Jim Grassi - Finishing Well, Finishing Strong

OTHER BOOKS BY
DR. JAMES GRASSI

Guts, Grace, and Glory

The Ultimate Mens Ministry Encyclopedia

A Study Guide of Israel

Crunch Time

Crunch Time in the Red Zone

Wading Through the Chaos

The Ultimate Hunt

In Pursuit of the Prize

Heaven on Earth

The Ultimate Fishing Challenge

The Spiritual Mentor

Building a Ministry of Spiritual Mentoring

More Than a Fisherman

Mens Ministry Catalyst Website:

www.mensministrycatalyst.org

2014 by Jim Grassi

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations marked The Voice are taken from The Voice translation. 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4016-7798-5 (eBook)

14 15 16 17 18 RRD 5 4 3 2 1

DEDICATION

We started our national ministry over three decades ago. One of the first people I consulted was a middle-aged pastor whom I met at a family camp who impressed me with his insights, directness, wisdom, and wit. Dr. Chuck Swindoll soon became a mentor and friend. Distance and time have separated us from regular meetings, but through his occasional notes of encouragement, timely messages, and international radio programs, he has remained a consistent model of someone who knows God and desires to serve Him with all his heart.

He is a faithful model of Christlikeness and has shepherded millions with his authentic and transparent life. He is a man whose life transcends our culture and who has set an example for all of us to follow. His is a life that models the message of this book. Chucks obedient heart testifies to a life well lived. Certainly he is a man who will finish well and finish strong.

His contributions and continued work in Gods vineyard remind us all that we have a purpose in Gods plan for redeeming this broken world. It is to this humble servant of God whose significant eternal contributions are beyond our comprehension that I dedicate this book. Thanks Pastor Chuck and all those who want to finish well and strong for reminding all of us to stay in the battle for mens souls.

Each of us has been blessed with specific gifts, talents, opportunities, experiences, and abilities to be used of God for His glory (Eph. 4:1116). It is our delight and honor to serve our Lord and multiply what He has given us. It is not a duty or obligation, but a privilege and joy.

Whatever we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.

Albert Pike

CONTENTS

Let us focus upon doing what is important rather than trying to be important.

Jim Grassi

As I celebrated yet another birthday, I launched into this work. My mind continues to hope that I could one day be in the NFL, or fly into space, or bench-press two hundred poundsbut my body and reality suggest that those dreams need to be buried. All I need to do is look in the mirror or listen to my grandchildren to realize that Im on the shadow side of the mountain. Has my life been successful, significant, and a model of Christ?

Charles Dickens began A Tale of Two Cities with these memorable words: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.... I recall one of the best and worst years of my life. In 1981, I was a rising star as a deputy town manager. I had just received two awards for my leadership abilities. Through my bass fishing accomplishments, I was voted the top fisherman on the West Coast. I was writing for three different sports magazines. I was also a rising star in the fishing and hunting world as a competitive fisherman and co-host of a West Coast fishing program on television. A local university had me teaching one or two classes a semester. I had the perfect wife (my high school sweetheart) with two very gifted twin boys.

My spiritual life consisted of going to church, being in a Bible study group, meeting with a group of guys, and trying to be a godly role model at home, at work, and in my community. I endeavored to be a Spirit-filled man, but my flesh was weak and I failed in relationships because I became impatient with people. I had been involved in forming an organization called Lets Go Fishing Ministries, and subsequently had been asked to share our vision for discipleship at one of the largest Christian conference centers in the west.

My goal of being successful and important was within reach. I was living the American dream of being recognized as a successful person. After all, that was the message I heard almost every day from my father. He grew up during the Great Depression and never had the opportunity to go to college and, in his mind, being a bread driver wasnt a successful career. I regularly received the message from those adults around me: Jimmy, make something of yourself. I was the firstborn male of the family and it was clear that I was expected to make the best of my skills and abilities. I thought it would really be tough to beat the year I was having at the beginning of 1981. So I thought.

That winter was cold and damp, and it offered plenty of time to become introspective, especially about my health. For a few years, I had been having some heart issues. After going to three cardiologists who did all kinds of testing, I was told, Jim, your only problem is that you are overly stressed and too busy. You are trying to put twenty gallons of stuff into a ten-gallon bucket. Instead of thinking about better balancing my life or restricting what I was doing, I asked the doctors for a tranquillizer to help me better cope with my out-of-control appetite for success. Dont tell me not to burn the candle at both ends, I told the doctors. Tell me where I can get more wax. I could blame my drivenness on upbringing or culture or the challenging childhood I had, but the reality was that the stress-filled life I was living was centered upon my workaholic nature, and it was up to me to find the peace of Godthe one He speaks of in His Word (Phil. 4:7).

At a routine physical in February 1981, I continued to complain about my heart and blood pressure issue. The doctor asked if I had any other problems. I said, I still have the ringing in my right ear. Ringing in an ear is about as common as a cold. He said, More than likely its nothing to worry about because we checked it out before, but to be safe, lets check it again. The young ear, nose, and throat doctor saw me as an experiment. He ordered up a batch of teststhe results of which started a journey to the worst of times. After a month of continued testing, it was determined that I had a non-malignant brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma. Surgery was required.