MESSAGE FROM
Mike Cope Salvation.
Five Smooth Stones is the first book for pastors that I wrote. I have always thought it was my best. Thank you for reinforcing its message—focused on the "five scrolls" of the Old Testament—at the 2017 Pepperdine Bible Lectures. I am grateful! —Eugene Peterson Author of over 30 books, including Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work, and translator of The Message
Is there a concept that’s more needed? It’s a robust word that encompasses the ever-present work of God in our world to bring healing. It points to God’s shalom, to the setting of things right, to wholeness. While it does point to “life beyond,” its immediate impact is right now in the nooks and crannies of our lives. “Today salvation has come to [your] house,” Jesus told Zacchaeus. My long “Eugene Peterson phase” began in the late 1980s (and continues today!), and one of his first books I read was entitled Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work. In it, Peterson wrote about how the “five scrolls”—Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther—became tied to major festivals and a fast through the Jewish calendar; about how they pointed to God’s attempts to bring wholeness to our daily lives (eating, sexuality, relationships, enjoyment, grief); and about how they guide spiritual leaders who are doing pastoral work. That brilliant book has been lodged in my mind for almost three decades now. So it’s with thanks to Peterson that we focus this year on these five often-ignored books of the Old Testament. Please come join us in Malibu, May 2–5, as we explore this theme: “Spiritual Rhythms: Scrolls for Robust Salvation.”
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2 pepperdine.edu/biblelectures
Pepperdine’s beautiful campus—”sun-kissed, ocean-washed, island-girded, and mountain-guarded,” as Norvel Young used to say—will be waiting for you. We will gather to rejuvenate our spirits, reconnect with friends, and open our hearts to the healing, transforming salvation of God.
Michael W. Cope Director of Ministry Outreach