Over the years I have had the opportunity to do many roles within the surf community. It all started years ago when I got involved in a group called Christian Surfers.
This movement of surfers are all about being a presence in the surfing communities and for me as a surfer and lover of Jesus thought that this would be a pretty cool way to combine my passions.
It happens to be the 45th anniversary of Christian Surfers this year and this was a movement born out of a passion to serve the surfing community from a young man in Cronulla, NSW that wanted to share Jesus with his surf mates.
Now 45 years later this is being lived out through surfing communities all over the world in all sorts of ways. You will see Christian surfers presence from top level of the sport in the World Surf League all the way down to the local soul surfer that just wants to do life with his surfer mates.
Surrendered Surfers Serving
A few weeks ago I was able to serve the surfing community along with a great team of Christian Surfers at the return of the Southern Surf Festival after a few year hiatus due to the C word interrupting all our lives. My role involved being the voice for the festival as I was given the role to commentate and bring up the energy through microphone all weekend.
While the rest of the Christian Surfers team did the more humble tasks of serving the surfers and local businesses at the festival by being there at first light setting up and then being there till dark packing up. There roles really did consist of being the ones that could fill the gaps of jobs that most people would rather not do.
All through the weekend I was able to see these amazing people with big hearts serve there hearts out for those at the surf festival and do all the tasks that are often under the radar and actually very rarely get recognised.
For this great team of Christian Surfers it was never about being recognised or thanked, but rather just to serve out of genuine heart an passion to share God’s love through action and deed and maybe some words here and there.
Speaking words of Life
While the Christian Surfers went abouth filling those much needed gaps at the festival I had the opportunity to be the voice of the festival in my commentary role.
Having been at many competitions over the years I was very well acquainted with the types of things that I would hear from commentators, officials and those involved in the surf scene and so this opportunity for me was to take the good I would hear from those experiences and leave out the bad.
For me it was great opportunity to be able to speak words of life, to honour those who made the festival happen and to be thankful to one and only God who is the provider of the waves that surfers get to enjoy.
Towards the end of the competition the waves got better, the sun shone on all at the festival when it was supposed to be pouring and there across the sky a rainbow appeared.
For me this was just another reminder that God is the God of his promises and that he is always speaking to us whether it be through creation, each other or the joy that can be experienced in living life fully. All which happened over this weekend on the fleurieu peninsula coast of South Australia that weekend.
Time to get out there again
Its festivals like the Southern Surf festival where we as Christians can get involved. I think about the verse about not hiding our light under a bowl and I think these opportunities are great ones to let our light shine and to see how as we shine God love through actions, deeds and our words we truly can change atmospheres and allow people to experience what the God that lives inside our hearts is all about.