It has been quite a ride, these 40 years. I was 37 and not even close to a mid-life crisis when Touchstone started. Now I’m 77 and still rolling—with artificial knees and hearing aids. But I’m filled with gratitude to God and the untold numbers of friends who have guided, supported, challenged, and protected this little work of friendship with Jesus.

I’ve learned how to live life in a marketplace that doesn’t necessarily feel holy but is holy because the presence of God is there.

Two Muskoka chairs side-by-side overlook a lake with mountains on the horizon; this is the image we chose for the cover of my book, Spiritual Friendship: The Art of Being Friends with God and a Few Others (Touchstone Ministries, 2012).

Almost 200 friends celebrated Touchstone’s 10th anniversary under a marquee on the property of our family home. With food, music, laughter, and storytelling we looked back over a decade of discovery.

As we brought people together in board rooms, restaurants, and coffee shops, we realized they were coming from different backgrounds, denominations, and spiritual experiences. In and through it all, our focus was to determine what it means to be a friend in Christ, where Jesus Christ is the highest common denominator.

Ah, the ‘60’s! While I was trying to figure out a lot of things about God that have always been above my pay grade, I was also trying to figure out love and vocation. Lest I give you the impression that life was all seriousness, I also got introduced to jazz during that time and played lots of sports with the guys….

The first day of 2006 dawned crisp and clear in Muskoka, Ontario. Up early, I thought about the previous night, when I’d held my 18-month-old grandson on my lap at the cottage table. Together, we’d had fun throwing poker chips into the pot during a family game…

1984. That year, Apple launched the McIntosh, its first consumer computer; the brand-new video game Tetris was released; then Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announced his resignation; and a group of friends empowered me to start what would become Touchstone.