Sentimental Cards

“Evangelism isn’t our purpose in life,” Randy said, then paraphrasing 2 Corinthians 5:9, he added, ” Pleasing God is our purpose. Evangelism is our mission and we should share our faith every day.

That’s just what disciples do and you can’t be a disciple without the constant desire to go and make disciples. But we’re suppose to make it our goal, our purpose, to please God in EVERY area of our lives. Everything we do is supposed to be for God.” He paused briefly and looked out the window as we drove through the Gorge on our way to the lodge. Turning back around to me he said, “Life… it’s all about God.” Randy could hardly make a statement all weekend long that didn’t include that sentiment over and over again; that it’s all about God.

We were so blessed to have Randy and Kay McKean, now from northern Virginia visiting with us especially for our married retreat. They also spoke for all of our singles, campus and teens on Friday evening at the Smith Center on PSU’s campus downtown when their theme was “It’s All About God”. Then they rode with us out to the Skamania Lodge where our tradition is to have a Fall Married Retreat just over the Bridge of the Gods into beautiful Washington State. They preached all day long and then danced into the night as the couple’s attending played games, fellowshipped, and had their portraits taken. Prizes were awarded for funniest proposal stories but the greatest prize of all was having the McKeans with us.

Lisa and I have known Randy and Kay for more than three decades. We’ve been partners in sharing the gospel all over the world. Randy and Kay have lead churches for nearly 30 years in Tokyo, Munich, Paris, and Boston as well as piloting the planting of churches in every nation of Europe. After a brief hiatus from the ministry while they lived in Orlando, the lucky northern Virginia group enticed the McKeans back into the full time ministry where it’s obvious they belong. Both Randy and Kay were inspirational in the lessons they shared with us. All of their messages from last weekend can be found at portlandchurch.org. You can also hear them regularly on their church website nvcoc.org.

For Lisa and me this couple has not only been among our best of friends, but they have served as a model for parenting. We watched them move all over the world for Jesus and still accomplish the task of raising up two wonderful kids…Summer and Kent…both of whom are not only grown up disciples now, but raising families of their own. Summer and her husband Paul are disciples in the church in Atlanta and are about to have another child. Kent, along with his beautiful… and again pregnant …wife Heather, work in the full time ministry as teen ministers in the Los Angeles church.

In fact, probably the strongest memory most of us who attended the weekend will take with us is Randy reading the cards that his children wrote him over the years. In message after message, Randy kept bringing out these beautiful cards written to him by children whose love for their dad was only surpassed by the inspirational fact that his guidance had lead them to the Lord. Each card tugged at the heart, primed the tears and made each and every one of us parents determined to have the kind of relationships Randy and Kay have with their children to this day.

We had couples visiting as far away as Los Angeles. One couple in particular, the Fords from the Rogue Valley church, came with a special gift. On Sunday morning they presented the Portland church with a check for $1500. “We’ve been praying for all of you and are so glad we’re in fellowship with one another again,” Aaron Ford said as he presented the gift. The evangelist for their congregation, Rob Skinner, along with his wife Pam, will be preaching for us over the Thanksgiving holiday on November 30th, traditionally held at 6pm at the Ambridge Event Center. Along with brothers and sisters from all over the world, the Rogue Valley church responded to our recent plea for financial help. Having lost nearly a third of our weekly contribution over the past few months, we’ve been blessed to have brothers and sisters from Boston, Singapore, Tokyo, Seattle, Dallas, Austin, Spokane, Tacoma and San Antonio respond as true family and send us the financial support we so desperately need to make it through this challenging time. Every day another congregation, from Hong Kong to St. Louis, lovingly contacts us desiring to help and showering us with prayers and support. Ten young disciples from Seattle drove down just to encourage and fellowship our young people. Today, Jake Jensen from the church in Missoula, Montana is with us along with a group of young men from their campus ministry. Darren Overstreet, minister in Tacoma, is with us along with his house church group and is presiding over communion today. God’s family is a great family to be a part of. It really is all about God.

Thank you Randy and Kay for coming to encourage, inspire and support us last weekend. Thanks to the Northern Virginia congregation for sparing you and sharing you with us. Thanks to all the brothers and sisters all over the world praying for us as we focus on serving the Lord here in Portland. We have been challenged but not defeated. We have been dazed, but are not confused. It is all about God.

And last weekend was such a rich feast from God’s Word. I don’t know when I’ve ever heard a preacher teach more Scriptures than Randy did. And yet, passage after passage kept pointing us back to God, and Jesus His Son.

I asked Aaron Mullins if he had learned anything over the weekend. Aaron, along with his wife Shannon, not only dedicates himself to our teens but is also a new, first time and proud parent of a baby boy.

“I sure did,” was Aaron’s response.
“What?” I asked again.
After a pause he replied, “I’m teaching my boy how to write those cards.”

Steve Johnson