Psalm 116 - Remembering a Dear Friend

Today, I’m in Roanoke Virginia and before we continue our study in Psalm 106, I want to share a special prayer request and take the time to honor and celebrate the life of a dear friend who went to be with the Lord. This afternoon I will be officiating the homegoing service of David Adam McKelvey. I had the privilege to be his pastor and friend over the last 15 plus years. Adam suddenly and unexpectedly passed away in his sleep this past Sunday morning at the age of 41.  Please be in prayer for his wife, Jackie and his two sons, Sam and Ben, also his parents, his brothers and countless other loved ones and friends. I will have much to say about my friend’s life and legacy at his service today, but for now I believe his obituary summarizes his impactful life in a beautiful way from which I copied the following: “For all that didn’t know Adam well, he was a loving husband and devoted father who always protected and provided for his family.  He was a committed Christian. He was raised Lutheran, faithfully attended Rainbow Forest Baptist Church and was a member of the Gideons. He read scripture every morning and read through the Bible several times in recent years. Adam was intelligent, driven and ambitious.  He was a member of the inaugural class of the Liberty University School of Law and a respected member of the Roanoke Bar.  He first worked as a prosecutor in Halifax County, Virginia and soon became an attorney at Crandall and Katt, where he remained employed until his passing.  He also found great joy in serving as legal counsel for the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS). Adam had a servant’s heart sacrificially helping others without prompting and always looked for the good in people. He enjoyed using his spiritual gift of edification to encourage others and seemed to know what to say and do in times of doubt.  He was one of the most loyal, forgiving, trustworthy and sincere people that I have ever known.  He kept a mental short list of friends that he was “working on” and continually prayed for their salvation.  Greatly impacted by his Liberty High School football coach, Scott Abell, Adam loved coaching football and basketball.  He viewed sports as a ministry, developing kids not only as players, but also as people. During practices and games, he often tried to teach them life lessons and character traits that would serve them well once they became adults.  He never hid his faith and hoped to be a Christian influence in his players’ lives. Adam often recalled that one of his biggest compliments came from a Roanoke City youth that told him on a car ride home from football practice that he had watched Adam interact with preachers, business leaders, strangers and folks in ankle bracelets and he treated every person with the same respect and consideration regardless of their status.  Adam said that’s how it should be, because it’s not our status in this world or what we accomplish on the field or on the court that makes each person valuable.  A person’s value is rooted in the fact that they are made in God’s image and we are precious in His sight.  Adam worked tirelessly for the good of others and often said his biggest problem is that there just aren’t enough hours in a day to accomplish all that he wanted.  Adam was indeed a dear friend to me and was always more than willing to help me or help someone else in whatever way he could. I have countless stories of how he used his legal skills to assist others without asking for anything in return. When I needed to form Pastor Mike Impact Ministries as a 501-C3 with the IRS, Adam immediately volunteered to do all the legal and paperwork that goes with it and would not charge me a dime.