{"id":1533,"date":"2008-08-24T21:08:08","date_gmt":"2008-08-25T01:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=1533"},"modified":"2026-07-19T14:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T21:38:13","slug":"pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/","title":{"rendered":"Pepperdine University “Bible Lectures” Go Contemplative!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0
\nPepperdine University<\/span><\/strong><\/a> is a Christian school located in California. Since the 1940s, Pepperdine University has been presenting their “Bible Lectures” series. This year the university presented the “65th Annual Bible Lectures,” a four-day event. On three of the four days, a session titled “An Introduction to Contemplative Prayer” was given.1<\/span><\/strong><\/a> The three workshops were titled: Through Imaging Prayer (guided imagery), Lectio Divina, and The Process of Examen (Ignatius exercises).<\/p>\n

Jackie Halstead<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, an assistant professor at Abilene Christian University Texas was the presenter. Halstead has a special interest in spiritual formation. Abilene University is listed on the Lighthouse Trails “Colleges that Promote Contemplative.” 2<\/span><\/strong><\/a> The school uses textbooks by several emergent and contemplative figures and has a strong spiritual formation program<\/span><\/strong><\/a>. Some of the authors representing textbooks used in classes are: Doug Pagitt, Henri Nouwen, Tony Jones, Lauren Winner, Richard Foster, Walter Brueggemann, Robert Webber, and Duffy Robbins, all of whom are contemplative\/emerging proponents. Abilene is also using a book (in UNIV 203: Prof. Tate) by New Age Gerald Jampolsky (a proponent of A Course in Miracles<\/em>, the New Age “bible”). Abilene’s spiritual formation section lists several emerging\/contemplative resources for students including The Ooze, Worship Leader magazine, and Willow Creek. 3<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Part of the reason Pepperdine University is going in this direction may have to do with its Provost, Darryl Tippens<\/span><\/strong><\/a>(“chief academic officer” of Pepperdine University), who lists the following people as those he admires: Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Soren Kierkegaard<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, Kathleen Norris<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, and Anne Lamott (all promoters of mysticism). In Tippens own book, Pilgrim Heart: The Way of Jesus in Everyday Life<\/em>, Tippens references Thomas Merton a number of times and encourages the use of contemplative practices such as lectio divina,<\/span><\/strong><\/a> going into the silence (the outcome of mantric-style practices), attending “silent retreats,” and repeating the Jesus Prayer. Tippens book is riddled with favorable quoting or referencing of contemplative authors; some of those are Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Henri Nouwen, Marjorie Thompson (Soul Feast<\/em>), Kathleen Norris, Donald Miller, Julian of Norwich, and Flannery O’ Conner. These all have contemplative propensities. With a line up like this, there is no question that Tippens resonates with the contemplative prayer movement. Unfortunately, this will have a profound (in the negative sense) impact in the oveall spiritual outlook at Pepperdine University. The Introduction to Contemplative Prayer at Pepperdine’s Bible Lectures this past spring is proof of that.<\/p>\n

To understand the spirituality that Tippens is promoting, a look at Marjorie Thompson’s book, Soul Feast<\/em> (which Tippens says will “greatly enrich one’s understanding and practice” (of contemplative silence) is vital (please click here<\/span><\/strong><\/a> to read our book review of Soul Feast).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Pepperdine University is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[167],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-contemplative-denominations","wpcat-167-id"],"yoast_head":"\nPepperdine University "Bible Lectures" Go Contemplative! - From the Lighthouse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pepperdine University "Bible Lectures" Go Contemplative!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0 \u00a0 Pepperdine University is...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"From the Lighthouse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LighthouseTrailsResearch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-08-25T01:08:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-19T21:38:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lighthouse Trails Editors\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lighthouse Trails Editors\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lighthouse Trails Editors\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a36b703d7722ce85599858df8bacc0a5\"},\"headline\":\"Pepperdine University “Bible Lectures” Go Contemplative!\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-08-25T01:08:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-19T21:38:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":441,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Contemplative Denominations\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\\\/\",\"name\":\"Pepperdine University \\\"Bible Lectures\\\" Go Contemplative! - From the Lighthouse\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-08-25T01:08:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-19T21:38:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a36b703d7722ce85599858df8bacc0a5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pepperdine University “Bible Lectures” Go Contemplative!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"From the Lighthouse\",\"description\":\""A Light Shining in the Darkness"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a36b703d7722ce85599858df8bacc0a5\",\"name\":\"Lighthouse Trails Editors\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5b0734c3bb2300379e17b3ec5e7fd8bf9b7ce024b5c81e38e411fc7b63e9b332?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5b0734c3bb2300379e17b3ec5e7fd8bf9b7ce024b5c81e38e411fc7b63e9b332?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5b0734c3bb2300379e17b3ec5e7fd8bf9b7ce024b5c81e38e411fc7b63e9b332?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lighthouse Trails Editors\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/lighthouse-trails-editors\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pepperdine University \"Bible Lectures\" Go Contemplative! - From the Lighthouse","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pepperdine University \"Bible Lectures\" Go Contemplative!","og_description":"\u00a0 \u00a0 Pepperdine University is...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/","og_site_name":"From the Lighthouse","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LighthouseTrailsResearch","article_published_time":"2008-08-25T01:08:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-19T21:38:13+00:00","author":"Lighthouse Trails Editors","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@LTrails","twitter_site":"@LTrails","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lighthouse Trails Editors","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/"},"author":{"name":"Lighthouse Trails Editors","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a36b703d7722ce85599858df8bacc0a5"},"headline":"Pepperdine University “Bible Lectures” Go Contemplative!","datePublished":"2008-08-25T01:08:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-19T21:38:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/"},"wordCount":441,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Contemplative Denominations"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/","url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/","name":"Pepperdine University \"Bible Lectures\" Go Contemplative! - From the Lighthouse","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-08-25T01:08:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-19T21:38:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a36b703d7722ce85599858df8bacc0a5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/pepperdine-university-bible-lectures-go-contemplative\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pepperdine University “Bible Lectures” Go Contemplative!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/","name":"From the Lighthouse","description":""A Light Shining in the Darkness"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a36b703d7722ce85599858df8bacc0a5","name":"Lighthouse Trails Editors","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b0734c3bb2300379e17b3ec5e7fd8bf9b7ce024b5c81e38e411fc7b63e9b332?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b0734c3bb2300379e17b3ec5e7fd8bf9b7ce024b5c81e38e411fc7b63e9b332?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b0734c3bb2300379e17b3ec5e7fd8bf9b7ce024b5c81e38e411fc7b63e9b332?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Lighthouse Trails Editors"},"url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/author\/lighthouse-trails-editors\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1533"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49274,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533\/revisions\/49274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}