Dan's Thoughts

Trish #44 - October 10, 2004

Its been a number of weeks since I wrote to you. Since several have been asking for an update, I wanted to let you know how we are doing. (Once again, I will depend upon those of you who receive this note to forward it on to your circle of friends.)

First, Trish is doing well. She goes to therapy two days each week and spends several hours walking with weights, solving math problems and doing other kinds of stuff she dreads. The sessions wear her out. However, she seems to have greater mobility and more focused cognition in the days following each session.
Most of you probably know by now that Trish and I are leaving Phoenix. While Trish was fighting the battle of her life, God moved mountains so we could enter what I believe will be our final work of ministry -- serving the people of our home church in Nashville, Tennessee. In a few weeks, Lord willing, we will be writing you from there.

Tonight though, I want to tell you about the wonderful people of Phoenix. A few months ago, as I prayed about going to Nashville, I made a request to God. If it became clear that we were to leave Phoenix, I asked, would He allow us to go with the blessing of the leaders of this church and city? Tonight, I can testify that this is indeed what has been happening.

This morning, I preached at Valley Cathedral's Spanish speaking service. The worship was wonderful. Then I preached. The people were so attentive and respectful as I told them about my decision and plans for the future. Afterward, the people gathered around to pray their blessings upon my life and ministry. Several prayed specific prayers of thanksgiving for sermons and other kinds of ministry that Trish and I had given them through the years. As they did, I thought about the horrendous battles we fought to make a place for these wonderful people. For the most part, Phoenix churches are seriously segregated. The social stratification between White Anglos, Hispanics and Natives amounts to a regional caste system that is deeply imbedded in the culture of this city. The churches have mostly accepted the reality of this caste system without much of a challenge. But today, the leaders and people of The Valley Cathedral represent the ethnic mixture of Central Phoenix. So I left the service today with a deep sense of pleasure and with great gratitude to God for what He has done at The Valley Cathedral. The people who prayed for me today love the church. It is theirs. They have become a vital part of it's community life. They are aware of the victory we have won together.

Then, tonight, I attended our Pastors in Covenant meeting. Some of the greatest pastors in the Phoenix area have met faithfully every month for the past five years in this group. During this time, these pastors have sustained me, encouraged me, prayed for me, rebuked me and challenged me. Tonight, fourteen people took the time to each speak a few words of blessing to Trish and me. They thanked us for coming to the city. They mentioned specific ways in which we had impacted their lives. Then they told us that our work here was finished, laid their hands upon us and told us to go to Nashville with all their love and blessing.

These few words cannot express all my gratitude for the love and tenderness I have experienced today from the leaders of The Valley Cathedral and the other great Phoenix area churches. It has helped me realize how important it is to bless people when they make major decisions. Changes like the ones Trish and I are making in our lives can be difficult. When one's colleagues in ministry bless, as our friends have blessed Trish and me today, it is like a calming oil poured out on one's heart.

The Valley Cathedral is planning a farewell service for us on October 24. That day, we will spiritually close the season of life that brought Trish and me to Phoenix. We will then leave behind one of our daughters, her husband and a granddaughter. We will also be leaving Trish's sister, our brother-in-law, their two boys and our good friends John and Barbara Dyson. All of this is difficult, very difficult. But as we drive the hundreds of miles across the country to our new assignment, we will take refuge in the blessing and honor that our loved ones in Phoenix have so freely given us.

As we bring this season to a close, I am thinking of one of the dramatic ways in which it began. On my first week in Phoenix, one of the church's leaders called me to his home. He was dying and he wanted to give me a word from God before he passed. "This will be a hard season of life for you," he said. "Our desert can be a brutal place. But when God chose the place where He would give His revelation to His people, he chose a land like Arizona. So let this be your wilderness. Let it be the place where you meet with God and become His friend."

Tonight, as Trish and I prepare for bed in the middle of all these boxes and suitcases, I feel a great peace. After a decade of living in the desert, the cloud has moved for us. As we work to break camp, our friends and loved ones, sometimes through tears, bless and cheer us on. What could be sweeter than that?

Dan