Tom praying with three young beachgoers at the start of the Venice Beach cross walk

“Cross Walking Safari”

(new life in Christ version)

Early in the morning we’ll be starting out;
You might as well be coming along.
We’re loading up the truck with the cross inside
and heading out singing our song.

chorus

Come on Christian what you waiting for,
I’m gonna take you on a cross-walking safari.
Well, come on Christian, what you waiting for,
I’m gonna take you on a cross-walking safari.
Let’s go walking now, everybody’s learning how.
Come on a cross-walking safari with me.
Come on a safari with me.

As I often share, years ago I gave up the long board for the long cross and began chasing the Endless Easter instead of the Endless Summer. For my own personal pleasure, I have taken several Beach Boy songs and changed the words to fit my new life in Christ. “Surfing Safari” is now “Cross Walking Safari.” And, instead of praying for surf at the beaches, I now pray for revival throughout California’s massive and vastless sea of humanity.

The Endless Summer Meets The Endless Easter

The measureless love of God, the timeless cross, the endless Easter and the vastless sea of humanity

As we entered the beach parking lot and handed the attendant $10 to park, a young adult athlete on a bike pedaled right up to our truck and asked, “Are you walking the cross on the beach today?” I nodded yes. He then turned to the attendant and said, “I’m paying their parking fee.” The attendant gave me back my $10 and took his.

“What you’re doing is awesome,” the young man stated. “And it is my pleasure to pay your fee.” Jeanette and I were amazed. This was Venice Beach, where the wild and the weird hang out and where Christians fear to tread. Yet, here was a fellow third day believer who recognized our purpose driven cross walk and wanted to be part of our beach walk and talk  in Christ.

We thanked him for his awesome help and drove into the very crowded beachfront parking lot in search of a space to park the go-ye-mobile. We found a spot quickly, and I began to unload the cross from the bed of the truck. As I unloaded the cross, our new friend in Christ passed by on his bike and shouted, “Praise the Lord!” I, of course, matched his shout of hallelujah to the Creator of this beach and ocean. Then three young boys on bikes pedaled up and watched as I set the large 60-pound, ten foot cross on the ground.

“What you doing, mister?” one of the young beachgoers asked. “I’m getting ready to walk the cross on the boardwalk and pier and pray for your city,”  I answered. All three youngsters stood there with  curious looks on their faces. “Would you like to pray with me for your city and for your parents?” They each nodded yes, and as I hoisted the cross upright I invited them to touch the cross and pray with me. These young boys bowed their heads in silence and patiently listened as I prayed for Venice Beach, the city of Los Angeles, and these three young brothers in Christ and their parents. Jeanette and I then said good-bye to our new young friends and headed for the pier.

Walking On Water By Walking On Venice Beach Pier

Tom praying for citywide and beachwide revival on Venice Beach Pier

Jesus, of course, literally walked on water. So did Peter, until he got scared and started to sink. Yet, just like in so many other California coastal cities, here I was cross-walking on… well, over… water! And just like in those other places, the large cross got peoples’ full attention, especially so when I hoisted the cross upright and began to pray loud and audible for Venice Beach as well as the five million souls living in greater Los Angeles.

We met many believers from the Los Angeles area, from other cities of California, from various states of the Union, as well as several individuals and families from other countries, including the Netherlands and France. Their reaction was always the same: “Wow!” “Unbelievable.” “Awesome.” “No Way.” “Cool.”

Everyone who spoke to us shared that they had never seen a cross walker, which was strange to me. This is southern California, home of Trinity Broadcasting Network and hundreds and hundreds of street ministries, where anything goes. The response was very positive during my cross walk on the pier. I was able to pray with many individuals and families and shook hands with hundreds of adults and youth. I also handed out special tract cards, including “Why I Walk The Cross,” “The Endless Easter,” “God’s Plus Sign: The Cross,”  and “How Much Is Your Life Worth.”

This family visiting from El Paso, Texas was just one of many families who thought our cross walk was totally awesome and unbelievable

As Jeanette and I walked to the end of the pier,  we saw the three young boys  who had prayed with us at the beach parking area with their parents, who were fishing. One of the youngsters shouted out, “Mom, that’s the man and woman who prayed for us and for Los Angeles!” pointing to Jeanette and me. The parents grinned as big as a person can grin. I could tell that we had literally blessed the socks off this mom and dad by praying with and for their boys. We waved as we passed by and shouted out, “Jesus loves you all. God bless.” They joyfully shouted out “God loves you too!”

One man in particular and who was from Ojai, California (not particularly known for its Christian mindset) was so excited to see the cross walk that he took a lot of pictures and asked if he could use me as an example of street witnessing to motivate his class on evangelism. He asked if I would contact him when Cross Walk Ojai took place, which I shared would take place before the summer is out. I agreed. Ojai (pronounced oh-hi) is a few miles inland from Ventura, our favorite city to visit when we can.

As we reached the end of the pier I hoisted the ten-foot cross upright and began to pray for great revival to break out like a giant spiritual tsunami across the land and throughout greater Los Angles and southern California. Several people came up and actually placed their hands on the cross and bowed their heads in agreement, which was something else. Cowabunga and Praise the Lord!

Cross Walking The Boardwalk

Hoisting the cross and praying for revival at Venice Beach's very busy and crowded cement boardwalk

Pier walking is one of my favorite ways to share God’s Good News in Christ Jesus. But it was time to leave the pier and enter Venice Beach’s concrete “Boardwalk.”

Upon entering the busy and very popular boardwalk,  I hoisted God’s Plus Sign, the cross, upright and prayed for great revival and even greater spiritual awakening to occur in the lives of the thousands of souls frequenting the boardwalk today. I was amazed at how many people stopped to watch and listen and even offer a few “Amens” to my prayer. One of the things I ask God to do when I pray is for Him to annex the hearts of men, women and children and incorporate them into His kingdom, much like a city will attempt to annex an unincorporated neighborhood or community and legally bring it into the city’s sphere of influence and boundary.

Walking the boardwalk, I greeted hundreds and hundreds of men, women and children with “Jesus loves you” and/or “God bless you today” as I shook their hands and handed out special tract cards, especially “The Endless Easter.” The overwhelming majority I spoke to  responded to the cross walk in a positive way. Jeanette was taking pictures, so she lagged behind. After I had passed people by, she could hear their surprised and out-of-my-ear-shot-range comments and said that  by and large everyone said good things about the unique walk. Several times individuals thanked me for walking the cross at Venice Beach.

In a place where so many things stand out, one thing stands out taller and more powerful: the cross of Jesus!

Prayer changes things because it changes the hearts of individuals. And the large cross speaks for itself! We were in Venice Beach today to effect prayer into the lives of residents, tourists and visitors and to present the cross as God’s Plus Sign to Venice Beach. One thing’s for certain: because Jeanette and I were in Venice Beach today, the people of Venice Beach won’t be the same tomorrow! Even when life attempts to crowd out the cross of Jesus Christ from being seen by the massive sea of humanity,  the cross stands tall and shouts out, “Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life”! I can’t wait to get to Heaven one day and ask the Lord how many souls were reached for Him today in a place where there is much spiritual darkness. I am confident that Jesus will say, “The darkness didn’t overwhelm My light, but My light snuffed out the darkness, just like I promised it would.” Amen and amen.

Next stop: Muscle Beach, smack dab in the middle of Venice Beach and the place where Arnold Schwarzenegger pumped his way into Hollywood on his way to the state capital.