Jim Grassi - More Than a Fisherman

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

Mens Ministry Catalyst Website:
www.mensministrycatalyst.org

2014 by Jim Grassi

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

Page Design and layout: Crosslin Creative

Images: Jim Grassi, Yoel Ben-Yosef, Beit Haoganim (The House of Anchors) Museum at Kibbutz Ein Gev, Sea of Galilee, Israel

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

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

ISBN: 978-1-4016-7796-1 (eBook)

This book is dedicated to those who wish to grow into an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ. He is and was and shall ever be. Let us absorb the teachings of the Master Fisherman to His disciples so that we obtain a greater understanding of what it means to know God and make Him known. The command Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matt. 4:19) is a call to become a fisher of men. With the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be a change agent within our culture.

Author Jim Grassi believes that we need to connect with younger generation (Bryson Mort)

CONTENTS

Jim Grassi is not only a Hall of Fame Fisherman but a true fisher of men. He has taken biblical truth and connected some great metaphors that help all of us to know God and make Him known. We need to be authentic followers of Jesus, and in this unique work Jim helps us explore the words of Christ to his disciples.

Before I became a Christian I asked myself what was so powerful about Jesus teaching that transformed men into being committed followers who were willing to die for their faith. Why did Jesus choose eight fishermen of the original twelve disciples to be his followers?

Anyone who knows me understands that I endeavor to bring passion into whatever I do. In his unique work More Than a Fisherman, Jim helps us understand what it means to be a spiritual mentor and the passion God wants us to have about our faith. We become better in whatever we do when we have a guide to show us the way. This simple but profound book helps us see the essence of discipleship from the eyes of his first-century disciples.

I love storyespecially good fishing stories. From his own experiences, and the lives of some fishing legends, Jim motivates us to think about discipleship from a fresh perspective. Each chapter opens a topic that requires the reader to explore his faith and commitment to Jesus.

Al Lindner

Director, Lindner Media Productions

Host: Angling Edge/Fishing Edge TV

For the most part, men are visual learners. If you cant show them an illustration, the next best thing is to paint a word picture so that they can connect the thought to a metaphor or anecdote. This book utilizes a number of pictures, graphics, and stories that will help the reader to remember and apply biblical truth to their lives. Many good Bible teachers and coaches use visualization techniques to help people remember and better understand what can be complex issues and situations. Jesus, the greatest teacher of all, regularly used illustrations to help people experience the depth of His passion and to help them relate His teachings to their lives. Enjoy the adventure of knowing the heart of Jesus through story and illustrations.

One of my favorite fishing memories comes from my first trip to New Zealand. I was filming a project for the New Zealand Tourism Bureau, which had scheduled me to do some ultra-light fishing from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island. At 5:00 a.m. on the first fishing day, a local guide named Captain Ed knocked on my motel room door and said, Jim, lets get rollin, time is a wasting. If we dont get to my spot in a timely manner we will miss the opportunity. As tired as I was from all the travel the day before, I knew from the urgency in his voice that Id better get dressed and out to his truck as soon as possible.

Captain Ed took me out to a shallow reef near the Bay of Islands, where I witnessed a scene Ill never forget. As we quietly pulled up to a rocky point and shut down the outboard engines, there was an explosion of fish on the surface. It was as if someone had turned up the heat on a saucepan full of popcorn kernels. Fish of all sizes were in a feeding frenzy and popping up all over the bay.

Thousands of fish were boiling to the surface as the captain told our video crew that they had better get their cameras rolling. He then barked out orders for me to get my lures in the water because this unique event would be over in about an hour. I was like a kid catching his first fish on a pond loaded with hungry bluegill. I couldnt make up my mind whether to use my fly rod or ultra-light spinning rod. Feeling the urgency, I grabbed both before I realized that I could only use one at a time. After catching and releasing over forty fish in an hour, the fish disappeared. The captain said, Thats it for today, Jim. Wow! As the surge of adrenaline began to leave my body, I sank back into the reality that I may never again experience that kind of adventure.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus told His disciples to become passionate and persistent and prayerful about those who were lost. He regularly reminded His followers that they were the salt and light of the world (Matt. 5:1316). He expressed to them that there was an urgency about learning how to disciple others. He knew His time was limited and even told the disciples that He would not always be with them (John 7:33).

The apostle Paul expressed a similar urgency to preaching the gospel when he penned these words: But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light (Eph. 5:1314).

My friend, there is an urgency to getting a message of hope to a lost generation. Our government reminds us regularly of the vulnerability that we face with the possibility of a terrorist attack. Current events in the Mideast suggest that world peace is an illusion. With the continual moral decline of our country and the increase in the fulfillment of biblical prophecy, it is appropriate that we see Christs return as imminent. While we should not predict a time of His return, clearly the prophetic signs point to the fact that we are living in the last days. The Bible tells us, But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul (Heb. 10:39).