Conference in Eden

We spent this entire week at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures in Malibu. "Bible Lectures" may be something of a misnomer, as not all of the lectures were on the Bible itself. "Lectures" may also be somewhat misleading, because the dryness of the term does not begin to capture the dynamic quality of the speakers, and the tremendous value of the scores of diverse sessions about faith, family life, social justice, and improving the church. The five keynote lectures this year were based on Jeremiah, and several of the speakers followed Jeremiah's example by issuing some very thought-provoking criticism of our contemporary Christian lifestyles in America. I really appreciated their comments on materialism and lack of compassion for the poor; those subjects are rarely addressed in such a hard-hitting fashion from the local pulpit, in part because preachers wish to retain their jobs! :-) It is really amazing how these speakers managed to take on Jeremiah's themes without sounding acrimonious or self-righteous.