Where did it all start?
My Christian life began when I became the personal mission field of my wife Karen. But that’s a story for another day. The next big moment was the transformation that took place at Aberdeen University where I studied theology being taught by James Torrance and my friend and professor Dr. Baxter Kruger. It was Baxter’s lectures and life that set me on the course I am on today.
When I talk to people who come into Crosspoint and talk to those on the periphery of faith it is one dilemma that often perplexes. How do I relate what I do every day to Jesus? Take 20 minutes or so to listen to Dr. Kruger talk about his life’s mission. You can load up the .wmv file from this URL.
http://nas1.cervit.com/perichoresis/Audio/YI004-320.wmv
Two things about this. One is it is grounded in the ancient. The Bible, the early church and the reformers. And secondly, all those ancient people deliver to us a message though that is ground-breakingly modern and relevant. The modern church is tempted (and we are too at Crosspoint) to make being a Christian into a technique or a technology. Do this and you will be saved, do that and handle your finances better, use these ten (or six, or four) steps to spiritual maturity. That’s bogus. At the heart of our life is the life that we have in and through our relationship with Jesus. This is not a technique or a ten step program but a relationship that underpins our very existence. It gives us meaning and hope and purpose for the future and it helps us see the Godly in everything we do, even in making fishing lures.
We who have faith sometimes struggle to understand what life is like for those who do not know this meaning and purpose. Take a look at this. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3399813.ece An epidemic of teenage suicides. When we take away the meaning of life, why live? What Baxter Kruger taught me was the joy that was at the very heart of our existence. That joy the Father, Son, and Spirit shared with me and I now share with my children who are beginning again the story Jesus wants to tell through my family. It’s a great thought.
For more on Baxter Kruger see his website www.perichoresis.org
February 21st, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Doug,
I expected Kruger to speak as a Scot would…with the intelligent accent. Brilliant and refreshing.
Peace to you in London.
February 24th, 2008 at 7:49 am
The realy great thing about Baxter is that he wore his theology on his sleeve. The joy of his realtionship with Jesus came through every time he spoke about theology. He is a good man with a revolutionary message.