Honoring Our 40 Years of Legacy

Forty years ago, we packed up a moving van and drove from Novato to Phoenix to begin our journey in the desert. Our son Matthew needed a climate with clean, dry air to overcome the asthma that was plaguing him in California.

Kristina and I were starting a new chapter in life with our four children. We were not sure what God’s purposes were for us beyond the healing of our son. I felt like I had been sentenced to serve time in a barren desert. People were moving to Phoenix from all around the country. When I introduced myself, I sometimes asked, “What are you in for?”

When I was ordained in 1974, I had a clear sense of my purpose in life. I wanted to help people discover that Jesus is alive. I wanted to establish healthy churches so believers could mature in Christ and develop their spiritual gifts as they served God.
I had resisted moving to Phoenix because I loved our churches, our family and our friends in Marin County. After we moved to Arizona, I began to question my purpose. I had thought the ministry we were doing in California was important to God. I had prayed intensely for Matthew’s healing and, when it didn’t happen, it was very unsettling.

At the end of September 1984, Kristina and I along with Billy and Patty Stockton started Living Streams in our living room. I worked as hard as possible to help our church grow. I went door to door to talk with people in our neighborhood about Jesus and invite them to join us. I went to local parks and handed out tracts about Jesus with our address stamped on them. I hosted a late night radio call-in show called “Jesus is the Answer”. I believed Jesus was the answer, and I needed him to answer my prayers to bless our little church.

We lived on the northern outskirts of Phoenix. I often rode my bicycle into the desert to pray and study my Bible. Sometimes I ended up crying in frustration because our church was tiny and we seemed stuck in a no-growth mode. Many of my best efforts seemed futile. More than once, families in our church who we invited over for dinner never returned for another Sunday service.

I had been accustomed to preaching to hundreds of people in Novato; yet in Phoenix, I was like a baseball batter trying desperately to come from behind and win the game with a ninth inning home run. I was so anxious about doing well, that I was tight and anxious in front of our little congregation.

On one trip to the desert, I laid on my prayer tarp and read a promise from God in Hebrews 6:14, “I will surely bless you and I will multiply you.”

I read that chapter over and over and became convinced this promise, originally given to Abraham, applied to me as well. I said, “Lord, I am definitely not being multiplied, so I must be getting blessed. Yet this sure does not feel like a blessing to me.”

The Lord showed me I needed to trust him on a deeper level. In the weeks that followed, I began to relax as I preached because I believed multiplication would happen according to God’s promise in his time.

Eventually, our little church started to grow. One lady joined us from the park outreach. Another came from the radio program. I prayed with Mark Dugan at the gym and he started attending. God was faithful, but he was not in a hurry.

Now, forty years later, we have had many trials and tears, but also wonderful testimonies of what God has done. Living Streams is a thriving congregation with healthy leaders and a strong government. We have planted churches, started many ministries, sent out missionaries, and have members who are living bold, Spirit-filled lives.

Moses spent forty years in the desert being prepared by God to lead Israel out of Egypt and into the promised land. During his wilderness sojourn, he learned that it takes God’s power, not just human effort, to fulfill God’s purposes.

It took Israel forty years to cross the wilderness before they entered the promised land. Their journey was filled with spiritual lessons about the necessity of trusting God’s timing and obeying his commands.

Once in the promised land, there were battles to fight, giants to vanquish, and land to cultivate. Their victories were still dependent on their obedience to God and their trust in his word.

In this promised land, many years later, Jesus Christ the Savior was born.

I was leading communion at the River Church in Reno this summer when I took a close look at the broken piece of matzo in my hand. It looked like a piece from a jigsaw puzzle. I realized that everyone in the congregation was holding part of the puzzle that could be reassembled into a single large piece. Together we represent the body of Christ.

I am part of several networks of churches and pastors. Each one of us and every congregation is an important part of the body of Christ. As we are united in the love of God, we reveal Jesus Christ to our community.

Life is like a puzzle. You may feel like you are stuck in a desert, but every season of life is an important part of the puzzle. Every person in your life is also important. If you recognize the significance of the season and the people in your life, you will better understand how you fit into God’s purpose.

When we meet the puzzle master in heaven, we will see how all the pieces fit together. In the meantime, if you are obedient and thankful each day, you can stay filled with the Spirit and the grace of God.

Our biggest battles are in our hearts, because the kingdom of God is within us. Without any geographic change, God’s grace can transform what seems like a sentence in the wilderness, to fruitfulness, no matter where you live. This is how we enter the promised land.