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Blair Adams Memorial

Blair C. Adams, founder of Homestead Heritage, passed peacefully from this life at home after a lengthy battle with cancer on July 27, 2021. He departed in the arms of his devoted wife of 50 years, surrounded by family, friends and a caring church community.

Blair was born on January 5, 1944, in El Paso, Texas. Some of his fondest early memories were visits to the ranch of his older cousins near Las Cruces, New Mexico, where he first sat a horse at age three. He spent his early school years in Lubbock and Amarillo, Texas, filling his off-school time working on ranches as (in his words) a “never fully accomplished cowboy.”

Blair AdamsNurtured in this Texas soil, Blair loved the countryside, horses, great big skies and the people and traditions of rural America. He guided the Homestead Heritage community in the path of agrarian living, teaching former urbanites to discover life’s fullness in working the soil, interacting with the land, growing food and building relationships through a rural lifestyle.

Since childhood, Blair gave himself to art, instructed by his professional artist grandmother. In 1962, he enrolled in Texas Tech’s architectural and applied arts school, later transferring to UT at Austin.

In 1964, his father violently took his own life, disrupting and redirecting Blair’s future. He changed majors and ended up in the UT philosophy department, bereft of all conceptual faith about God.

In August of 1966, after 3 ½ years of college, Blair was drafted into the army during the Vietnam War. He was offered a position in Army Intelligence, obtaining a “top secret crypto” security clearance. Stationed in Bavaria, West Germany, for three years, he worked in electronic intelligence, monitoring Soviet and Warsaw Pact activities.

Upon honorable discharge from military service, Blair reentered the philosophy department at the University of Texas for the summer and fall of 1970. But in January and February of 1971, Blair had several life-changing encounters with God. These surprising events convinced him that there was only one God — Jesus — holding out the promise of a powerful spiritual experience to all believers. He also saw the hope for lasting relationships in Christ’s Body, the church.

Blair soon became a minister. He married Regina Mae McDanel on May 7, 1971. They began preaching nightly in churches around the country for the next two years, eventually answering a call to launch an inner-city church in Manhattan’s Lower East Side slums.

Through his experiences in hundreds of churches and then beginning a church in a spiritually desolate place, Blair came to believe the church must fulfill its promise of becoming an alternative to the world’s smoldering cultures, an alternative culture—the “kingdom of God.” This was, in Jesus’ words, a “kingdom not of this world.”

Blair perceived this kingdom as God’s noncoercive rule of love, not only in individual lives but also in an entire community of people from across the earth—people united by commitment to God’s love and vision alone.

Blair nurtured the church in the Biblical convictions of nonviolence and simplicity of lifestyle consistent with the Anabaptist lineage.

Blair believed that the kingdom of God should unfold “on earth as it is in heaven,” finding its embodiment in the sacralized life of Christian community. Such a community, like any living thing, must be whole. Thus, Blair saw that Christian community must become an entire environment, a vital way of living and focusing a people’s vision, labor, conduct and relationships. In short, a viable culture in Christ must include everything essential to sustain life.

Blair’s abiding motive has been to sponsor communities of exemplary Christian existence—communities that could teach people how to live authentically in God’s presence and with each other. Blair hoped such communities would make possible wise choices in religion, culture, relationships, vocations, lifestyle, and on a scale large enough to make a difference in a troubled world. In these communities, children, women and men would share the ineffable delight of experientially knowing God; word and deed would fuse in the authentic unity of a lived life.

Indeed, Blair, Regina and their friends never saw the church institutionally, but as God’s people bound together in deep and abiding relationships of mutual love service. From their early days as Christians, they talked of the church and kingdom in terms of community.

Who could have envisioned how their efforts would unfold when, in the summer of 1973, Blair and Regina first moved into the Lower East Side slums of Manhattan? There they started the small mission church, Voice in the Wilderness, on the same block that the New York Daily News then described as the “worst” in the city, a virtual “pornorama of vice.” Yet from those inauspicious beginnings grew Heritage Ministries and the Homestead Heritage community of Waco, Texas, as well as daughter communities in Montana, Idaho, Virginia, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, Israel and beyond. Homestead Heritage is now visited by over 200,000 people a year. All of its ministries and offshoot communities, traditional crafts, educational and other services now extend worldwide.

From early in his ministry, Blair recognized that writing would be an integral part of his labors. He read and studied his entire adult life about the impact of ideas on individuals, cultures and whole peoples. He sought to understand how unconscious cultural assumptions often controlled people’s thinking, desires and actions in ways that worked against their own deepest needs. He labored and wrote to expose these largely hidden cultural ideas so that people might make real, informed choices about life’s most crucial matters. Blair has authored over 250 titles, extensively and intensively grappling with these and other related topics. Colloquium Press publishes his books in Elm Mott, Texas.

Until his passing, Blair resided with his loving wife, Regina, in Waco, Texas, surrounded by their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many lifelong friends.

Homestead Heritage mourns the passing of a loving shepherd of nearly 50 years. They bid farewell to a man who lived as he preached, walked humbly and loved liberally. They say goodbye to an ambassador of hope and inspiration, knowing his life’s sacrifice and message will live on in a community committed to making real the dream of God’s “city on a hill”—a refuge of peace for turbulent times.

Goodbye, Brother Blair. We miss you already; we’ll love you forever and will strive to honor your life and memory in following your faithful pursuit of Christ’s kingdom—come on earth as in heaven.


Messages and Condolences

Today we lay my father to rest. To me, he was and will always be known as Daddy. My heart and mind are so full I don’t even know where to start. I have a lifetime of memories that I will hold dear till it’s my time to go. My father was the most kind, the most giving, the most loving man I know. He was always living for God and others. He lived a life of conviction and sacrifice, caring very little for his own self-preservation. His life and legacy have literally impacted people all around the world. He instilled in us first and foremost the love of God but also a love of others, a love for the land, a love of mountains and deserts and wide-open places and big skies. We could sit for hours fishing, enjoying the outdoors even without catching anything. He often carried me on his back even after I was getting pretty heavy because of my leg being in casts and braces, so I always kind of saw the world from his perspective, being my eyes were on the same level, which I loved as a kid because I never had to try and see something because I saw right over it. I remember sitting for hours playing ring toss on a game my dad made for me, making up our own rules as we went. He was always just as happy when I would win as he was when he won, although he would tease me about beating up on my old dad. I remember shooting my first deer. Then there are the memories of doing nothing other than just sitting around laughing. I could go on and on, but the list would never end. He loved us like no other. I love you, Daddy, so much and know you are on the other side cheering us on. I will do my part to make sure your legacy goes on for generations to come.

From Jeremy Adams - August 1, 2021 7:25 pm

Sis Regina and Family, Thank you for the love that Heritage has shown the San Antonio community. Brother Blair will be missed! We love you all!

Sis Cal

From Cal Robinson - August 1, 2021 8:48 pm

I was deeply saddened to hear of Brother Blair’s passing. But also deeply grateful for the opportunity to have met and known and even blessed to -at times- been able to serve Brother Blair and Sister Regina. I never had the best experience with my own father in youth, though I loved him dearly. I was often afraid of his volatile anger, and so when I first met Brother Blair, he seemed, from far away, to be austere and unapproachable. In reality, he never was so, and I would find time and time again that his eyes would smile before his mouth, and he always spoke to me in kindness, even in the times when he was encouraging me to press in. Yes, I was profoundly impacted for the good, for God, by Brother Blair, and I am not ashamed for anyone to know it. My heart is with you all.

From Susan Hofmann - August 2, 2021 9:34 am

Our hearts were so heavy to hear of the passing of Brother Adams, but we also felt a tremendous hope for his victory over pain! We are so grateful to be able to see, feel and read all that God had given to Brother Blair! What a blessing and what a responsibility to move forward and to work out God’s vision! We will continue to pray for comfort and strength for all of our brothers and sisters in Waco! We will also commit to put our hands to the plow and continue to keep the fire going! You will be greatly missed, Brother Adams!!!

From The Smith Family San Antonio,TX - August 2, 2021 11:31 am

Dear Brother Blair,
I would like to thank you for the impact you’ve had on my life. If it hadn’t been for you risking so much— your reputation, your health, even your life— to go to East 14th Street, I probably wouldn’t even exist, because it was through your ministry that all my grandparents came to God. Because of you, I have been raised in the most wonderful community. Your sacrifice has made it possible for me to live a meaningful life, even though I am only 15 years old. High school classes where we study from books you labored to write, playing in the youth orchestra that your granddaughter helped to organize, working with the youth group on many exciting community projects, and so much more—all of these opportunities exist because of what you gave us. I have read some of the books you’ve written, and each page is filled with revelation and insight. I hope to read all your books. Even though you have gone to be with God, you live on in the lives of many, including your sons Brother Asi and Brother Nat and your grandson, Blair Joel, who have invested so much in my life and my friends’ lives. You live on in each person whom your life has touched. Thank you for all of this.

Love, Christopher

From Christopher Haldenstein - August 2, 2021 4:03 pm

– The Oak –

A Great Oak Tree has fallen,
Whose limbs once reached so close to the sky,
Whose shade has made so many sojourners pause, rest, wonder.

The once-live tree now lies down,
Its giant, natural form is parting from all who once received the life-giving energy.
And the empty space where the tree once stood,
Leaves a hole for others to fill, big neighboring trees and small ones,
Who have taken shelter from wind and snow.

Memories of laughter and sorrow around the strong trunk will be waning as the sun sets,
Fortunes buried over the years are just now sprouting.
Great life still glows on the morning dew.

From DK & Faith Sun - August 3, 2021 11:56 am

Our heartfelt condolences to the Adams family on the passing of our brother, Brother Blair. Death will only separate us temporarily. There is a better home awaiting! We are very thankful to have been a part of his abundant life. Our families’ lives would not have been so full and blessed if not for Brother Blair’s love and ministry from the Lord! He has equipped us for the future!

With all our love, Mike and Vicke Evans

From Mike Evans - August 3, 2021 3:19 pm

I met Brother Blair on a cold, snowy mid-January day in 1978 at a mutual friend’s house in upstate New York. Although the story with all the details is too long to tell now, it was a visit that changed my life for the good, forever. Seemingly, it happened by chance, but in reality, it happened because God’s love directed Brother Blair’s entire life. In that first visit, I remember doing most of the talking as Brother Blair graciously listened. He was easy to talk to, and we didn’t speak about insignificant stuff. He invited me to come and visit them during that short encounter, so I’ve been here ever since!

My mom, who was somewhat distraught over my belief that Jesus was the Messiah, mainly because I am Jewish, described that meeting in a poem she later wrote for my 50th birthday:

“Then miracle of miracles, you met Blair,
Wonderful people and love everywhere.”

My mom came to love Brother Blair deeply, as did he, my mom.

Over the years, there have been so many small and unseen ways that Brother Blair showed his love and care. He made you feel special, not in the sense that you were better or superior to others but in the fact that you were uniquely made by God, and therefore what you had to give for the well-being of others was of great worth if given with kindness and in humility. He always stressed that “love is its own reward.” From his kind smile to his wonderful sense of humor, he inspired you to be all that God created you to be, to live a life of love. His acts of kindness and words of grace met needs in your life that many times you didn’t even know you had.

My name is Gary, but Brother Blair called me Gabi. He had different names for many of us. Gabi is short for Gabriel, my Hebrew name. When he greeted me by saying, “Gabi,” he spoke it with a deep feeling of endearment. You may think it insignificant, but to me, it expressed his love and care. He made you feel like your life mattered. That was Brother Blair. That’s who he was. There was no fanfare or pretense. If you knew him, you would know this is no exaggeration.

Over the last months, as Brother Blair’s health declined, I started looking at the word Chesed that he so often ministered to us about and wrote a book about, because he realized it was the building block upon which marriage, families and communities were formed. As I read these definitions of Chesed, they described to me the life that Brother Blair lived. Chesed, which occurs 248 times in the Old Testament, is translated most often as mercy and kindness. Chesed is defined as a sustained, consistent act of charity done in advance or in anticipation of a situation occurring. It is performed no matter our mood, no matter how much else is going on. It is proactive. Chesed never gives us a day off. It is a sustained, consistent reaching, giving to those in need, not an act but a way of life. Chesed realizes what the overarching need is and finds the means and actions to meet that demand.

Walther Eichrodt defines Chesed as “the brotherly comradeship and loyalty which one party to a covenant must render to another.” “It is therefore marked by mutuality, friendship, fraternity, loyalty and love.” Chesed is “more appropriately understood as a trust that is characterized by overflowing and lack of boundaries. One significant outgrowth of this kindness is that Chesed causes a person to want to unabashedly share with others, breaking his own limits of selfishness.”

Chesed is what inspired and empowered Brother Blair’s life. He broke all boundaries of selfishness and laid down his life for us. He taught us through his life what it truly means to be a Christian, giving no thought for himself but rather always considering the needs of others. I believe that’s why he made the Chesed banner the most prominent banner in our sanctuary, to be a constant reminder of the centrality of Chesed in a Christian’s life. That love will never fail.

One last definition that I found for Chesed is “genuine friendship.” The definition of “genuine” is: free from hypocrisy or pretense; sincere, authentic. That was Brother Blair! He was a genuine friend, a friend who stuck closer than a brother; we will miss him.

From Gary Linzer - August 4, 2021 5:53 pm

I first met Brother Blair at a Pentecostal meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, 1974. The love of God, the excitement and commitment that poured forth for the mighty work our Lord was doing in New York, ignited a spark in my heart. I remember praying,” The relationship these brothers and sisters have with You is something I so desperately need.”

So at the age of 16, I left for New York with nothing but a few clothes and a quarter in my pocket. Brother Blair, Sister Regina and the small community of believers opened their arms wide, becoming the family I had never known. The teachings and ministry Brother Blair so selflessly with dedication taught has sustained me throughout my life. I think of that scripture, train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart.

Now that I am old, this ministry of God’s incredible love that Brother Blair exemplified will bring me all the way home.

Forever a memory for Brother Blair’s unselfish dedication to Christ LIVES in their family, their children and the community of believers that truly are a reflection of God’s grace, mercy and compassion in this dark and lonely world.

Brother Blair, we love you so much.
Holly Chipps

From Holly Chipps - August 6, 2021 8:19 pm

When I think of Brother Blair I can bear witness to the way so many have described him. I’ve never known a kinder man, and it was clear that his honor for the Lord Jesus stood above every other consideration or relationship in his life. He was a faithful shepherd always seeking the good of the church, always ready to risk his life when danger threatened the flock (John 10:13-14).

My dad—Robert Anz—before he passed away 17 years ago told us many times that Brother Blair was the most genuine and kind man he ever knew. He told me, the changes God brought in his life, through encountering Brother Blair’s ministry, saved our family. I know he felt very indebted, and would say so now if he were still with us.

Several years ago Brother Blair offered to help me with my endeavors to master easel art. I will always treasure the memories of the many times we would look at my paintings together in his living room. It always amazed me how much it excited him to see them. He would offer suggestions for improvement and much encouragement. He wanted to help in any way he could. He lent me books from his collection, researched and recommended workshops and much more. After all this, he would usually express concern that he wasn’t offering enough to make it worth my time. That is not at all how I felt about it. Besides the art, we had history lessons, told stories, laughed a lot and talked about what God was doing in the church.

I will miss Brother Blair greatly. His example in life and ministry will be a part of me for the rest of my life. I am privileged to have had the opportunity to share this journey, all these years, with Brother Blair.

From Daniel Anz - August 7, 2021 2:30 am

I was so sorry to learn of Blair’s passing. For some time I had wanted to meet him as he was so obviously a gifted speaker, writer and leader. My heart goes out to all of you in your loss and grief. My prayer is that you will be comforted during this time of transition.

From Mike Davisson - August 7, 2021 12:35 pm

What an inspiring life and legacy Brother Blair lived and left behind. I am grateful to have been touched by his ministry. His books and teaching have helped me deepen my relationship with God, and I am thankful for that. I feel the true love of God when I get to visit the community and always leave feeling better for having visited. My thoughts and prayers and deep love are with you all!!

Love,
Sister Lexi

From Alexis Lawrence - August 8, 2021 7:28 pm

Brother Blair was an Apostle. Truly a man of God!

From Elbert Watts - August 9, 2021 8:52 pm

Reflecting on Granddaddy’s life the morning after he passed away, these words which Paul wrote to the Philippians came to me:

“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.…Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.” (‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:1-4, 14-16)

This captures some sense of the kind of selfless love Granddaddy exemplified every day. There are so many good words that could be (and have been) used to describe his extraordinary life and all he accomplished, but I think one of the best I’ve heard is simply “unselfish.” Everything he did and gave his life for was motivated by this unselfish love and care for others, and that God might get the glory, not just in the victories—of which there abound so countless many—but also in the pain, in the trials, in the sufferings.

To Granddaddy and Grandmama: As your grandchildren and as third generation members of this church community, we are committed with our whole lives to making your joy complete, to honoring God and to honoring the sacrifice you’ve made by loving and serving—even in the seemingly mundane, inglorious, unseen ways—with the same unselfish attitude you’ve embodied every day. May our lives fulfill the small, undeserved part God has granted us in proving that your labors and your race are not in vain.

We love you both beyond words and, Granddaddy, we miss you immensely.
Isaac & Helen

From Isaac French - August 12, 2021 12:47 am

“Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find? The righteous man who walks in his integrity – blessed are his children after him.” Proverbs 20:6.

When I first came on to the land on my fifty-third birthday in 1996, I came from a far place – not from far away physically but from the remoteness of a spiritual wasteland, cynical about Christendom, profoundly concerned about the rapidly disintegrating moral values of contemporary culture, and despairing of ever finding a place of love, joy and peace in the midst of this dark, dark world. The minute I stepped into the visitors’ center, I knew I had come to a different world, to a place deeply planted and rooted in a faith that I did not know. It provoked in me a deep “jealousy” and longing to discover what this was and how this community of faithful people, who really lived what they believed, had possibly come to be. And so I was introduced to Bro. Blair’s vision for the church to live out and exemplify an alternative culture, a “kingdom not of this world,” and to the astounding revelation and experience of a life-changing, personal, enduring relationship with Jesus. All this was possible because, in Bro. Blair, I encountered a man of steadfast faith who never wavered from the path that God continually called him to walk and who, his whole life “walked in his integrity.” The scripture in Luke 18:8 says, “When the Son of Man comes will He find persistence in faith on the earth?” Bro. Blair showed us by his example, his ministry and his great love for us, what it means to have “persistence in faith” on this earth. I want my life to honor his example so others will discover the “pearl of great price,” as I have.

Thank you, Bro. Blair. I will love you forever.

Kay Toombs

From Kay Toombs - August 16, 2021 2:15 pm

D. L. Moody said: “The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to Him.” Brother Blair was such a man. I have never known another man so fully consecrated to the Lord. I am grateful that God brought us here where we have experienced the blessing of his ministry. We are surrounded by living testimonies of the depth of Brother Blair’s love and ministry, as he consistently laid down his life for others, in faithfulness to God’s call. He will be missed, but never forgotten! I commit to carry the truth God has revealed to us, to continue walking in His unfolding light, and strive to live my life wholly consecrated to God.

From Eric Stanton - August 16, 2021 6:02 pm

It is not possible to fully put into words what Brother Blair has meant to us and our family. Brother Blair’s ministry and teaching has brought life and meaning to us. He uncompromisingly ministered the Word of God and always believed we could live up to it. Though we failed many times, he never gave up. He lived what he taught us and loved us with God’s love.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

We will be ever grateful for the wonderful life that we live, and this amazing community of believers that exists because of Brother Blair’s life and ministry.

Bill and Kathy Klingensmith

From Bill and Kathy Klingensmith - August 16, 2021 9:38 pm

Our First Memory of Brother Blair

We visited Rehoboth Ranch for the second time in the Spring of 1988, our hearts full of deep troubling questions. We were having such an intense conversation with Bro. Tony Salmeri on the porch of the big building that surroundings faded away until a movement caught my eye. At dusk, to the left of where we were sitting, I saw a man’s silhouette. He walked up the steps and sat in a chair slightly in back of us. We and Bro. Tony continued our conversation. After a good while, the man quietly got up and walked back down the stairs into the waning light.

We never knew until several years later that that man was Bro. Blair, but by then we had come to know him ourselves.

Unobtrusive. Caring. Concerned. Overseeing. Wondering how these pilgrims were receiving the Word of God from Bro. Tony. Trusting God in Bro. Tony. I am sure, praying for us.

Our lives have been forever changed by this man’s honor for God and his love for God’s people. We will carry forward the baton of faith that he has firmly placed in our hands to run the race God has set before us. Thank you Brother Blair

From Ruth Anne Akers - August 16, 2021 11:07 pm

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
(Robert Frost)

We are so grateful that you chose, not the easy path, but the one that few travel. It has made all the difference for us, our children, and many others. You showed us what it means to live a life full of life. You always believed that this life was worth the struggle, and you were right.

You told us that, after suffering the tragic loss of your father at a young age, you had to find answers. You had to understand why these things happened so often in this broken world. And you gave your life to not only finding the answers for yourself, but helping others to find them too.

The hopeless and meaningless outlook that defined the families we came from for generations was completely broken. You believed we could overcome all of the things that destroy relationships—all the disintegration and dysfunction that plagues families and communities. You once told us that there are no statistics in the Kingdom of God—only overcomers. You were right.

We now live our lives in place where God’s triumphant love reigns , and not statistics— because you believed such a life was possible. Now we are all living for God in the context of this community. Many of us have married and our mother (Ellen) has 36 grandchildren! We are forever grateful for what we have been given through your ministry and example. This life-giving life, built on the love that that is truly stronger than death, will continue on for generations to come through us. We will love and remember you forever.

Love, The Extended Cunningham Family
Ellen Cunningham
Stephen & Aurora Alexander
William & Dakotah Cunningham
Andrew & Joella Cunningham
Josh & Amy Haldenstein
Sam & Hadassah Cunningham
Michael & Rebekah Cunningham
Mitchell & Sarah Thompson
Jesse & Ariana Cunningham
Simeon Cunningham
Ezra Cunningham

From The Cunningham Family - August 17, 2021 9:16 am

I met Brother Blair 47 years ago. It was August, 1974. I was a teenager. That relationship has changed my life, not once, but many times. Brother Blair’s love of God and of people has moved many mountains in many lives. He labored, intent that we would grow into what God wanted for each one and for all of us together. Even when I didn’t see it as clearly as he did, he loved gently, patiently, and in the same gracious way was uncompromising, always reaching for the next steps for all of us, encouraging us to draw closer to God and His way, always seeking the higher vision. His vision illuminated our vision. His love taught me to love. From the 92nd St. Y to the lower east side, and then we were on a journey of exodus, seeking a land that God would show us, not seeing fully, but full of the vision and hope and expectation that Brother Blair fanned to flame.

During one New Jersey meeting in the early days of our church, perhaps 1976, Brother Blair called Sister Regina to come up to the platform to sing a song with him (they never led songs). They stood in front of us with tears streaming down their faces and sang, “You don’t know like I know what He’s done for me.” And I realized that I didn’t know like they knew, not yet. Now, 45 years later that remains one of my poignant memories of them.
Brother Blair’s vision of the church as a viable alternative to the world pressed into our lives, changing hearts, feelings, patterns of thought. I’m especially thankful that he challenged my unexamined assumptions. I’m thankful for Brother Blair’s passion, his determination, to overcome every obstacle in order to establish the kingdom of God in many hearts and many lives. Brother Blair was never satisfied with simplistic answers that could not stand against the strong winds of opposition. He was willing to dig deeper – deeper convictions, deeper understandings, deeper love, eternal truths, digging to bedrock. Thank you for caring deeply.

And now, look what that vision and love has grown into! My grandchildren have a future. We are singing the songs of the kingdom of God. Our hearts beat in sync with God and one another. We are following the Voice that Brother Blair taught us to follow.

Thank you, thank you! It has been a wonderful journey. I cannot imagine a more wonderful way this side of heaven. And thank you to all who continue on this great pathway!

With love,
John Haldenstein

From John Haldenstein - August 17, 2021 6:42 pm

Arguably, a slave is “free” the moment he escapes from his captor’s grasp. However, at this point, the likelihood that he’ll be recaptured and returned to the service of this master is very high, in fact probable. In order to be truly free, he must make it safely to a whole new place where he can live a fulfilling and abundant life, with no fear of returning, because he’s been purchased anew by a loving master. I’m not sure I would ever have been able to make it, if Brother Blair hadn’t carved out the path between the two, blazing every landmark, setting up safe houses, employing trusted helpers and watchman along the way, like a modern day underground railroad prepared for the most desperate slaves to sin. Having escaped, I became a part of a holy city, this community of freedmen in a safe refuge, serving one another in self sacrificial love. I know it’s my new master Jesus who set me free, and I know only I could determine to risk everything to break and run, but even with all of the guideposts and support that Brother Blair established and maintained, it was difficult for me. So, I do not believe I could have done it on my own. I am forever indebted to him for his pioneering faith in action. I will miss his constant humility and clear vision. Let it fall to others in even greater measure, if that is possible.
With Love,

From Claude Van Ness - August 18, 2021 1:35 am

There is little we, the Forkel family, can add to the felicitous words to be read here about Blair Adams. What we as visitors to Homestead Heritage with only some encounters with Blair can do is say thank you. Thank you, Blair, for welcoming us, thank you, Blair, for allowing us to get a glimpse into life in harmony with the Lord. May your soul rest in peace. And we thank the Lord that he led our path to Homestead Heritage and let us meet with Blair, and others there.

Hans Walter Forkel for the Forkel family

From Hans Walter Forkel - August 18, 2021 10:24 pm

My wife and I first met Brother Blair and Sister Regina at the Ranch in Colorado. We were two young Israelis in our early twenties traveling the world.

Though we grew up in Israel in the Galilee, we did not believe in God or the Bible, and we tried to stay far away from Christianity. Nonetheless, something happened in that first visit to the small community in Colorado. Hope slipped into our hearts from their happy faces, their joyous life, their fellowship, and their work together.

A baby boy was born that night to Brother Blair and Sister Regina. They named him Simeon (after the man in the Bible waiting for the consolation of Israel) and Shavar Leomi (Hebrew: “the birth of My people”). What a prophetic name it proved to be, two years later, when we were born into the kingdom. Indeed, something was born in all of our hearts that night as well.

Later, when we told an Israeli friend about our visit, he asked us, “How do you know they didn’t just play a game for you, and when you left, they became normal?” Well, we came back a year later and stayed for three weeks. When we left that time, we said to one another, “If they are playing a game, they are playing it very well. There is something real here!”

Brother Blair and this small discipleship community laid down their lives to build a bridge of love between two irreconcilable worlds—secular Israelis and the loving, humble Jewish Messiah, Yahshua. They bridged the fears that made us perceive Christianity as the Inquisition, pogroms, and Nazis, whom we mistakenly thought were “Christians.”

As our relationships deepened with the community and we visited more over the next two years, our hearts yearned for more. We asked many questions, trying to comprehend how people can live so close, loving and serving each other, creating a community but with no common purse (like the kibbutz). They lived out personal responsibility within each family yet felt much closer to one another than we ever experienced. We discovered the power that made community possible, which we never really knew about. Brother Blair encouraged us then, “When you are ready, call on God, and He will answer.” We did do that and called on the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, asking Him to reveal Himself to us—and He did. Jesus became a reality in our lives through a deep, personal experience, and we became part of this beautiful community.
Brother Blair married us 35 years ago, and a wondrous journey began.

As a young married couple, we lived close to the Adamses on the Ranch. They were always there, as parents, to help us in our new beginning. I remember Brother Blair’s wise counsel directing me to learn to pray. Once, praying in the middle of the night, God spoke to me directly and gave me victory. I was so excited; I could hardly wait for the morning to call him and tell him. He was so happy. Nothing made him happier than to see people become right with God, feeling the faith and love to move forward and then doing it.

I asked him in my excitement, “Can I do something for you?” (I felt grateful for God’s liberating Word of truth).

He said, “One thing you can do for me: give yourself entirely to God.” There was no greater reward for him than to see his children walking in the truth, embracing a relationship with Jesus.

I had the privilege and honor to know Brother Blair for 37 years, as a father in my life, a friend, and an example of love, care, selflessness, and much more.

He was someone who never asked you to do or be what he didn’t require of himself, someone I will forever strive to emulate. We’ve all witnessed this vision’s reality birthed, not only here but all over the world, through the sacrifice of a great man with a great wife. And this vision will not die. Twenty-three years ago, Brother Blair said in our twenty-fifth-anniversary: “If the death [of our early pioneers] seems incapable of canceling out their lives, this really shouldn’t be too surprising, since all this began 2,000 years ago with an empty grave, with life overcoming death.”

How true those words ring today as we mourn Brother Blair’s passing. Still, worldwide, we are devoted to keeping this torch burning and carrying this vision and mission forward by God’s grace.

From Tsafrir Yarden - August 27, 2021 1:21 am

There has never been a man or minister for whom I prayed more often than Blair Adams. Many times and many ways we thanked God for Blair and Regina.

From Anthony Graeber - August 28, 2021 9:47 am

One week after Brother Blair‘s passing, I was walking alone one evening on our church property and as I passed the Fellowship Hall there were nearly 200 young people singing and dancing the Jewish Hora. The sound of their joyous celebration and praise drifted across the quiet landscape as they sang, “Our Father is alive… He’s living in His people who live to do His will, He’s living in His people, His people Israel.”

I immediately remembered Brother Blair speaking about the dream and vision he had all the way back in New York City in the 1970s. He said that he envisioned a place where brothers and sisters were united as a “city set upon a hill” and “the light of the world”, and he could hear the age-old singing and laughter and see the dancing feet at the weddings of his children and grandchildren.

As I heard the sound of singing and dancing of the third generation, I knew the vision was alive and would live on! And as I sat in the wedding of Brother Blair’s grandson who carries the same name, I could feel that the same vision had been fanned into flame in his own heart as well. Brother Blair’s dream had not been in vain!

As for myself, part of the second generation, expecting my first child in just one month, I am committed to carrying this same vision. I will never forget the profound love and care that Brother Blair expressed as he ministered to us and shepherded us into the narrow path where there is life, and helped us to find unity with our brothers and sisters and with Jesus. His love for God overflowed to all of us in so many countless ways.

I remember so clearly when Brother Blair and Sister Regina would come into our Cafe where I worked as a waiter. Though it was my place to serve them, I always felt that in the end I had received so much more than I had given. Brother Blair always took the time to share parts of his testimony with me and encourage me to continue on with the Lord even when it seemed difficult.

Now I am committed to passing this vision of love on to my children and grandchildren and to all those that come seeking the hope that lies within us.
Thank you Brother Blair for the fire that you kindled within our hearts!

With much love,
Nathaniel and Aridai Klingensmith

From Nathaniel Klingensmith - August 29, 2021 1:18 pm

Dearest Adams Family,

We are sorry that we never got to meet Blair Adams in person. By all the stories, told and read about him, Blair sounds like he was a God send to so many. Especially to his family. Please accept our heartfelt deepest sympathies.

With love
Carrie and Gaylynn

From Carrie and Gaylynn Owen / Duquette - September 14, 2021 1:38 pm

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