Transformation 8b

Greg was a strange dude. I don't advocate his approach, which lacked any social skills or tact. The fact that I responded says more about my need than Greg's approach. I'll bet that he offended 100 people with his approach prior to our encounter, with little success. I was hungry enough for an experience with God that I was even willing to follow a character like Greg.

Turns out, Greg didn't really hear God's voice in the literal sense. He was talking code. I took it literally. After all, I was reading Carlos Castaneda; I believed stranger things than that.

It was only a few weeks after I prayed with Greg that I was walking Whittier Blvd witnessing to unbelievers. This little church believed that God was coming any day and our mission was to convert as many as we could until that time. No time for training or discipleship, God was skipping over that (this was 1978).

It was a dynamic little church while it lasted. To this day, I haven't heard a better preacher than the pastor of that church. He had no formal training. I would consider him my second mentor I have had in my life, my psychic roommate, Randy, being the first. If only the married youth pastor had not tried to hit on my younger brother's girlfriend, maybe things would have been different. The church ended up imploding. Greg and the pastor both lost their faith.

Just my luck.  Why couldn't have been Richard Foster or Dallas Willard instead of Greg?  Although they were a strange group and they led me down some significant detours, they reintroduced me to Jesus and I have never been able to shake him.