The trendy new word in church circles these days is “missional”. Most of the time when you hear that word it is in association with hipster coffeehouse Christians who listen to Coldplay and sip decaf mocha lattes while blogging about the benefits of being a multi-site campus. While that may be what comes to mind when you hear the word, that is not what it means to be missional. To be missional means to live what Pastor Carlos has been calling “living sent”. It means simply to live the gospel out in the context where God has placed you. It means to love co-workers and the cashier at Publix and the guy who cuts your grass and the crazy uncle you see once a year at the family reunion. It means loving them enough to pray for them and share the gospel with them.
My friend Mike Yankey lived “sent”. There are some people who after meeting Jesus just never feel at home in this world. Mike was one of those people. After he met Jesus Mike held the things of this world in an open hand, often giving away things of value to others. The most important thing Mike gave was himself. I don’t know if I have ever met a man who loved people more than Mike Yankey.. He had a way of disarming people and there was a gentleness in him that made you trust him. For Mike there were no strangers, just friends he hadn’t met. I have seen him strike up conversations with total strangers and within 10 minutes that person would be telling Mike the most intimate details of this life. He was a master at turning conversations to the gospel. He loved to talk about Jesus.
Perhaps the greatest conversation I’ve ever seen Mike engaged in happened after his death last week. Friday night over 50 people were jammed into a room that comfortably seated 20. Most of them were men who had worked with Mike at the Oregon Department of Transportation. These are the kind of men that make UFC fighters seem like girl scouts. Most of their lives are lived in the empty pursuit of substances and relationships. These are the kind of guys that have language bad enough to make a sailor blush. Many of these men treated Mike harshly because of his commitment to Christ. They cursed him and tried other things to get him to compromise in his walk with Christ. Mike just continued loving them.
Mike sat at his kitchen table and prayed for each of these men every morning at 4:30. Mike wrapped flesh and blood around the love of Jesus for these men. Mike didn’t push them into cleaning up their act or conforming to some false sense morality. No Mike was one of them but different. He had a peace and a joy that they did not have.
Many of those men spoke of Mike’s servant heart and the joy that he had. After his co-workers shared from their heart, Mike’s oldest son Aaron gave a beautiful presentation of the gospel. Many listened with tears in their eyes as Aaron explained that Jesus was the reason that Mike had loved them. Mike’s life served as a testimony to the reality of what Jesus can do in the life of a man.
God was gracious to me in that he let me have Mike Yankey as a friend. Last week Mike drew his last breath in this world and stepped into a better one. Mike is with the King he loved so much in a place where he finally feels at home. I’m not sure why things like this happen, but I do know that God is in control, God is wise, and God is good, so Mike’s death was perfect in its timing and its purpose. We are sad and heaven is a little happier. I am thankful for Mike Yankey and Jesus giving us a glimpse at a life well sent.
