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Ministerially Speaking

By Justine Knight

I have feared the Lord from my youth (1 Kings 18:12b (NKJV). Key word: “feared.” Feared? Big time fear!!

Growing up with seven siblings, in a Nazarene parsonage in West Virginia, we attended every service, sitting by Mother, Church Paddler, four on either side. Our church conducted two revivals annually, Spring and Fall. Usually services were pleasant, the exception being when the speaker was Rev. Fiery. The mention of his name struck terror to our hearts. We were forced to listen as Fiery, with his picturesque language, described souls being shaken over hell. His visuals, heavy, clanking chains, which he shook over the altar, emphasized the sounds and signs a lost soul would encounter. He spoke about signs—signs in the heavens, signs of the times, and signs for which to watch.

Later, still quaking from his vivid descriptions, we traveled home over a two-lane mountainous road with several dangerous curves, one so sharp, you sometimes had to back up to negotiate it. Breathless, wondering if you would get around the curve safely, a huge rock came into view on which was painted, “THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH!” followed by, “PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD.” Signs everywhere! Scary!

Finally home, we hurried to sleep hoping to erase our fears, only to be awakened at times by muffled nightmarish yells of a child seeing a sign! The next night Rev. Fiery preached from Mark 16:17, “. . . these signs shall follow them.” He got that right! There were at least eight seekers each night. Fear factor? You bet. But, is it better to scare someone into heaven, if possible, than have them miss it? Maybe.

Although older and wiser now, signs have long fascinated me. Burma Shave signs added interest to a long auto trip, while signs in front of buildings captured our attention. One church sign, supporting the high school football team, urged, “Go Red Devils—take the State.” Conflict of interest, you ask? In Kansas City, after the Chiefs were Super Bowl champions, a sign over the Salvation Army headquarters proclaimed, “Kansas City Chiefs, Hallelujah!”

When Dr. John Logan from the British Isles was our not-so-fiery, beloved evangelist, we took him on a sightseeing tour pointing out some interesting sights. With his inimitable British humor he commented, “Your signs here in the mountains amuse me. I’ve seen, ‘dangerous curves,’ ‘slippery when wet,’ and ‘5 gals. for $1.00 (gasoline).’”

An Ohio sign in front of a restaurant and adjacent service station advertised: “Eat here; get gas.” And in 1976, a Bethany Nazarene College (now SNU) sign welcomed the new President: “Work for the Knight is coming!”

Scriptures do speak of signs, e.g., Luke 21:11, “. . . great signs shall there be from heaven.” I think Rev. Fiery was better at describing the horrors of hell, than he was at extolling the joys of heaven. Fear factor? Definitely!

Things aren’t much different now. Folks still exhort with signs. At most any sporting event you can see a sign with my favorite verse, JOHN 3:16, and that is a good thing.

Was there really a Fear Factor? Definitely . . . maybe!

(Scripture references from KJV, unless otherwise noted.)

Justine Knight has spent many years observing the humor and seriousness of ministerial life. She and her husband, Dr. John A. Knight, general superintendent emeritus, make their home in Bethany, Oklahoma.