Thursday, September 11, 2008 — Pfeiffer University campus pastor and playful punster, Rev. Chris B. Hughes, will host a reading from his book, “The Porpoise-Given Life,” at 10 a.m. Friday in the Stokes Student Center on the Misenheimer campus.
A book signing and conversations with the the author will follow. Hughes invites readers to get in the swim of life — laughing, loving and connecting with others with passion and purpose.
Growing up in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Hughes, 53, had plenty of encounters with dolphins swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.
In his new book, “The Porpoise-Given Life: Inspiration from the Crustacean Nation,” he shares lessons from his many years of dolphin study along wth practical ideas for incorporating more play and delight into everyday life.
Hughes is a prophetic postmodern pastor, writer and musican. A 1972 graduate of Fort Walton Beach High School, he received a bachelor’s in religion and philosophy and a minor in drama in 1976 from Huntingdon College and a masters of divinity in 1979 from Duke Divinity School. In 2004 he received a doctor of ministry specializing in pastoral leadership in the 21st century from Drew Theological School.
He has served in various settings of the United Methodist Church including local churches, the Southeastern Jurisdiction program and ministry staff, and the United Methodist Publishing House as an editor and product developer.
He has recently released a new CD, Hourglass. He is co-author of “The Kadasha Worship Workbook,” a collection of EPIC worship services from Lake Junaluska and has also created numerous video resources focused on emergng worship and postmodern evangelism.
His book joins a growing chorus of evangelical Christians who are embracing the environmental movement.
“When I was growing up my family thought that recycling or concern for clean air and water was a little kooky . . . the kind of thing that only treehuggers or ‘liberals’ cared about Now more and more pople are embracing the notion that even our smallest actions make an impact on the planet.. . .
“The Bible is full of wonderful images of animals and their role in God’s creation,” Hughes said.
“I wanted to take those passages and get people thinking in new ways about the earth and our opportunity to care for it.”
Hughes and his wife, Gloria, live at Pfeiffer where he serves as minister to the University and ministry architect and coach of The Village Church of Pfeiffer.
