Messages by Bernis "Bernie" Warfield

Messages spoken at various Camps Farthest Out by Bernis “Bernie” Warfield.

Bernie Warfield

About Bernis "Bernie" Warfield

Bernis “Bernie” Warfield grew up facing hardships common to the early 20th century: racism, hostility…

Bernis “Bernie” Warfield grew up in a loving, tight-knit family in Kentucky in the late 1800s, but his life journey was filled with hardships that many can relate to: racism, hostility, rejection, and bitterness.

The only love and acceptance he felt came from his church and a young woman named Della, whom he met at a church picnic.

His mother once shared, “Eleven years ago, right here in this church, I asked God to bless my unborn child… but that’s not enough. We must raise our children in Christian homes—pray with them, have family devotions, love them, even when it breaks our hearts…”

Despite his mother’s encouragement, Bernie later told his sister, “You’ve seen them—preachers and teachers, too—patched pants, greasy vests, worn shirt collars… No, thank you. I’m not going to preach.”

However, Bernie could not escape his calling. Despite his resistance, he eventually became a preacher.

While pastoring in Indiana, the kindness of white people began to chip away at the deep-seated defenses built by the racism he experienced in the South. When he moved to Kalamazoo, he discovered that the red-light district was near his church. Bernie and Della, now his wife, decided that this area was part of his ministry too. They welcomed the children of the women working in the district to Sunday school, and eventually, some of the mothers joined as well.

His efforts helped close down the district, but it required immense patience and determination to open the hearts of his church members to outsiders.

As white people began attending his church, this sparked a new challenge within his congregation. Once again, it was through prayer, patience, and education that Bernie guided his church to embrace a broader vision of unity. Over time, both white and black members worked together as equals in his church.

The road to growth was never easy. Bernie Warfield had to lose himself in a higher purpose, transcending the limits of history and society’s divisions. He surrendered completely to God’s vision, seeing Him as the Father of all, regardless of race.

Messages Given By Bernis "Bernie" Warfield

Old Lady Yancey and Her Prayer

Bernie Warfield tells the camps that no one’s prayer life can be copied from someone else. He says, “you’ve got to make it for yourself.” He points to an elderly woman he calls “old lady Yancey” as proof that a plain, unschooled prayer can carry the unmistakable power of God.

Coffee Outside While the Church Bells Tolled

Bernie Warfield preaches on the “power to become” sons of God from Romans 8, framing suffering as the fire that purifies a Christian. He recalls being turned away from a Missouri diner because of his race while the Sunday church bells tolled outside. He was speaking at the Ohio CFO in 1960.

Digging Deep for the Gold Within

Bernie Warfield tells campers at the Ohio CFO in 1960 that they are “sitting on a gold mine,” the divinity buried deep within. Spiritual growth cannot be forced, he says, like a hatching chick that must break its own shell or die. He calls suffering God’s chisel, shaping a person into the likeness of Christ.

A Light Burned All Night For a Bat

Bernie Warfield tells the campers that he burned a light all night to hold a bat still. He turns that into a lesson for the movement: expose a lingering fear to the light and it loses its grip. He also compares growth to a lily rising out of the mud, which blooms only after time hidden in the muck.

The Seed That Sprouts In the Dark

Taking up Isaiah’s “make straight in the desert a highway for our God,” Bernie Warfield teaches the 1963 Arizona CFO that a seed will not sprout unless it is planted in the dark. A season of spiritual dryness, he says, is itself the ground where growth begins.

When First Joy Grows Into Sympathy

Bernie Warfield preaches on the fear that guilt and spiritual dryness produce. He retells Olive Schreiner’s story of Love and Life’s child Joy, who grows up and is lost, then returns as a humble, serving companion named Sympathy. The message comes from the 1963 Arizona CFO.

Biscuits Off the Same Batch of Dough

Preaching at the West Virginia Capon Springs CFO in 1956, Bernie Warfield recalls his conversion at his first camp in 1945. He then likens every believer to biscuits cut from the same batch of dough. Some are browned just right and others are scorched, but all are shaped by the same hand and headed for the same table.

God Sent an Air Conditioner

Bernie Warfield preaches on discovering “Christ in me, the hope of glory” at the 1956 Michigan CFO. He retells how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego survived Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace wearing what he calls “the other garment,” coming out without even the smell of smoke on them.

The Best Piece of Toast

At the West Virginia Capon Springs CFO in 1956, Bernie Warfield pictures unconquered jealousy, fear, and anger as charms dangling outside a soul. Small daily mercies, like giving up the best piece of toast, work each charm loose. Once a charm is dropped inside, it can no longer trouble its owner.

Give Him a Feather

Bernie Warfield likens complacency to a golf ball resting in its hole. He follows Moses to the “backside of the desert,” and closes with a hunter who is content to die clutching a single feather from the bird of truth. The talk was given at the West Virginia Capon Springs CFO in 1956.