Clayton Perry: I wonder that, too. Going back to the book - when I was reading the introduction, you talked about how you stumbled across an article out of USA Today and you turned it into a series of articles that became this book. Which particular chapter spoke most to you, or which one did you have the biggest difficulty writing?
Rev. A. R. Bernard: The whole book is my life and my experiences. It’s a mixture in there. I’m with you, you know - if you don’t have a positive evaluation of your past experiences so that you can take the benefit of those experiences and invest them in the future, then you really have no future. Your life is bound to the past. That is the big reality that comes from me.
Clayton Perry: I look at happiness in a totally different way now. In the introduction to Happiness Is, you mention how a lot of people perceive and determine their ultimate happiness in terms of finances. Further into the book, however, you make it clear this is really about the way that you approach life, especially the setbacks. When negative things happen, we are unable to see the master plan God has laid out and, more often than not, we let that uncertainty chink away at our faith.
Rev. A. R. Bernard: That is very well said. Too often, we do not realize that we are a part of something much greater than ourselves.
Clayton Perry: That is true, indeed. To be completely honest, I must say I stumbled upon your book by accident, through the referral of Vernice Watson, Executive Director of The Artist Company International. Usually, it takes me some time to read through a book. I got through Happiness Is in a little over two days, however. It was very hard for me to put the book down. I have shared Happiness Is with others because there is a lot of good information written inside, even for non-believers. I like the way you have Scripture next to common sense or quotations from people we’re familiar with.
Rev. A. R. Bernard: That was the idea. For me, there’s no dichotomy. All life springs from God, whether portions of that life are in rebellion against Him or not. We make distinctions in our society [between the secular and the spiritual], but I don’t, so to write a book like that is to share my faith and at the same time embrace, respect, and appreciate the value of human society as a whole to contribute. [However], I make a clear distinction that it doesn’t mean that I buy in to what other people believe.
Clayton Perry: How would you want to be remembered? I know you do a lot and have quite a resume, and New York Magazine has dubbed you as one of the most influential New Yorkers.
Article comments
1 - michael holmes
Wonderful article. Great questions by Mr.Perry. The only thing I wish Mr.Perry had was how Pastor Bernard grew his church and the struggles he had along the way. But regardless this was a wonderful piece
2 - michael holmes
Wonderful article. Great questions by Mr.Perry. The only thing I wish Mr.Perry had was how Pastor Bernard grew his church and the struggles he had along the way. But regardless this was a wonderful piece