Firstfruits of a New Creation: Essays in Honor of Jerram Barrs

Jerram Barrs is Professor of Christian Studies and Contemporary Culture at Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. A student of the late Francis Schaeffer, Professor Barrs joined the seminary faculty after eighteen years with L'Abri Fellowship in England, where he also served as a pastor in the International Presbyterian Church. As Founder and Senior Scholar-in-Residence of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute, Jerram is widely respected for the breadth of his teaching interests, and he is especially known for the sensitivity he brings toward those outside of the Christian faith. This volume is an expression of thanks for Jerram's life and ministry and his founding of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute thirty years ago. In its pages, former students, current colleagues, and gifted friends from various institutions and ministries, lend their talents to unpacking a variety of themes broadly reflective of Jerram's own interests. These chapters touch spiritual formation, cultural engagement, the Christian's embrace of the arts, and apologetics and outreach.

I first heard Jerram speak in the early 1990s at a L'Abri conference in Kentucky. I was mesmerized listening to him connect a Biblical understanding of life to the issues of the day, and then he gently and carefully spoke to people in the Q&A time afterward. He communicated with such kindness, respect, compassion, and grace. It made a permanent impression. Almost a decade later, my husband and I were students in one of Jerram's apologetics classes at Covenant Seminary. He was the same as he had been at the conference, a great scholar who cared about people's lives. I filled several legal-sized notebooks trying to capture every important word of the lectures, and all the twists and turns they took in response to the student's questions. I remember Jerram saying, "The beauty of the Christian answer is that it enables us to cry and have hope at the same time." We weep with those who weep and never give cheap answers to people 's doubts or suffering. As I've immersed myself in this essay collection from Jerram's colleagues, I'm reminded once again of a better way to be a Christian in the world. My gratitude runs deep.
Andi Ashworth
Author, Real Love for Real Life

Of all the mentors who have had a profound, even life-altering impact upon me and my ministry, Jerram Barrs belongs at the top of the list. First as a young, green seminary student and now through almost twenty-five years of pastoral ministry, Jerram's notable combination of conviction and compassion have remained an anchor and lifeline. Of fathers in the faith, he is most certainly one of mine. I can think of no better person and no greater saint to honor with a series of excellent essays such as the ones contained in this volume.
Scott Sauls
Author, Jesus Outside the Lines and Irresistible Faith 

 This collection of essays, Firstfruits of a New Creation, is born of a long love for Jerram Barrs, each one a way of honoring his heart and mind given for the Gospel of the kingdom to many students over many years, and I am one of them. When I made my way to the Manor House, the English L'Abri in Greatham, almost fifty years ago, it was its promise that drew me. I had no idea who worked there, but the possibility of my honest questions finding honest answers brought me to this centuries-old home in a village so small that the postal address was "near Liss." In my first days there, I met with Jerram, and his thoughtful kindness intrigued me. The more I read, the more we talked, and the more I learned from him. An honest humility, a deep knowledge of the world I wanted to understand, a surprising gentleness, an almost fierce commitment to the truth about God, about human beings, and about the universe all together made for a pedagogy that has formed me. I hope this book has a wide reading, both among those who know and love Jerram, but even more for those who are yet to be his students, learning from him about the things that matter most, over his shoulder and through his heart.
Steven Garber
Author, Visions of Vocation and The Fabric of Faithfulness
Geerhardus Vos once claimed, "Jesus' method of teaching was not the philosophical one of defining a thing, but the popular parabolic one of describing and illustrating it." Countless Covenant Seminary students have been blessed by the teaching of Jerram Barrs, for he consistently teaches in the way of Jesus. Jerram passionately and personally draws people to a deeper understanding of God's Word and God's world by demonstrating the character of Christ. This fascinating collection of essays reveals and honors the work and spirit of Jerram, while doing so in a way that keeps our eyes fixed on Jesus. You will walk away longing to be more like Christ--which, I am confident, is exactly what Jerram would hope for you as well.
Stephanie O. Hubach
Author of Same Lake, Different Boat