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Jerry Rushford gets a standing ovation at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures. (Photo by Erik Tryggestad)
Blogging live from Malibu, Calif.
Jerry Rushford got a standing ovation at the 69th annual Pepperdine Bible Lectures — before he even said a word.
The audience, packed to the walls of the Firestone Fieldhouse at Pepperdine University, rose to its feet as the longtime professor of religion at Pepperdine took the stage for his final address as director of the lectures. (See our blog posts about Rushford’s 30-year legacy at the lectures and Pepperdine’s plans for the Rushford Center for Research on Churches of Christ.)
Next year, the coordinating duties for the 70th lectures fall to Mike Cope, former longtime minister for the Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas.
(Next year’s topic is Revelation, by the way. Cope said he likes challenges.)
“The Wondrous Story” was the title of Rushford’s address. A longtime lover of Christian hymns, he told the story behind “I Will Sing the Wondrous Story” by Francis H. Rowley. (Fun fact: The original lyric was “Can’t you sing the wondrous story?”)
Rushford discussed the song’s meaningful lyrics — especially its final verse:
He will keep me till the river
Rolls its waters at my feet;
Then He’ll bear me safely over,
Where the loved ones I shall meet.
“All of us will end up at the river,” Rushford told the audience. But the song reminds us of God’s promise that worldly endings are just that — worldly. “The end” is not the end.
After the sermon, Pepperdine students passed out a commemorative booklet, “The Rushford Years: 1983-2012.” The booklet includes a reprint of Lynn McMillon’s 2009 Dialogue with Rushford.
Jerry Rushford and his family, onstage, join the audience at the Pepperdine lectures, raising their hands as they sing “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.” (Photo by Erik Tryggestad)
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