By Joseph Papik —
“Hey God, if you let me win this contest, then I’ll be good,” was C.J. Hobgood’s first interactions with God.
He did indeed become very good — at surfing. He racked up championships Hossegor (France), Teahupo’o (Tahiti), Chiba (Japan) and Mundaka (Spain).
But the successes didn’t fulfill C.J., who became an elite surfer with his twin brother, Damien.
“What triggered a change for me was the realization that even when I got what I wanted, it didn’t fill the emptiness I felt,” the Florida native says. “It wasn’t a situation where I hit rock bottom or was partying too hard. None of those clichés applied. It was more about achieving my dreams and then sensing a sort of emptiness. It felt lonely, and I desired something more.”
This year is the 50th anniversary of professional surfing contests. The tide has gone out on the drug-fueled surf culture of the 1960s and ’70s; it came in with the Jesus movement. Elite surfers include Shaun Tomson, Bryan Jennings, Tom Curren, Joey Buran and Bethany Hamilton.
Raised Catholic, Clifton James at age 22 attended a Calvary Chapel and began his journey with God.
“I began to question what was missing. That’s when I realized that what I lacked was a relationship with the Creator,” he says. “If He was the one behind all of this existence, then that was what I was missing.”
Now his focus is more on daily Scripture reading, worship, fellowship, self-examination, remaining authentic and remembering that success can create spiritual illusions.
