Nate Larkin Testimony

Nate Larkin is a former pastor and founder of the Samson Society. His boldness and sense of community is a huge inspiration for this group. Watch his powerful testimony in the clip above. Below is a quote from his book Samson and the Pirate Monks which you can purchase here.

He writes:

Deep within my DNA, apparently, lies the conviction that I have been put on earth to do huge things, spectacular things, and that by virtue of my destiny I occupy a privileged place above the common run of humanity. It is an attitude that expresses itself in strange ways, such as a reluctance to stand in line and wait my turn, or fill our forms, or follow rules. Rules, after all, are for ordinary people and I am a special case. My grandiosity manipulates every situation to achieve its own ends, and does so shamelessly.

Oddly enough, I am also prone to bouts of self loathing...an egomaniac with an inferiority complex. These are the two faces of my pride, and both of them cajole me to greater effort. They tell me that I must justify myself by doing more. They say that I must get more at-bats and that I must hit the ball harder and farther. I must do great things for God.

My friends tell me something different. They remind me that I am merely part of a team. I am unique, they say, but only in the way that every snowflake is unique. We are different, but not so easily distinguished. We are all composed of the same stuff. We all fall to the ground and we achieve our most captivating beauty  in community.

When I listen to the stories of my brothers, I find to my surprise that they are telling my story too. A friend shares his weakness, and I am strengthened by it. Another shares his experience, and it fills a hole in my own. As my ego deflates and I take my rightful place within the created order, I feel the joy that comes from living as a worker among workers, a man among men.

...The city of God is being built, and it is being built one brick at at  time. A game with a child. An honest conversation with a friend. An evening with a  spouse. A phone call. An admission. An apology. A disclosure. A small fidelity.

One brick at at time.