My name is Ray and I am a member of Open Door Community Church. I am retired, 65 years old, and I have previously been in a 21 year relationship and several others lasting from 6 months to 18 months. Currently I am single.
I was raised Southern Baptist. Church was an integral part of my life. I accepted Christ when I was 12 years old and was Baptized. At 16 I began to doubt the church, and eventually concluded that I was an atheist. The church I knew was all about power and control, and the sermons were mostly hell-fire and brimstone. The concept of a loving God totally escaped me.
My life with my various partners was without God. We struggled to make the relationships work, but something was missing. I now know that something was Jesus and God’s love and grace, though I didn't have a clue then.
Six years ago I began my last long-term partnership. It lasted 13 months. During that time he and I explored a local affirming church. We did so out of wanting to make contact with other gay’s rather than any search for God. After a couple of months going to this church we heard about Open Door Community Church, which was being held in Randy McCain’s living room each Sunday. We met Randy prior to attending his church, liked what we heard, and began attending his service. One sermon and I was hooked. Here was the meat and potatoes message of love and grace that was missing from the other sermons I had heard.
I have been with Open Door for 5 years. During that time my life has changed greatly, and for the better. There is a sense of love and community within the church that I had never before experienced. Randy was there to comfort me when my ex and I broke up, when I had to go to the hospital for surgery (multiple times), and whenever I needed a friend’s shoulder to cry on. And he taught me that God is LOVE and GRACE.
Open Door does a variety of fun things, such as our annual Halloween party; Christmas and New Year’s eve parties; Baptism, pool and BBQ parties; special musical events, etc. All of those enrich the Open Door experience. But for me, the reason for attending is Randy’s sermons and the added insight they give me of God’s love and grace.
This is a personal testimony told by Ray Daugherty, who is a member of Open Door Community Church. Ray lives in North Little Rock, Arkansas.