Like many of you, I did not grow up in a strong church family. When I was a child my parents made sure my brother and sisters and I got to Sunday school by riding the local Assembly of God church bus. They didn’t go and soon in junior high we stopped going. As I grew up surfing, the beach and girls became more important. However, I did know that there was a God and that He loved me. That foundation never left.
When I was in high school it was the wild 60’s and being a surfer, drugs, girls and hanging out became the most important things. After my freshman year I was hit by a car and had a severe brain injury. Things got difficult for me at school and the beach and drug culture we far more accepting of a damaged guy. I got away from sports except for cross country and focused on surfing. At the end of my junior year I went to hear a speaker named Nicky Cruz, a former gang member and bad dude. After his talk, I went down front and gave my life to Christ. I carried a Bible around for a while but that didn’t sit well with my boozing/dope using friends. I drifted away and soon was back to most of my old ways but I really didn’t feel comfortable as part of the group.
In 1970 the Jesus movement was getting going and I was invited to a bible study in Costa Mesa with some beach friends. That was the start of a really big change for me. We found the love, caring and friendship I had always wanted. I got baptized at the ocean where I used to use drugs and witnessed to a lot of my old surfing buds. I changed in many ways, still the old nature was alive and trying to regain control but with God’s word, the Holy Spirit inside me and good fellowship, I made some significant changes.
I moved on finished college, married, had two sons, went to grad school and although not without failures or trials, I keep growing and learning what is meant to be called a Christian. I realized God was a graceful and loving Father who gave His Only Son to die for my sins and to reclaim a lost sinner such as I.