I converted to Christ from hippiedom in 1977, under a mesquite tree in an Arizona desert. At 27, I thought I was dying and wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to hell, so I called out to God in repentance. Six weeks later I got baptized in the Holy Spirit and experienced the glory of God. Six years later, married, with two children, I was ordained and sent to plant a church in Toronto, Canada.
After two years and a handful of converts, my wife Lynn lost her battle with cancer and so I returned with my two small children to my home church in Tucson. Three years later, I married Laurie, and now with a blended family of six, we packed up for Edmonton, Canada to plant another church, leaving it self-sustaining after five years before leaving again to become missionaries to South Africa. We planted a tent church in the African township of Zwide, Port Elizabeth, and saw many conversions and miracles. We built the church to about two hundred and left after seven years, believing it was time to return to the States. Some of the men from that church are pastoring today. After evangelizing for a few years we returned to South Africa to plant another church in Tembisa township, Johannesburg, but that ministry was cut short when we had a home invasion at gunpoint and I returned again to Arizona as an evangelist.
We eventually took over a small church in Idaho. After gathering a few new people, we discovered the church was involved in the Kingdom Now heresy, so we resigned and took another small church in Oregon. After seeing some church growth, we discovered that the church board, prior to us coming, had confiscated some of the church funds and had planned on splitting and joining a Kenneth Hagin-type ministry. Again, we resigned the church and decided to take a break from full-time ministry.
Since then, Laurie and I have taken secular jobs and have been waiting on God for what He would have us do next. Laurie took up floral arrangement, managing one floral shop and starting another. I’ve written and published four novels: “When Elephants Fight” based on our missionary years in South Africa, and the Immortal Blood trilogy, a time-traveling, End Times saga about the power of the Blood.
Changing from glory to glory 