COEUR d'ALENE - Every five years or so, Lloyd Perrin needs a new preaching Bible.

The pages and passages of the old one are so marked up, so crinkled and weathered and worn from reading and studying, it's time for a replacement.

But rather than place the old Bible on a shelf, it is passed to his children.

"I'll finish this and then I'll give it to one of my kids as a way to remember dad," he said. "All my kids get my preaching Bible. Every five years I finish with a preaching Bible that's falling apart. This is two years down the road," he added holding up the Bible sitting on his desk.

Perrin, 59, a pastor since he was 23, has been leading Coeur d'Alene Seventh-day Adventist Church for 13 years.

His path to preaching began when he was a boy, raised by Milford and Wilma Perrin. He called his upbringing "a rich heritage" from both parents.

"My dad was a man of the word," he said.

Young Lloyd memorized scripture before he went to school, and could recite chapters in Psalms, Isaiah, John and Matthew.

"I love the word of God. I got it from my Mom," he said.

Today, Perrin remains passionate

about his faith. Whether standing behind the pulpit, having lunch with a friend or sitting around the dinner table at home, the theme is the same.

He loves to talk about Jesus Christ, about God, about heaven, about family.

Easter Sunday is a good day to share his message.

"Look at what God did to show his love. He wants a relationship with you. When we see heaven, when we see what Jesus gave up to come down to Earth, to rescue us, that's love."

On being a pastor:

I never wanted to be a pastor. But when I became one my mother said, 'When you were in the womb, I knew out of all the other kids, I knew that the hand of God would be upon you. And you'd be a pastor.' She didn't want to say it before then. She didn't want to influence me with her words. She just wanted to pray and let the Holy Spirit nudge me.

As a young man, I left Christianity, I grew real long hair, I hitch-hiked around the country, I got into mischief. But the prayers of my mom and my dad kept calling me back.

On playing Pontius Pilate in "The Borrowed Tomb" (final showing at 7 tonight) at Coeur d'Alene Seventh-day Adventist Church:

The first time I did that, I was introduced as a pastor at the door. A little girl stopped and looked up at me. 'I know you. You're that man that's good at being bad.' I got a little choked up on it. I grab his face, I say, "Don't you know who I am, and I shove him to the ground.'

I stand over him, dominate Rome. So, it takes a hunk out of me. The church knows it now. I have to prepare my heart to do it. It's just hard.

In the practices, somebody made a comment to me. It was a lady I baptized the last year. She came up with a perspective nobody else could see. She said, 'Pastor, I sense this is really difficult for you,' and I started sobbing.

On playing the role of Jesus on stage during his worldly travels:

The Sermon on the Mount is what I mostly do. It is the greatest words ever spoken. You want to know how to get to heaven? Jesus stands on this mount and says, 'Here are the principles of my kingdom.'

On prayer:

Pray is the most intimate thing you can do. You become vulnerable, transparent. If you learn to talk to God as a friend, then you've got a great relationship. It's not about things you do. The point is, if you're in a conversation with God at the deepest heart level, then the rest of this flows from it.

His mother's Wilma's last words:

I stood over her bed. She weighed 134 pounds when she got colon cancer. When she died she weighed 67. I was reciting chapters and chapters to my mom. I said, 'Let me close with John 3:16,' and I said it. Her hand started to shake and kept coming up. It pointed at the ceiling and I thought, 'What's she pointing at?' Her eyes were closed. And she said, 'Lloyd, don't forget John 3:17.'

It says, God sent his son not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. That was the last thing I know that she heard me say. She lost consciousness about four or five hours later and died.

On Christianity for nonbelievers:

I say you are at where I was at years ago. Christianity has to make sense intellectually. It's not just something you have a feeling inside. I have a lot of feeling. I get moved by Lassie being chased into a tunnel and he's going to die and I'll start crying. I'm a big baby.

The Bible invites us to use our highest mental reasoning powers. To sit down and check it out. See what the Bible has to say and ask your best questions. Christianity deserves an intelligent response.

To me, I can tell you it changed my life. It changed my life.

On challenges today facing him as a pastor:

It's always the same for me. I have to spend time with the Lord every day. I can not be robbed of that time. It always boils down to a relationship with a person. There's that pull, some things are happening, I'm needed, I've got to be there. Sometimes you just have to shut down, go into a room and say 'I've got to feed my soul.' That's always for me, the number one issue.

On a legacy for his children:

I want to hand all my faith to my kids. I want them to love Jesus.

On what he would like people to know about Lloyd Perrin:

He pointed to Jesus.

On how long it takes to prepare a sermon:

A lifetime. I could say I sit down, discipline myself eight to 10 hours a week. But I'm preparing my heart with everything, every day, in what I do.

On the importance of family:

I told my staff, you should never be gone from home more than three nights a week. Your best ministry is your own family. That's what my dad did.

A father's example:

The greatest gift you can give to their kids is to love their mother. And my dad did that. I knew my dad loved my mom, and I want my kids to know that I love their mother. I think that's the best gift you can give. It all starts that heartbeat in the home. The home is solid, it keeps moving out to the church, to the world. I think we're as strong as our homes area.

About God:

There's nothing like having a relationship with the Lord. We talk a lot about Jesus and knowing Jesus. But Jesus came to reveal the father. And most people are afraid of him. John 14 says, 'I go to the father's house to prepare a place for you.'

Jesus said, 'If you've seen me, you've seen the father.' I think knowing who God really is, the father. Jesus came to let us see what God is like. He is friendly. God was in Christ.

When Mary Magdalene was going to be stoned, Jesus knelt down and wrote in the sand and he said, 'Where are your accusers?' because they all left. And he said, 'Neither do I condemn thee.' Well, that's God the father. I think that's my passion. God's a friendly person. He loves you. You'll be safe in his care. You don't have to be afraid.

On the importance of Easter Sunday:

It's huge because it seals up all of the content of Jesus' life. We're not in our sins anymore. He is risen.