On a Hill
Too Far Away
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On a
hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame...
George Bennard
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Using the powerful metaphor
of a fifteen foot wooden hewn cross bolted into the
concrete in front of the platform of a small Connecticut
church so that it stands in the way of everything, this
book explores the centrality of the cross to a Christian
faith for all time, while looking for reasons for the
cross's apparent absence in contemporary Christianity.
This is an oddity in a time when many of our postmodern
churches do not have any crosses in them at all. Is
contemporary Christianity only the old message dressed
up, or has the message itself been altered in the process
of making it appealing to twentieth century life? What if
there is something intrinsic to the message that flies in
the face of any culture? My most theological work to
date.
from
Chapter 1
Something about the
cross set in the concrete in Old Greenwich,
Connecticut, also reminds me that our salvation
is rooted in history. As the familiar hymns tell
us, it's an old rugged cross we cling to and an
old, old story we tell. To a society that is
always trying to re-invent itself, the cross and
the gospel appear to be strangely out of sync.
Something tells me it's supposed to be this
way--that it always was and always will be this
way. The cross shows little regard for relevancy
in any age. While each generation tries to
manifest its own culture, the cross seems hardly
to care. At any point in history, on any place on
this planet, the death of Christ, like the lines
of the cross itself, runs perpendicular to the
flow of culture. The cross is shocking,
arresting, out of step, out of time... and yet
for all time. I'm beginning to believe that God
designed it this way--that the cross is purposely
irrelevant to any age, so that God might draw
attention to his sacrifice by virtue of its
ageless incongruity. Blood sacrifice for sin doth
not a popular song make. And yet the church today
is trying to win friends and influence people by
being popular and relevant to current needs and
trends. To such a church, a stark rendering of
the cross in the middle of everything could be an
embarrassment. |
for whom
Anyone who has a similar hunch: that we might have let go
of too much in our rush to be relevant. Anyone who
continues to be intrigued, mystified by, and drawn to the
cross.
endorsements
"If you're ready for a new honesty with yourself and
a deeper wrestling with living and dying with Christ,
read this book. You'll see why the cross must be at the
center of daily life."
Robert A. Seiple
President, World Vision
"The
blending of creative writing with serious reflection was
totally successful, thoughtful and entertaining."
Richard E.Schoenhardt
Architect (designer of the Old Greenwich crosses)
quotes
from reviews
"Author John Fischer clearly and repeatedly calls us
back to the cross as the center of our corporate and
individual lives. He uses anecdotes and illustrations
well, holding the reader enthralled for long stretches. .
."
Provident Book Finder, January/February 1995
"Not
only a thought-provoking examination into the nature and
meaning of Jesus' atoning death on the cross, it is also
a lament that many contemporary Christians don't seem to
understand the true meaning of the cross or the power of
the Gospel. . . After this powerful little book, few will
be able to
claim they haven't been told."
Religious Broadcasting, November 1994
"Every
serious Christian reader will profit from reading this
volume."
Bookstore Journal, October 1994
"Despite
the warnings against trying to make the cross 'relevant,'
the 'old rugged cross' became very relevant and alive to
me while reading this book. Even for those who don't
totally agree with Fischer's pessimistic assessment of
contemporary Christianity, this book can serve as an
important spiritual and practical 'gut check.'"
Prism, June 1994
". .
. a rare and powerful book."
Servant (a publication of Prairie Bible
Institute), July 1994
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