R U P
N E
N R
IN
S G
O H
N E
A A D
As Kingfishers Catch Fire: A CONVERSATION ON THE WAYS OF GOD
EUGENE PETERSON’S LAST WORK
E ugene
P eterson
The
Poet-Pastor
B Y PA U L O S É R G I O G O M E S
t
his compilation comprises the twenty-nine years (1962-1991) when
Eugene Peterson led Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Harford
County, MD. While a good part of the experience is lost when sermons
are compiled into a book – the pastor’s voice, the worship, the silent prayer, even
the architecture of the sanctuary – the most important part is retained: the message
that compels and changes hearts.
After nearly three decades
pastoring a local congregation, Peterson
pretends to make known to us what his ser-
mons at his church in Bel Air were like in
this last work of his, preserving the original
message to the best of his ability. There is
24 SEP-OCT 2017
a noteworthy intention from Peterson in
maintaining that idea that we live congruent
lives, where the inside is as the outside,
where we practice that which we preach.
Sixty years ago, young Eugene was prepa-
red and raised to found a church, yet soon fell