Preaching the Bible till the end

In the final moments of his life, as he struggled to breathe, Ray Ortlund was preaching the Bible.

The prolific author, “Haven of Rest” radio host and founder of the Newport Beach-based Renewal Ministries died of complications from pulmonary fibrosis Sunday, surrounded by his wife and children. He was 84.

“He called all of us to his bedside and we sang some hymns, he read scripture, we prayed together, laughed, shared memories,” said Margie McClure, one of Ortlund’s four children.

His last word was “Amen.”

Born to Swedish immigrants in Des Moines, Iowa, Ortlund was the youngest of five children. He served in the South Pacific with the U.S. Navy during World War II before marrying his wife Anne in 1946, cementing his devotion to the church.

He graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary two years later and led two small churches on the East Coast before moving to California to pastor at Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena, where he remained for 20 years.

Ortlund and his wife settled in Newport Beach in the early 1980s to found Renewal Ministries, though he continued to traverse the globe, ministering across the nation and in countries such as Afghanistan, Peru and India.

He shared his personal motto, “Go for it,” with almost everyone he met, encouraging them to live life to the fullest and to pursue a meaningful relationship with God.

“I think most people who knew him will remember him as a pastor to pastors,” McClure said. “He was a lover of Jesus Christ and of people. and really his heart was to help pastors along and give them encouragement and counsel.”

One of the many area pastors he advised was Peter Shambrook, Rock Harbor church’s pastor of pastoral development.

He remembers Ortlund as generous and humble, his “spiritual dad.”

“Ray was like my filling station,” Shambrook said. “Every time I got together with him, I always walked away feeling like I just got a jewel to put in my pocket. He would always point me straight back to Christ.”

A memorial service for Ortlund featuring an honor guard will be at 1 p.m. today at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 600 St. Andrews Road, Newport Beach.

A second service is planned for 10 a.m. Saturday at Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena.

Ortlund was survived by his wife, Anne; two sons, Ray Jr. and Nels; two daughters, Margie McClure and Sherry Harrah, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.