Family Talk

Dr. James Dobson: Welcome everyone to Family Talk. It's a ministry of the James Dobson Family Institute supported by listeners just like you. I'm Dr. James Dobson, and I'm thrilled that you've joined us.

Gary Bauer: Welcome to Family Talk, the broadcast ministry of the James Dobson Family Institute. I'm Gary Bauer, the senior vice president of the Dobson Policy and Culture Center and host of the Defending Faith, Family, and Freedom podcast.

In Proverbs 27:2, we read this verse, "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; let it come from the lips of someone else, and not your own." We're going to hear today from another one of our everyday heroes of the faith, but we're not actually going to meet him. Instead, we've invited his oldest daughter to the Family Talk studio to share with us about her father's legacy.

His name is Mike Tennant, and his love of the Lord and his passion to minister to others has essentially revolutionized city planning and community engagement in the Pacific Northwest. After moving from Portland to Bend, Oregon, in 1979, Mike began selling real estate. He met and married his bride, Adele, a few years later. They began a family ministry, raised three daughters, and enjoyed a good life.

But Mike felt called to do more for the Lord and his community. In 1992, Mike launched Tennant Developments. I think 1992 was a year of a recession, and yet it says something about him that he thought that was a good year to start a new business. The goal was creating communities where families could grow and the business and faith communities could thrive.

Just a few years later, by 1996, he established a construction company to help build out those communities. But his goal was not just profit-driven; it was also stewardship-oriented. He pioneered revolutionary changes in the way the laws are written that help shape community development building projects and so forth.

By the year 2000, in a really short time frame, God had blessed Mike's efforts to the point where he launched Northwest Crossing. Now, if you're east of the Rockies, maybe you've never heard of Northwest Crossing, but if you live in the Pacific Northwest, you know all about it. It's an award-winning community that people have written about, admired, and many have tried to copy, but nobody comes close.

Now, through the Tennant Charitable Fund, Mike and his wife, Adele, continue to steward God's resources to help and inspire others. In the meantime, he's established himself as a world-class athlete. He was a swimmer and an amateur boxer in his youth, but Mike re-entered competitive swimming in his 50s. He's established a new world record in the master's division in the 50-meter long race as well as having record times in some other competitions.

At 72 years young, Mike Tennant shows no signs of stopping now. He credits part of his success to Dr. James Dobson and the James Dobson Family Institute for playing a vital role in spurring on his spiritual growth. That's why we are honored today to hear more about this everyday hero from his daughter, Heather Salveson. Heather, welcome to Family Talk. We're glad that you're with us. We've been looking forward to this.

The last time we saw each other was a few years ago. My wife, Carol, and I were pleased to have dinner with you and your husband. I believe your dad was there too at one of Dr. Dobson's events. We spent a few hours together, but later Carol and I both agreed it felt like we had known you for years. So, welcome to the show.

Heather Salveson: Gary, thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I'm humbled and honored to be reunited with you at last after that very endearing, memorable night. I don't know that "twitterpated" is the right word that one should use when they meet Gary Bauer, but being in the room with Dr. Dobson and sitting at the table with Gary Bauer really was the honor of a lifetime. I just kept telling my husband to pinch me because I couldn't believe what a blessing it was to get to sit with you and Carol and be a part of that incredible event at the gathering. I am so honored to be here with you today.

Gary Bauer: You're too kind. As I recall, Dr. Dobson always drew an incredible group of first-class speakers. We had some real stars there, and as I recall, that was the year I think we first had Charlie Kirk. I believe he and Dr. Dobson had this exchange about how when you're succeeding, don't forget your family. It was one of those special moments when Charlie and Jim both had that conversation about family.

This leads me to my first question, and it's about family. A lot of times when we're children and we grow up in a home, Mom and Dad are just Mom and Dad. Sometimes it's a lot later when you realize your mother and father were incredible people. Do you have a recollection when in your life, as you were growing and maturing, it first hit you that your dad was just not an average guy?

Heather Salveson: He is not an average guy; that's the understatement of the century. I'd like to toot my own horn and say that I knew it from a very early age and I was an angel through my teenage years in devotion of how wonderful of a father he was. But really, I gave him quite a run for his money. I think I shared in my notes that he accused me of being the inspiration for "The Strong-Willed Child" by Dr. Dobson.

But really, I think not until I became a parent and had children of my own did I really understand and experience a deeper level of gratitude for the sacrifice that my parents made while raising us. Like I said, Dad didn't pursue his own hobbies or endeavors or athletic ambitions until we were out of the house. He was a hard-working, devoted dad. He never missed a swim meet. He never missed a dance recital.

Somehow he managed to do more in a 24-hour period than the average person does in a week. I don't think I saw that as a child the way that I do as an adult, realizing the call of parenthood is a high one. As Dr. Dobson always says, it starts in the home; it must start in the home. My dad understood that. He was devoted to us on every level that a father and a husband can be devoted, in providing and in working, and his ethic.

He never complained about long work hours and sacrificed all of his own desires and ambitions. He was in the Word, he led us to church, he worked hard, and he managed to pull off always being available to help with homework and to take us on walks after school and to be there for all of our performances. As an adult, I realize now as a mother, that's a tall order. He did it really beautifully and effortlessly without ever complaining.

Gary Bauer: Sadly, we have a lot of children today in America that don't have a parent like that, or they've got a parent that's so stressed by all kinds of issues, financial and otherwise. I remember when I was at the Department of Education in the Reagan years, I read this study that showed what was most likely a cause for children to come out of the family being capable and sure of themselves, having confidence, was if they had a parent that put them in front of everything else. The phrase was "adults that were crazy about their kids." Your dad certainly was that.

Looking over the wonderful material you shared with us, my recollection was that your dad himself did not grow up poor. But what jumps out when you read his life story is that he always had this passion for those that were struggling financially. Tell us a little bit about where you think that came from and why it's been such an important part of his life.

Heather Salveson: It's a beautiful thing that one of my uncles wrote a memoir of my grandfather because my grandfather passed when I was young. Diving into his story of how he came from immigrant parents from Ireland who were very poor and how my grandfather did live through the Depression and World War II and served and experienced a lot of poverty and just had this moxie, my grandfather had.

He was an entrepreneur. There was no job that was beneath him. If he needed to attend high school classes and then go wash dishes and then do a night shift as a janitor and then spend the wee hours of the morning delivering 300 papers, which is what he built his own paper route up to, he would do it. I think that there was just a grit that came truly from that generation in general.

But my dad witnessed his father have that work ethic and that he was self-made and built up what ended up becoming truly an empire in the shipping industry. My dad witnessed the humility that my grandfather had and his work ethic and working so hard, never complaining, putting family and faith first always. That really inspired my dad. I know that my dad would give a lot of credit to his father even though he was a bit of an absentee father during my dad's childhood.

I think my dad's high school buddies at Jesuit didn't think he had a dad because he was never around. It's because he traveled and worked so hard, and my dad will even admit that it wasn't until he was an adult that he realized again the sacrifice and the example and the leadership that my grandfather so humbly led his family into and always was generous, always took the time to help others.

My dad had that instilled upon him, and that was through the Catholic faith. How much more so for my dad as becoming a born-again believer as an adult and following Christ into a personal relationship as a Christian did he realize what his Savior had done for him. Who was he to not extend that with his hands wide open to everyone he came into contact with?

The work ethic, the drive, the humility, and the generosity, I know my dad would contribute in large part to his own upbringing. Like I said, my dad wasn't given anything, though, by his parents who ended up really creating a lot of wealth and a positive reputation through their hard work. My dad started from scratch with my mom.

They had two pennies to rub together. I remember my mom saying that she got her wedding dress off of a secondhand rack that was three sizes too big and had to alter it the day before with her sister and had a backyard barbecue wedding. My parents had a very humble start, and so my dad saw what that looks like and what it means to have that drive, determination, passion, sacrifice, and again, humility to build something from the ground up and how good that feels at the end of the day. He's instilled that in us three girls.

Gary Bauer: That's a great answer, Heather. You mentioned the humble beginnings of your mom and dad when they got married. They have an interesting courtship story. Dr. Dobson used to love hearing about how couples got brought together by God for that man and woman that God intended to be together. I remember at a retreat we used to go to with Dr. Dobson, one of the first things he would do with the couples that were there was ask each couple to stand up and talk about how they first met, was it love at first sight, and how did they explain their strong marriages. So tell us about your mom and dad and how they first fell in love.

Heather Salveson: I love that also about Dr. Dobson. We can't ever take ourselves too seriously, can we, Gary? When we start thinking about the sense of humor God has when he brings two people together, we are reminded that he does indeed have a sense of humor. My parents are no exception; that's for be sure.

My mom was raised in Malibu, California. Talk about humble beginnings; my grandmother was full-blooded Japanese. My grandfather was full-blooded Hungarian. They essentially had an arranged marriage after the war, and my mom grew up with a lot of prejudice because she was half-Japanese and this was in the very early 50s down in California after the war.

My grandfather was a gardener and my grandmother was a housekeeper for Mary Pickford, if you remember Mary Pickford back in the 50s, the actress. My mom was one of six children. They shared a one-bedroom house. The six kids slept in one bed in the one bedroom of the house, and my grandparents shared the couch. They were very hard-working, humble individuals.

My mom experienced a lot of tragedy young in life. She lost a sister in an accident. Her mother became very disabled because of that accident, and then a year later lost my grandfather, whom I was never able to meet. She was raised Catholic, again, with a strong work ethic and a lot of grit with that generation and all that they endured without complaint.

My mom came to Oregon for a fresh start. Her sister had moved to Bend and gotten involved in real estate and had met my dad. I'm so grateful she didn't snatch him up for herself; she played matchmaker. My dad was quite a catch and she thought that they would be a good pair or at least get to explore Bend together since they were both so new to the area and they were both interested in real estate.

My aunt set my mom and my dad up back in the late 70s. They fell in love. They have different versions of this part, Gary, but my dad was very ambitious and had a lot that he wanted to accomplish before settling down and having a family. He wanted to achieve a lot of his goals financially. He wanted to start his own real estate company.

He didn't feel like it was the right thing to lead my mom on if he wasn't ready to commit to marriage because she was very ready and she knew in her heart that my dad was the one that God had brought to her as a husband. So she was devastated when he broke up with her and basically said, "I'm not ready to get married. It's not you, it's me" kind of thing.

That didn't go over great, but my mom, bless her, had wisdom and she blessed and released him as devastated as she was. I think she felt God's assurance and peace. She wasn't walking with the Lord as a Christian quite yet. She was from a Catholic background, but she was a woman of deep faith, deep humility, and was truly in love with my dad and I know it really did devastate her when he broke up with her.

Long story short, Gary, Dad went on a men's retreat at his new Christian church that he started attending in Bend. It was at this retreat, I think it was the second night of a three-night retreat, where a weight just came upon my dad. The Lord just burdened his heart to be convicted that all his accomplishments, all his ambition that he had would mean nothing if he didn't have the right woman by his side to support and share all of that with him.

He left the retreat early. He showed up at my mom's doorstep at 6:00 AM in the morning on a Saturday morning. He knocked on her door. She comes to the door in her bathrobe, and he got down on one knee and proposed and said, "Adele, I am sorry. God brought you to me, and who am I to think that my agenda, my goals, my dreams, my desires cannot come in partnership with a life with you? Will you be my wife?" Of course, my mom said yes, forgave him, brought him inside, and made him a can of tomato soup because that's all she had in the cupboard. He was starving. He didn't have a ring; he just had a heart full of humility and love for my mom. That's their very humble start. It's a great story.

Gary Bauer: I've heard a lot of these stories over the years; I'm not sure I've ever heard one where the proposal took place at 6:00 AM in the morning and the future wife was in her bathrobe. You can't make this up.

Heather, we talked about the fact that first your dad was selling real estate and then he got in the business of developing communities. Developing communities around America can become a very controversial thing because a lot of the developments are really not an improvement. They take away a lot of good things and use up land that had been reserved for nature.

But when your father got into development, he brought a whole new approach, or really from what I've been able to read, an inspired approach to it. That ran into a lot of bureaucrats that tend to be in every state when it comes to the regulations on building and so forth. So I'm sure that didn't always go easily as your father confronted those rules. Tell us a little bit about how he overcame that and did his faith play a role in being able to confront those roadblocks?

Heather Salveson: Absolutely, Gary. I'm honored to help share part of Dad's legacy in the developing realm of things because, yes, he could have probably stayed in real estate and been quite successful. Yes, we've experienced some recessions here in Central Oregon through the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, but Dad's vision was bigger.

Developers get a bad rap; however, my dad knew that we lived in a place that offered a phenomenal quality of life. When you live in a place that is attractive to families to want to raise their children, you can't not grow, but you can grow well and you can grow wisely. You can steward the projects and the developments and the neighborhoods well and wisely to bless a community in a way that adds value and doesn't take away from it.

That really was his vision. At that time, a lot of developers were doing these big-box developments where they were just clear-cutting parcels of land and doing cookie-cutter housing, taking down anything of character in a neighborhood that would make it appealing, and they just wanted the biggest bang for their buck and to cram as many identical houses onto a street as possible.

My dad came in and had this idea of this mixed-use community, a place where you can live and work in the same place, a place where your kids can walk to school, you can walk to church, where there's mixed use as far as light industrial, commercial, and residential in the same neighborhood with parks and schools and churches and commercial areas. It was a brand-new idea.

He did experience a lot of pushback from the city and from other builders, and he persevered. He had this vision, and I know that he'd give credit to God for giving him this dream of Central Oregon affording a phenomenal quality of life for families. I'm so blessed I got to be raised here in Bend, and he saw that. He wanted it to be affordable for everyone that wanted to call Bend home.

He wanted people to purchase homes that they felt proud of, that they could invest in, and that they could do life in and that they could raise their children in and where you didn't have to hop in a car to drive to church or to get some groceries and the children could ride their bikes. He put in miles and miles and miles of bike paths so that kids could recreate safely, and he donated parcels of land to schools and churches so that he could create this community where people do life together.

He moved garages to the back alleys of these neighborhoods so that you didn't walk down a street or drive down a street where you had constant cars pulling in and out of driveways, which is a safety issue as well for pedestrians and children on bicycles. He put all the garages in the back alleyways, and that just wasn't being done back then.

He fought to change the setbacks of these developments to allow that and so that front porches were in conversational distance to create community with neighbors and so that people didn't just get home from work and they weren't gobbled up by their garage doors; they were able to be a part of a community that was aesthetically beautiful, that created friendship and relationship, and cultivated a safe, healthy atmosphere to raise children in.

That was really his heart, and I'm just so proud that he persevered and fought through that. There are dozens of neighborhoods in the area of Central Oregon that have his stamp, his name, and his vision all over it, and it continues to be a legacy gift to this community. I'm so proud of him that he didn't quit, he didn't give up, and he didn't take no for an answer.

Gary Bauer: Heather, this is really incredibly fantastic to hear more of the details about your dad's life and all that he's accomplished for the Kingdom. Is there any chance, I know how busy you are with your own children and all the work that you do, but could we impose on you to come back for another day?

Heather Salveson: Gary, I thought you'd never ask. I'm all yours. I'd be honored and delighted to join you again. I feel like we've just barely touched the tip of the iceberg with my dad's amazing story and his vision and what he's still working on. So I'd be honored.

Gary Bauer: Fantastic. We'll see you tomorrow.

Heather Salveson: I'll be here. Thanks, Gary.

Roger Marsh: Mike Tennant's story reminds us that in our daily work, whether we're in real estate, education, healthcare, or any other field, it can become a platform for Kingdom impact when we surrender our ambitions to God's greater purposes.

You've been listening to Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk and part one of Gary Bauer's conversation with Heather Salveson about her father's remarkable journey. Now, if you missed any portion of today's broadcast or if you'd like to share it with a friend, go to jdfi.net and be sure to join us again next time when Heather returns to share more about her father's legacy and the ongoing impact of his vision.

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This has been a presentation of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.