Dr. Jerry Rushford, Director of the Pepperdine Bible Lectures for the past 30 years, is set to offer the closing night address of the 2012 program on Friday, May 4. A capacity crowd is expected at Firestone Fieldhouse on Pepperdine’s Malibu campus to hear Jerry’s final address entitled “The Wondrous Story” taken from Romans 8:38-39. This presentation will be Jerry’s last as director. He will retire from his position at the conclusion of his sermon.
Since taking the rein of the Pepperdine Bible Lectures in 1983, Jerry has grown the annual event from a just a few hundred guests and a handful of presenters to over 4000 annual guests and hundreds of presenters from around the nation and the world. As he steps down from his leadership role, interest in the program has never been greater.
The growth in both scope and scale of the Bible Lectures, though very impressive, is not Jerry’s greatest achievement. As tributes in honor of his 30 years pour in from around the world, the clear message is that Jerry’s program has provided a safe place for Churches of Christ to gather in unity to consider the most important and difficult issues of our day. Time will tell, but many believe that history will remember Bible Lectures under Jerry’s direction as an essential unifying force during a transitional moment in the history of Churches of Christ.
To honor Jerry’s 30 years of service, Pepperdine will establish The Jerry Rushford Center for Research on Churches of Christ and the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement. Visit this The Rushford Center to learn more.
You are invited to write a brief tribute or word of thanks to Jerry Rushford on this blog.
The 69th Pepperdine Bible Lectures will take place in Malibu on May 1-4, 2012.
Jerry: As one history teacher to another–God has truly blessed your work. You have brought such an amazing array of dedicated believers to Pepperdine’s lectureships. No one can say your term at the helm was unbalanced. All spectrums and all levels of faith had an opportunity to learn and share their innermost beliefs. We wish you well and many more years in service to the Lord (from Visalia, California) and a true Pepperdine family. On behalf of Rick Thompson.
My favorite class of my four years at Seaver was the four-hour Thursday night fiesta you taught on the Restoration Movement my Senior year. Writing that final paper was one of the most enjoyable assignments I’ve ever had the pleasure to complete. You enthralled us with your story-telling; your unbridled enthusiasm was contagious (I even started crawling our local turn-of-the-century graveyards to find missing graves of the greats you spoke of in class). Thank you for bringing the history of my church and my ancestry alive. Thank you for the passion and vision you brought to this role, and thank you for allowing me to be a part of it these last two years.
Adelle (Stone) Gabrielson, Seaver ’95