From Scott to You – Finishing His Race

posted by Navigators on November 11th, 2026 in Blog

Dear friend,

‘… the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.’ 2 Tim 4:6-8. I imagine Timothy received those words from Paul with a deep sense of loss and grief, but also an immense joy and excitement as his spiritual father finally received his greatest longing – his welcome into the glorious presence of his Lord and Saviour, Jesus.

We felt those same emotions upon hearing about one of our Navigator spiritual fathers and former National Director, Doug Utley, who faithfully finished his race on Saturday, 12 September. Doug was welcomed into Jesus’ glorious presence after suffering a heart attack while hiking in Tajikistan with members of his People of Passion small group, one of his latest initiatives.

I’ll always remember Doug as full of kindness, enthusiasm, care and compassion. Every time I saw him he confirmed, ‘I pray for your family every day!’, and he meant it. He constantly worked on ways of sharing his love and passion for Christ and encouraged those he met to ‘let their spiritual lives be natural and their natural lives be spiritual.’ I don’t know if he originated that saying, but I know it’s how he lived!

We will share more on his life in our next issue [of Compass], but for now I’ll close by stating the obvious: Doug will be deeply missed! Yet the legacy of his life is sure to resound in praise and glory to God for years to come. And I know it will be measured in generations, as his wife (Geneve), children, grandchildren and all whom he impacted through his faithful love, humility and service strive to follow his example, just as he followed Christ.

By Grace,
Scott Brown
National Director

Featured photograph: Four generations of National Directors (L-R) Scott Brown, Grant Dibden, Mike Johnson and Doug Utley.