4 Friends Who Would Carry Me to Jesus

J. Lee Grady has a weekly column in Charisma magazine called “Fire In My Bones.” This past Wednesday, he wrote (in my opinion) one of his best articles: “Which 4 Friends Will Carry You to Jesus?” That was inspired by the paralyzed man in Mark chapter 2 who got healed while Jesus taught inside a house in Capernaum. Four men lowered the paralytic lying on a bed after tearing a hole in the roof.

As a traveling missionary who has been a loner most of my life, I haven’t had a lot of close friends. Still, I have some, including ministers that helped me grow in the things of God. In this article, I want to honor four men who are not in full-time ministry but would tear the roof off to get me to Jesus:


Tom “Rock” S. - When I began working for Billy Graham’s film ministry in 1996, a coworker who sat on the other side of my cubicle wall reminded me of our meeting two years before at a party hosted by a mutual friend. Tom and I started praying together in between sales calls. We also did some street evangelism together. After leaving my job at Billy Graham in 1999, I lost contact with Tom. We later reconnected through another mutual friend. In recent years, he had hosted me at his house in Minneapolis. Although we have some doctrinal differences, Tom has always been a source of encouragement.


Clint S. - During a 2006 prayer meeting at a church in Fargo, North Dakota, I met a man who owns a small engines shop in the nearby town of Casselton. Since then, Clint and I have regularly talked on the phone. Because he doesn’t use the Internet, I give him verbal updates on what’s happening with my life and ministry. He enjoys hearing these blog articles that I read to him. After my parents died, my returns to Fargo have diminished. The few times I came back, Clint hosted me. Almost every time I call him, he asks when we will see each other again. I’d like to hear that more often from relatives who still live in the Fargo-Moorhead area.


Lorvin M. - I first met Lorvin in 2012 during a church luncheon. A few months later, we reconnected through our then-pastor. I had returned to the Twin Cities area a month earlier and needed a different place to stay. For over a decade now, Lorvin has hosted me numerous times. He works in sales but ministers in parades when the weather is nicer. I've helped him with his outreaches plus projects done on my computer. We’ve even had fun creating goofy videos of his dogs Seal Dog and Snoopy. 


Robert D. - After learning my ex-wife Cathy died of cancer in 2021, I emailed a condolence to the man she married after me. Robert’s photo often appeared on Facebook as a suggested friend. I had been reluctant to contact him because of negative emails received from my ex-wife even after she remarried. To my surprise, Robert sent me a friend request and encouraged me to call him whenever I needed somebody to talk to. While filming a Facebook Live video two years later, I discussed my plans to travel across the United States using an Amtrak USA Rail Pass. Robert happened to be watching the livestream and extended an invitation to stay at his place in Topeka, Kansas. I would make two stopovers there, plus ride with Robert to Omaha and St. Louis. I believe our time together helped bring closure regarding Cathy’s death. 


Everyone needs friends in this life to help us grow in our spiritual walk. If you lack in this area, ask the Lord for His help in cultivating meaningful relationships. No one can be a successful Christian by himself.


“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” - Proverbs 18:24

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