Pastor Steve Mays’ Homegoing

Pastor Steve is one of my pain pals; his name is listed on the Beside Bethesda dedication page. Pastor Steve, a former drug addict and gang member, went on to become the longtime pastor of Calvary Chapel South Bay; however, he died unexpectedly on October 2 following back surgery. Steve struggled valiantly with intractable pain all his adult life; underwent countless operations, and recently went in for surgery to replace all the rods and screws in his back. Although he survived the surgery, he died a couple days later from an aneurism. He will be missed, but I am so grateful that Steve is now completely free of pain. Steve often said that he had a ministry of suffering. He reminds me of this quote by Francis Frangipane, “We were created for God’s pleasure. In these closing moments of this age, the Lord will have a people whose purpose for living is to please God with their lives. In them, God finds His own reward for creating man. They are His worshipers. They are on earth only to please God, and when He is pleased, they also are pleased. The Lord takes them farther and through more pain and conflicts than other men. Outwardly, they often seem “smitten of God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4). Yet to God, they are His beloved. When they are crushed, like the petals of a flower, they exude a worship, the fragrance of which is so beautiful and rare that angels weep in quiet awe at their surrender. They are the Lord’s purpose for creation.” Yes, that was my friend Steve!