith as Bobby and Elaine moved to Nashville to help with a church plant, and stayed for eight years.

“It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, But it was also very rewarding,” Bobby said. “We tried to grow the church by loving on the people. That’s what you gotta do. It was there that I really learned to serve people and love on people.”

PASSING IT ON

Passing the faith on the next generation is not always easy. With a son and a grandson in ministry, Bobby is quick to credit God’s work in their lives rather than anything he has said or done.

While each credits God’s grace in their lives, they also recognize the importance of living out the faith.

“I think it’s less formal than we think it is and I think it’s simpler than we make it,” Israel said. “It’s just lived. It’s God’s grace in our lives. He gives grace and our kids, they don’t always see they don’t always hear … I think it’s just modeled and lived, and trusting God to do what God can do in their lives.”

For Noah, Christians serving others made an impact. Noah watched as his father, Israel, planted a church in Gulfport, Mississippi. Soon after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005, Noah watched his father, and hundreds of volunteers, work to meet needs and help others rebuild.

“I fell in love with the church before I fell in love with Jesus,” Noah said.

As Israel leads Crosspoint Church, Gulfport, as pastor, Bobby and Elaine serve as volunteers, with Bobby leading the men’s group.

“He serves the community there so well,” Noah said of his grandfather.

Bobby says, “I wish I was the man Noah is when I was his age. He’s something else.”