Christ Unlimited ~ REFLECTIONS ~ February 2011

Shortly after moving to Arizona in 1984, I attended a pastors’ retreat in Cornville where I met Bud Miller, a pastor from Dewey. Bud’s wide grin and warm heart drew me to him. He welcomed me and helped me feel at home. I needed encouragement from leaders who were trying to be faithful and fruitful in a culture I did not understand. Cornville seemed like Hicksville to me.

A few months later, Bud invited Kristina and me to Dewey to speak to Christ Unlimited, the church he and his wife Betty had started. Their church building was on Highway 69, a two lane road to Prescott, the original capital of the Arizona Territory, 100 miles northwest of Phoenix. Dewey is a high desert town on the eastern end of Prescott Valley. Many citizens in this Wild West outpost were well-armed, dodged taxes, and preferred isolation to community living. You would not want to ignore their barking dogs, walk past their junked cars, and go through their doors without knocking.

The day after the service, I went with Bud and Betty for a drive to Cherry, Arizona. They wanted to show me the base they were establishing for their ministry. We drove for miles down a dirt road which dead ended in Cherry, a tiny town with a dozen old houses. We walked in to a partially remodeled two-story house which they said was the future headquarters of their ministry.

Bud and Betty told me how the Lord had spoken to them about a ministry based in Cherry. Betty was creating teaching materials they said would be distributed around the world. Bud and Betty really loved the Lord and believed God had spoken to them. But I kept wondering how they could possibly have a worldwide ministry from a tiny place where a dirt road dead ends in scraggly mountains. I didn’t think it was practical or probable that their vision would be fulfilled.

In 1994, I sat down at my computer with our new dial-up modem. I was attempting to get on the internet for the first time. I couldn’t think of anything special, so I typed in http://www.bible and hit Enter. It took awhile for an image to slowly appear on the screen. It said, Christ Unlimited, Cherry Arizona. “I don’t get it. This is ridiculous,” I said to Kristina. “This internet is supposed to be worldwide and I can’t get any further than Bud and Betty’s ministry in Cherry.”

I really didn’t get it then, but the next time I saw the Millers, their web site, Bible.com, was fully operational. They told me the Lord had led them to secure the Bible.com domain name when the internet was first established. Their web site was soon getting 1,000,000 visitors a month. People from all over the world were ordering the teaching materials they produced from their house in Cherry.

Over the years, Bud and Betty have overcome many spiritual battles and financial challenges. Today, Bible.com has 2,000,000 visitors a month who download the Bible and their teachings. Many of them live in countries closed to evangelism. I’m glad there are people who listen, obey, and prepare when God speaks to them. Those who do can experience the reality that Christ is indeed unlimited.