Third printing (August 2007). Perhaps the best symbol of ministry is a wheel with the spokes extending out from the hub. Each spoke signifies a role of service, the hub being Christ and his work in which we participate. Here is complete unity and symmetry. When the wheel was invented, the human race rolled forward in a great spurt of progress. But nothing in comparison with the innovation of Christ and his ministry of love.

Pepper, as he was lovingly and respectfully known, was born in Peoria, Texas, on June 28, 1910. He attended Hillsboro Junior College and graduated from Bethel College and the Cumberland Presbyterian Seminary in McKenzie, Tennessee. He spent his professional life in a variety of congregational and denominational leadership roles. He gave leadership to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in positions ranging from Director of Youth Work to Executive Secretary of the denominational Board of Christian Education. In 1947, he was elected to the denomination's highest office, Moderator of the General Assembly. He served pastorates in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama.