Bible Lectures History
Anchored in the Past, Committed to the Future
The Pepperdine University Bible Lectures were established by George Pepperdine and W. B. West in January 1943. They were modeled after similar programs at ACU, Lipscomb, and Harding universities.
Throughout the years of the 1940s, this significant annual forum grew in popularity, but the early 1950s saw a decline in attendance, and no program was scheduled for 1957.
The Bible Lectures took on new life with the arrival of M. Norvel Young and J. P. Sanders in the fall of 1957. By 1961, the keynote lecture program had to be moved to the Shrine Auditorium to accommodate the large numbers of people who wanted to attend. In the following years, the huge Los Angeles Sports Arena became the scene for the largest evening lectures. When Pepperdine moved to its new campus in Malibu in 1972, there was a renewal of interest in the Bible Lectures. Since that time, the lectures have grown in interest and popularity every year.
As Pepperdine University moves forward into the future, it is fully committed to pursuing the very highest academic standards within a context which celebrates and extends the spiritual and ethical ideals of the Christian faith.
The Office of Church Relations is persuaded that 25 years from now, when Pepperdine celebrates a century of Bible Lectures, this annual series will continue to be a stimulating forum for the renewal and restoration of New Testament Christianity.
Past Event Themes
| Year | Annual Themes | Directors | Keynote Lecturers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | The Church in the 20th Century | W. B. West, Jr. | C. R. Nichol |
| 1944 | The Adequacy of the New Testament Church | W. B. West, Jr. | L. S. White |
| 1945 | The Church in These Times | W. B. West, Jr. | Hugh Tiner |
| 1946 | Urgent Problems Facing the Postwar Church | W. B. West, Jr. | P. D. Wilmeth |
| 1947 | The Educational Program of the Local Church | W. B. West, Jr. | Jesse P. Sewell |
| 1948 | The Christian Home | W. B. West, Jr. | Harvey Scott |
| 1949 | The Church and Sound Doctrine | W. B. West, Jr. | J. E. Wainwright |
| 1950 | The Church Today | W. B. West, Jr. | A. R. Holton |
| 1951 | The Work of the Church | W. B. West, Jr. | M. Norvel Young |
| 1952 | Changeless Values in a Changing World | Joseph W. White | Reuel Lemmons |
| 1953 | Be Ye Doers of the Word and Not Hearers Only | Joseph W. White | Burton Coffman |
| 1954 | Teaching them to Observe All Things | Joseph W. White | S. H. Hall |
| 1955 | Fellowship in Good Works | Joseph W. White | Marshall Keeble |
| 1956 | Honor to Whom Honor is Due | Joseph W. White | E. W. McMillan |
| 1957 | (No Lecture Program) | (No Lecture Program) | |
| 1958 | God Challenges You | Joseph W. White | John Banister |
| 1959 | Stewardship | Rex Johnston | J. Harold Thomas |
| 1960 | Developing the Christ-Centered Life | Rex Johnston | A. R. Holton |
| 1961 | Sharing Christ with All the World | Rex Johnston | Don H. Morris |
| 1962 | The Strategy for Spiritual Freedom | Rex Johnston | Ira North |
| 1963 | Christ Our Contemporary | William Banowsky | Batsell Barrett Baxter |
| 1964 | Declaring God's Good News | Jack Scott | Frank Pack |
| 1965 | New Testament Christianity: The Message for Modern Man | Jack Scott | George Bailey |
| 1966 | Victorious Living Today | Don Gardner | Carl Spain |
| 1967 | Focus on Faith in Action | Don Gardner | William Banowsky |
| 1968 | Accent on Concern: These Things Concern the Christian | Don Gardner | Jack Evans |
| 1969 | A Search for Understanding | Don Gardner | Ira North |
| 1970 | And Now Abideth Hope | Don Gardner | Juan Monroy |
| 1971 | For Such a Time as This | Syd Wyatt | R. N. Hogan |
| 1972 | God's Work in Our Day | Silas Shotwell | Humphrey Foutz |
| 1973 | Inside/Outside: Evangelism Through Renewal | Tony Ash | Stuart Love |
| 1974 | Simply Yes or No: Christian Integrity | Tony Ash | Prentice Meador |
| 1975 | From Death to Life: The New Man | Tony Ash | Carl Mitchell |
| 1976 | Abounding in the Work of the Lord: A Study in Philippians | Carl Mitchell | William Banowsky |
| 1977 | Heritage and Destiny: A Study of the Restoration Movement | Carl Mitchell | Reuel Lemmons |
| 1978 | The Faith Once For All Delivered to the Saints | William Banowsky | Ira North |
| 1979 | It's Great to Be a Christian | Carl Mitchell | Marvin Phillips |
| 1980 | For Such a Time as This | Carl Mitchell | R. N. Hogan |
| 1981 | The Magnificence of Christ: Great Themes From Colossians | Mike Armour | Landon Saunders |
| 1982 | Light, Life and Love: The Ministry of Jesus in John | Mike Armour | Juan Monroy |
| 1983 | That We Might Live: Great Themes from the Epistle to Titus | Jerry Rushford | Gary Beauchamp |
| 1984 | God's Eternal Purpose: Great Themes from the Epistle to the Ephesians | Jerry Rushford | Harold Hazelip |
| 1985 | Jesus Christ is the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever (Hebrews) | Jerry Rushford | David Davenport |
| 1986 | God of Grace and God of Glory: Great Themes from the Book of Isaiah | Jerry Rushford | Doug Parsons |
| 1987 | Triumph of the Good News: The Book of Acts for the 21st Century | Jerry Rushford | Jerry Rushford |
| 1988 | Thine is the Kingdom: Great Themes from the Gospel of Matthew | Jerry Rushford | Landon Saunders |
| 1989 | Deliverance: Great Themes from the Book of Exodus | Jerry Rushford | Mike Cope |
| 1990 | Remember Jesus Christ: Great Themes from the Letter of II Timothy | Jerry Rushford | Randy Mayeux |
| 1991 | Strangers in the World: Great Themes from the Letter of I Peter | Jerry Rushford | Harold Shank |
| 1992 | A God So Near: Great Themes from the Book of Deuteronomy | Jerry Rushford | Lynn Anderson |
| 1993 | Tell Me the Story: Great Themes from the Gospel of Mark | Jerry Rushford | Max Lucado |
| 1994 | Crucified With Christ: The Gospel of Grace in Galatians | Jerry Rushford | Rick Atchley |
| 1995 | Eternal Truth From An Upper Room (John 13–17) | Jerry Rushford | Rubel Shelly |
| 1996 | Out Of the Whirlwind: Great Themes from the Book of Job | Jerry Rushford | Jeff Walling |
| 1997 | The Imitation of Christ: Great Themes from Philippians | Jerry Rushford | John O. York |
| 1998 | Another King, Another Kingdom: Great Themes from Luke | Jerry Rushford | Tim Woodroof |
| 1999 | I Lift Up My Soul: Communing With God Through the Psalms | Jerry Rushford | Jim McGuiggan |
| 2000 | The Gravity of Grace: Great Themes from the Letter to the Romans | Jerry Rushford | Mark Henderson |
| 2001 | Shaped by the Cross: Great Themes from I Corinthians | Jerry Rushford | Jack Reese |
| 2002 | Christ and New Creation: Great Themes from II Corinthians | Jerry Rushford | Randy Harris |
| 2003 | Embracing the Call of God: Great Themes from Genesis | Jerry Rushford | Rick Marrs |
| 2004 | The Mystery of Godliness: Great Themes from 1 Timothy | Jerry Rushford | Mark Love |
| 2005 | Lifted Up: Great Themes from John 18-21 | Jerry Rushford | David Fleer |
| 2006 | Life Together: The Heart of Love & Fellowship in 1 John | Jerry Rushford | Tim Spivey |
| 2007 | Hear the Word of the Lord: Jeremiah's Call to Renewal | Jerry Rushford | Glenn Pemberton |
| 2008 | The Upside-Down Kingdom: Living the Sermon on the Mount | Jerry Rushford | Don McLaughlin |
| 2009 | The Lord of Creation: The Preeminence of Christ in Colossians | Jerry Rushford | Monte Cox |
| 2010 | The Hero of the Story: The Book of Acts Revisited | Jerry Rushford | Shon Smith |
| 2011 | God's Unchanging Faithfulness (Psalms) | Jerry Rushford | Chris Smith |
| 2012 | Living Between the Times (Lifted Up by Hope in Romans 5-8) | Jerry Rushford | Jonathan Storment |
| 2013 | Can I Get a Witness? Faithfully Following the Lamb in Revelation | Mike Cope | Rich Little |
| 2014 | Enter the Water, Come to the Feast | Mike Cope | Chris Seidman |
| 2015 | Faithworks (James) | Mike Cope | Josh Ross |
| 2016 | Cruciformed: Living in the Light of the Jesus Story | Mike Cope | N.T. Wright |
| 2017 | Spiritual Rhythms: Scrolls for Robust Salvation | Mike Cope | Rick Marrs |
| 2018 | The Spirit-Filled People of God | Mike Cope | Rick Atchley |