“We fly under the banner of Christ and it changes everything — or it changes nothing. It can’t just change a couple things.”
With that reminder, Bob Goff captured the attention of a packed Centennial Chapel at Olivet Nazarene University. The best-selling author of Love Does, Everybody Always, and Dream Big, Goff is also an attorney, the honorary consul to the Republic of Uganda and the founder of the nonprofit Love Does, which operates in more than a dozen countries. He teaches for a prestigious law school and regularly teaches inside San Quentin State Prison.
He began by inviting students to look past ordinary greetings.
“Don’t ask that question. Don’t say, ‘Hi, how are you?’ Because then they’re going to say ‘fine.’ Right? And then you’ll say to me, and then I will say to you, ‘I’m fine too.’ That’s how we roll in North America. What if we ask like this? ‘What does it feel like to be you today?’”
To make his point, Goff admitted, “It feels like a hundred percent anticipation and about 90% insecurity. Isn’t that crazy? Would you guess I’m super insecure? I am super insecure like that. I just mask it with a bunch of enthusiasm.” 
When Faith Becomes a Compass
In his message, Goff also reflected on lessons learned while sailing across the Pacific. Without advanced equipment, he was tasked with charting a course from California to Hawaii.
“I got this chart to put one end of a ruler on Long Beach and the other end on Diamond Head, and I drew a line… and I steered the wrong course.”
That mistake, he said, was more than a navigational error — it was a spiritual metaphor.
“Nobody wants to hear about all the things you know,” Goff said. “They want to hear about the stuff you’re still trying to figure out. And Jesus feels the same way… What are the parts that you’re trying to figure out right now?”
Goff pointed to Matthew 25 as a roadmap for living out the gospel.
“I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,” Goff said, quoting Jesus’ words in scripture. He then went on to paraphrase on a more personal level, “I was a stranger. I was kind of creepy, prickly. And you invited me in. I was sick and you comforted me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was in jail and he came. Don’t look for a plan for your life. That’s the plan for your life.”
Throughout his captivating message, Goff’s stories ranged from teaching in San Quentin to unexpected encounters that taught him the value of kindness and curiosity. Each illustration circled back to the same theme: following Jesus means showing up for people with gentleness and respect. Goff reminded students that distractions are one of the greatest obstacles to faith.
“The devil just starts distracting us,” he warned. “He doesn’t want to destroy you. Destroy is one and done. If he can distract you this semester and next semester and next year, and in your relationships, that’s where his work is done. I’m just not going to get distracted anymore. I’m going to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith.”
As the service drew to a close, Goff left students with a reminder of how God truly sees them.
“On your very worst day with your biggest screw up, you don’t want anybody to know about, do you know what Jesus calls you? He calls you beloved. And if you’re not hearing the word beloved right now over your shoulder… it ain’t Jesus talking. You’re his beloved.”
To watch Bob Goff’s full chapel message, click here.
