Ministerially Speaking

By Mark Bernhardt

“And the Truth Will Set You Free”

You can imagine the relief I felt upon learning that the ancients would actually sleep in the Temple in hopes that God might speak to them in visions and dreams. I had always wondered what Lyle was doing on warm Sunday mornings. Here I had always thought that he was setting a bad example for the young people, when perhaps all along he was a living witness to Acts 2:17. “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” I actually found it quite insulting that just at the point where I was really ready to bring the message home for the people, he was snoring! I try to be fairly interesting. I’ve been known to use a humorous anecdote here and there or a well-placed illustration to emphasize my points. Which reminds me of a discussion I once had with my children.

We were having a family talk about telling the truth when I decided to test the water and ask them if they had ever heard their dad lie. To which my eldest answered, “Only when you’re preaching.” Dumbfounded, I demanded an explanation of her. If you can believe it, she thinks some of my stories have been embellished; that perhaps they didn’t happen exactly the way I’ve been relating them. I think it’s more a matter of perspective. Even police officers expect to get differing points of view from those who witness an accident. Just who pulled out in front of whom is really more a matter of perspective and proximity. But lying? That seems a bit overstated. What about artistic license, creative writing, and just good old-fashioned storytelling?

Perhaps Sir Edmund Hillary could have handled my backcountry experiences more easily, but he wasn’t there. He didn’t witness the size of the bear, or the fish, or the one that got away. And what about biblical precedent? I don’t read of David’s children challenging him when he tells the one about killing the lion and the bear when they carried off one of the sheep. There’s no challenge to his veracity when he speaks of Goliath or his brothers. So who are they to challenge my stories? Lying indeed!

These kids have had it too easy. They need my stories to help them gain some perspective. Why, back in my day things were tough! They have no idea what it was like to walk to school five miles each way, in blinding snowstorms, uphill both directions, carrying your brother on your back! Then they would know the truth, and the truth would set them free!

Did I ever tell you about the time my seminary buddies and I were trekking through the Himalayas . . . ?

Mark Bernhardt is the not-so-serious senior pastor of Living Hope Church of the Nazarene in Monterey, California.