THE SURFING BISHOP OF SAN DIEGO

To many people in the Southern California, Western Arizona, and Hawaiian regions, he’s known as The Reverend Dave Nagler, Bishop of the ELCA Pacifica Synod. In his spare time, the busy father, pastor, CEO, and servant trades his collar for a pair of shades and unwinds with his favorite pastime: surfing.

The common California activity captivated Dave when he was just 13, while visiting a popular surfing spot in Ventura called C-Street. Standing by the shore, he watched as surfers weaved their way through the cold Pacific waters and he couldn’t wait to experience the grace, power, and flow of surfing himself. The first thing he did when he got home was trade his bike for a 7’6” Rick surfboard that his neighbor had. Though the board and aspiring surfer were mismatched, the young Dave Nagler began a tradition of frequent surfing, which he still loves doing with his friends and family. From such humble beginnings, he has had the thrill of meeting famous surfers like Gerry Lopez and Tom Curren, and even got to experience a 14-foot wave north of Santa Cruz.

Now, the once inexperienced 13-year-old has more wave-catching experience under his belt, and several more surfboards to choose from. These include a few custom shaped displacement hulls from Steven Mast, Bishop Dave can be found at Pacific Beach when the waters’ face is clear smooth. It figures into his weekly schedule perfectly at sundown or sunup, 3-4 times a week. Most of the people he meets in the water are his friends from the many years of oceanic adventure. These friends have shared the coolest surfer encounters. Moments like watching a big shark breach the water 200 yards from their spot or catching that unexpected, but amazingly tubular “in and out” wave on a first day back in the water after quarantine.

Out on the water, the Simi Valley native spends time reflecting on many things. “Being in the beautiful ocean forces me to consider what we as a species are doing to our planet. Over the years I have seen changes in the ocean. We have some species showing up that have never been this far north. Others are becoming rare or no longer show up. When I read about ocean acidification or the plastics that have created a giant island in the center of the Pacific, I feel compelled to do what I can to protect this source of life for all beings,” he says. He also thinks about Matthew 14 when Jesus walks on the water. “I think that proves Jesus was a surfer and Peter gave it a try.” Though he has deep conversations with his fellow surfers about many topics close to his heart like faith, racism, environmental issues and more, on the water, he is simply Dave, not Pastor Dave or Bishop Dave.

These days, Bishop Nagler has even more to reflect on. After being installed as the Bishop of the Pacifica Synod in May, his mission to lead his flock has only grown stronger. Every week, he hosts an anti-racism webinar to better equip the attendees to navigate the oft unseen discrimination within themselves.