SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE:It was like sitting at the feet of a giant

Ten years ago, I came back from my honeymoon and walked into a weekly prayer meeting for pastors in the Newport-Mesa area at Harbor Trinity Church on Baker Street. Without knowing it, I sat down next to a dear man who would in the years to come have a huge impact on me. He had the smile of a child and a twinkle in his eye that was contagious.

As we broke into small groups to pray, both of us were appointed to pray for one another. I learned his name was Ray Ortlund. I knew that name and voice from his radio program when I lived in Chicago. He said he and his wife had just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and asked me to pray for them. Their marriage was as strong as ever, but Ray and Anne never took one another for granted. His humility moved me. I needed his prayer far more than he needed mine.

In that circle of servants that met weekly for many years, Ray became a father to many of us who shepherded congregations in Newport-Mesa. The elder statesman among us, Ray would humbly yet powerfully lead our prayers and discussions to the foot of the cross. Among the pastors there was Rev. Tim McCalmont of Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, whose mother faithfully listened to Ray’s radio program “Haven of Rest.” “Ray had a deep concern for young pastors, particularly those who served in small churches,” he said, “Here was a man with an international reputation, and he was not caught up in celebrity.”

Every time I met with Ray in the years to come it was like sitting at the feet of a giant. I was in awe of his faithfulness and his joy and his wisdom. Our faith community will greatly miss our gentle giant.