NORTHFIELD — After more than four decades carrying a life-size cross around the world, with a hump on his shoulder from the weight, Rick Newton jokes that he has “literally” been shaped by the cross.
Newton has traversed the globe listening to peoples’ struggles and preaching the Gospel of God. Now 66, he has been taking his 12-foot cross wherever he believes “God compels him to go” or is invited to speak since 1975.
“It’s an amazing journey,” Newton said. “Depending on the country, wherever you go, there have been varied reactions.”
This week, Newton brought his cross to Northfield, where he was invited to speak at The Moody Center’s D.L. Moody Days, a week-long series of presentations and musical performances based around the theme of revival on the Moody Center grounds. His talks on Tuesday and Wednesday were focused on the fullness and purpose of life.
Newton and his wife, Doreen, have had their lives “radically altered through their encounter with Jesus Christ.” They are traveling constantly, living off of donations received from people who cross their path on the road or donate through their website. Newton credits Doreen as the mastermind behind their living arrangements on the road, having refitted cargo vans with mattresses during trips through Europe and Alaska.
Newton describes their travels as opportunities to throw people the same “rope of hope” that they found in Jesus Christ. Newton said there is a “gospel hardened” culture in the United States, where people have lost trust in the religious structure. He believes it is important that he continue to carry the message of a loving Jesus Christ, not of a vengeful God.
Newton himself grew up in Florida where his parents both died of alcoholism just six weeks apart, when he was just 17 years old.
“I was one angry, empty young man roaming the streets,” Newton said. “I joined the military trying to outrun myself. … Finally, I hit bottom. When you hit bottom, the only place left to look is up.”
Through an outreach program of Gideons International and the ministry of Jack Taylor, Newton committed his life to Jesus Christ in June of 1972. Now, after more than four decades, Newton has been to several countries, walking into coups in Fiji and the Soviet Union, and serving as a minister to troops in the first Gulf War. He has been arrested in Egypt, shot at in Jerusalem, and had a rifle stuck in his face in El Salvador. Despite all these difficult and sometimes life threatening moments, he continues to carry his cross around the world.
People will approach Newton because they see the cross and know that it’s something they can identify with, and they understand Newton is someone they can talk to, he said.
“I’m out there and easy to spot,” Newton joked. He recalled numerous encounters with people, many of whom were dealing with drug or alcohol addiction or other profound issues.
Newton believes that the cross acts as God’s lighthouse to the lost. Sometimes as many as two or three people will stop for every mile he walks to ask him about his mission or confess anything they are feeling weighed down by, he said.
“It pierces and penetrates hearts when people see the cross,” Newton said.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 264