This story is a short excerpt from my upcoming book, Prodigal Gospel: Getting lost and found again in the good news.
One summer night in 2023, my wife and I were camping with friends at one of those private campgrounds where all the spaces are located uncomfortably close together. It was a little tight, but we’d chosen this site because of its quick and easy access to a reservoir. We tried our best to pretend like we were alone; set up our tents facing away from the RVs, made dinner, and then we settled in around the campfire, soothed by the hum of diesel-powered generators.
While we were sitting at the fire, a figure approached. He stood just outside the light of the fire, obscured in the darkness. I’d barely noticed him in my periphery when he spoke up and said, “Hey, I’ve got more beer than I can drink by myself. Would you come and sit by the fire with me?” I don’t know what came over me, but without hesitation I said yes. Maybe my friends felt the impulse too or maybe they’re just good sports, but we all left our campsite and headed to his. That’s how we met Roy.
Roy had a wild story. He grew up Mormon, left religion, got into some trouble, went to jail, got married, got divorced, had a long-lost child he’d just connected with, broke his back driving a garbage truck off a cliff, and was recently remarried. I was instantly a fan of Roy. He reminded me of the men my father had hung out with who, after my dad died, became a big part of my life. They were an unkempt, rowdy bunch. They were veterans, bikers, and miners who spent their free time breaking horses, fixing classic cars, and putting up with me. They were tough but, underneath it all, tender men. Roy was like that.
We stayed around Roy’s fire for a long time. We shared stories, met Roy’s new wife, listened to music, and as often happens when you spend enough time with someone, talked about faith. Roy’s experience of faith was complicated. After he left Mormonism, he tried out a few protestant and evangelical churches but got tired of all the “bullshit.” The more we talked, the more honest Roy got. He shared his frustration with faith and God. He named his doubts, his hopes, and his struggles. He told us he loved Jesus but didn’t understand why there was so much suffering in the world if God was good. To which we said, “us too.” He said he loved stories about Jesus, to which we said, “us too.” And he said he wasn’t proud of his life but wanted to believe Jesus would welcome him. To which we said, “he does.”
When Roy found out I was a pastor he audibly guffawed, laughed, and then jokingly said, “I knew I felt the Spirit.” Then he asked me to tell him a story.
“No bullshit what would you say if I was sitting at your church? Tell me a story about Jesus.”
So, I did. It wasn’t eloquent; Roy had just offered me (rather aggressively) a blackberry hard lemonade, and no one has ever been eloquent while drinking a hard lemonade. When I finished, Roy said something that better captured the story I was trying to tell, in fewer words. Roy said, “I want to believe that when I die, Jesus will be there waiting for me. Like an older brother. Like an older man who looks on a younger and says, ‘I’m proud of you.’” Then Roy, looking at me and my best friend, said, “Kind of like I see you two young guys.”
All I knew to say in response was, “Roy, I believe he will.”
Roy then asked if he could give us hug, to which we said “yes.” Then he told us he loved us and that we were now family. And honestly, I can’t think of anything more gospel than that.
The gospel according to Roy
The gospel is good news. The kind of good news that shows up in the most surprising of places, like around a campfire at a claustrophobically enclosed camp site. The kind of good news that looks at two random men and says, “I’m proud of you.” The kind of news that helps us love more, receive more, give more, and become more fully human.
The gospel is for Roy and for you and for me. It is the good news that God loves us, and that, in the words of Paul, nothing can separate us from that love.
Looking forward to the new book, Jonny!