The Gift of Lifelong Friends

Pam and I met Dan and Tammy for the first time when they arrived in Chile as interns in 1983. They were in the first group of college interns sent from Eastside Christian Church. Eastside was our sending church and we received interns every summer for several years. But the first group was special for many reasons, including Dan and Tammy.

We had our interns serve in church services six nights a week. It was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. I have an enduring vision of Dan pouring his heart out with passion on the last night of the week’s services…pleading for the young people to come to Jesus. He was passionate. He was convincing. He was anointed. Several young people came to Christ that evening. All these many years later, I know many of them are still serving the Lord.

Dan and Tammy got engaged in Chile. Their relationship was nurtured in the caldron of white-hot ministry. Over forty years later, they are still sold-out for advancing the cause of Christ.

After both our families returned to the USA, Dan and Tammy settled in Indiana. They led a church and learned through the school of hard-knocks how difficult it is to remain in ministry. For every ten people who begin only one remains in ministry at the end of their career. 90% quit along the way. There are hundreds of reasons to quit.

But there is only one reason to say at it. God places a fire into the soul of the minister that cannot be extinguished even by the forces of hell. That fire still burns in Dan and Tammy.

Twenty years ago, we invited Dan and Tammy to move to Reno to plant a new church. Dan officed at Summit for six months as he built his core team. I gave him visibility every week by letting him offer the communion meditation. He was called “Communion Dan.” In fact, some folks in the Reno area (with a smile on their face) still call him that.

Dan and Tammy took about 50 people from Summit when they planted Outlook Christian Church. They have had their ups and downs, as does everyone in ministry (if they’re honest). But they have stayed in the fight. They have remained in the saddle. They have continued to pour out their lives to point people to Jesus, shepherd them, and grow them up in faith.

Today, Outlook is a thriving, vibrant church, largely because Dan and Tammy did not quit. The spark they both had 40+ years ago on the streets of Chile still burns within them…that the name of Jesus would become famous and that the world would be different because of the footsteps they have trodden.

Tuesday morning, Pam and I had the joy to eat breakfast with Dan and Tammy. They were passing through San Jose on their way to visit a friend who will be inaugurated as the new Mayor of Limon, one of Costa Rica’s most important cities.

We’ve known each other over four decades. Once, Dan and I both had dark hair. No more. Now, I have very little hair and Dan is completely grey. On the outside we are aging.

But on the inside the passion for Jesus and his kingdom remains. To have friends is a gift from God. To have friends in ministry is an even richer gift from God. But to have lifelong friends in ministry is almost beyond words. Dan and Tammy are true treasures!