"THAT JUST HAPPENED"- $606 BUCKS TO HELP A "BROTHER" OUT....
4 years ago in the middle of my 24th years of student pastoring, God began to work on my heart and really churn some stuff up. here are some thoughts that torched my mind every day... all day. "do you have any close friends who don't go to church?" "are you a part of any people groups that have nothing to do with God, church, or religion" "if you didn't count all the church attendance and stuff you do for Me in the church to church people, what is it you do for Me to all those you live around?". "are you willing to make "BEing" the church to people a priority over "having" church?". these and many other driving thoughts and passions would begin taking me down an unconventional way to view God, people, church, the un-churched, and what my personal call from Jesus was in regards to His kingdom and the world i lived in. i don't mean the call to "Church of God Grant", or "Ordained Bishop Grant", or "Lead Pastor Grant"... i mean, just Grant, the guy from Huntington Beach
one day I saw a group of surfers who hung out at Bolsa Chica State beach, tower 16 (now tower 17 cause they messed up the parking lot when they put the jetty in). i was an "outsider" to these guys and gals, but felt compelled to become one of them. I'll never forget the day Wild Bill said, " hey I've seen you before, what's your name". well, 4 years later I've become an "insider" to this bunch of beach bums (thats an honorable label by the way). that for the most part are not church going folks. oh there's usually a little cussin, and dirty joke telling, and cigar smokin, and checkin out women as they jog by, and debating anything from politics to religion, to karma, to global warming and.... well you get the picture. but really, just a bunch of avid surfers.
about 3 months into becoming "one of them", it became known that i was a pastor. but to these guys I wasn't a pastor who surfed, but a surfer who happened to be a pastor. some even call me the "beach pastor". well, over the years it's been an honor to just be there for these guys to talk about God, or marriage, or their kids, or whatever hurt, pain, question, or concern they might have in their life. and for the 2 weddings I've done(see pic for one of them, and yes that was the requested wedding attire- board-shorts and tie) and the one thats in the works, I will continue to serve these guys lives. don't get me wrong, I invite them to all my message series, and special events, and leave my flyers on "Billy's table"(the central location of everything).
In my heart i pastor these people. because i call out their names in prayer. and ask Jesus to take care of the stuff going on in their lives as I hear about it. and i always look for an opportunity to help them see how much Jesus loves them and wants a personal relationship with them. so if being a pastor is like a shepherd caring for his flock, and putting their needs before his own.... then i guess I'm the beach pastor.
I SAID ALL THAT TO SAY THIS...
last week i was at Starbucks on main street (my second home) and my man Ken (one of my beach bro's) happened to be driving by and stopped to talk. we gave the traditional hand shake followed by the bro hug. he asked how it was going. i was telling him how i was in the hardest financial trial i had ever been in, and that my hours at work got seriously cut back until the new year started in July. i then began to share the "good news" of how God had helped me by laying my need on the heart of some friends i had in the "church world", and how they had sent me some money to help out. Ken then said, "man me and the guys got to help our brother out". as we parted i didn't think much more about it, but was grateful for his concern. the next day i saw him again at SB which was very random. as he walked up he pulled a bank bag out of his pocket, and on it is said, "collection for pastor Grant". i was shocked as he explained he would be letting all the gang know of my need and asking them all to pitch in to help.
Sunday Ken called me after church and asked if i would meet him down town. when we met he said all the guys pitched in and even though they all wished it was thousands, they were able to pull together $606 bucks. as i chocked back the tears, and gave him an extra long bro hug, the thought raced through my mind again...."where does your church meet". i guess for me it meets in my home at 11am on sunday. and it meets at Starbucks on main st on any given day. and it meets at Bolsa Chica state beach every day of the week, and some days i get to attend there.
Luke 6:38 give and it will be given to you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall MEN GIVE unto you. for with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
so let me ask you friend...... Pastor.....church leader.....where does your church meet???
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