Ernest Heard

Biography

In the summer before my junior year of high school, one of my closest friends was killed in an auto crash, while on a church outing, along with 4 other youth, an adult counselor and the counselor’s 5-year-old daughter. The crash occurred when a drunken driver hit the church car from behind, causing it to spin off the highway and into a pine tree. Everyone was killed instantly. This tragedy caused me to seriously question my faith to the point where I became flooded with doubt – questioning God’s love and even His existence. I pondered how a loving God could allow this tragedy to happen, especially to a group of His faithful followers! I immersed myself in scripture, seeking an answer to my all-consuming doubt. Did God, if he existed, really care about individuals? Did Jesus tell the truth about God’s love? Was God able to lift me from the pit of my uncertainty and faltering faith?

During 6 months of wandering in the wilderness, I read the Bible voraciously, coming across many passages of scripture that were very helpful, including Jeremiah 29:13 – And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. (KJV) This verse, along with many others like it, started me on the most important quest of which any person can embark – the search for God. Along with reading the Bible, I read many books by people who had struggled to find their faith, and, most importantly, had found God in abundance. Their lives changed forever, and they went on to serve God in wondrous ways. Books that I found especially helpful and uplifting were Martin Luther’s Here I Stand and John Wesley’s Knight of the Burning Heart.

About 6 months into my all-encompassing search, one Sunday morning after finishing my paper route I went out to the local park in my neighborhood and set my course to pray to God until I received a word of assurance from Him. After about 2 hours of praying, a deep sense of God’s presence and peace engulfed me. I did not hear an audible voice, but I definitely heard God’s still, small voice in the inner depths of my being. He assured me that my friend and the others were with him, and that the whole of humanity resided in the palm of His hand. God had lifted the veil of darkness from me! It was the most wonderful, glorious sense that I had ever experienced – and it has never left me! About a year later, I committed my life to Christian ministry. After high school, I went to a Christian college and majored in religion, then on to graduate school for advanced studies in the history and literature of the Bible. God has directed me into many paths of ministry – pastoring, youth ministry, foreign missionary service, teaching, etc. Eventually, God opened the door to teaching Bible classes at Belmont, which I dearly love doing.

Each time I enter the classroom I try to remind myself why I am teaching at Belmont. As best I can, I seek to keep the following priorities uppermost in my mind and heart – to create a loving and safe environment within the classroom where students know that they are loved and can feel safe in expressing their ideas and opinions, in assurance that they will be heard, respected and appreciated. My second priority is to present subject content according to the course description and to strive to do so in an exciting and challenging manner that will cause students to think, ponder, question, and articulate what they are learning. Thirdly, through tests, written assignments, and speaking opportunities I strive to empower students to take ownership of their learning.