Celebrating Randy Shepherd

Randy, you're gonna have people at the service wearing the Crossfire shirts. Randy wore that shirt everywhere, you wore it everywhere, and you said, as we always say, finish that sentence. Yeah, as we always say, we'll see you on the court.

God bless. And we know there's basketball in heaven because Randy Shepard has entered heaven, right brother? One of my buddies, you'll like this, I'll leave you with this. One of my buddies, Steve Brady, said when Randy passed away, he said, well, I know one thing. I said, what's that, Steve? Randy's gonna be bored in heaven because he can't share the gospel anymore.

We know he won't be bored. But anyway, thanks for what you do, buddy. Love you, man. Thank you, brother.

God bless you, man. And thank you to everyone who has supported Crossfire Ministries. Keep supporting them.

We're gonna keep promoting them on the Truth Network. We're gonna keep sending kids to camp. Kids that can't afford a camp, you may want to give a little scholarship in their memory.

CrossfireMinistries.com, go to the website, donate there. Don't send flowers, send money to this ministry. Help them advance the gospel. Pray for Randy's mom and Randy's sister, and pray for Jamie Johnson, and pray that hearts will be tender that come and hear this service, this celebration, as the gospel, I know, will be proclaimed.

There'll be a lot of tall people there, too. I'm Stu Everson. Thanks for joining us today for Truth Talk Live. Please like and share this and post it everywhere. Send it, text it, click the link on this podcast. Join our podcast network. Subscribe to the Truth Network podcasting network and share this story, these stories, with everyone you know to spread the good word.

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Speak your mind. And now, here's today's Truth Talk Live host. He led all kinds of people to Jesus on and off the basketball court, spinning balls, sharing the gospel, sharing the gospel with the likes of Michael Jordan, with the likes of Bill Walton. All these NBA greats, all these college greats. Randy cut right to the chase.

He didn't fanboy over them. He said, let me tell you about Jesus. Let me tell you about my Jesus, and we've got an all hour. You can call it all basketball hour, and if you're a baller, you're not a baller.

You're going to have a good time today. I hit a three today in Randy's honor, and I'm going to play it. I don't know. How do you play a shot on the air? John, baller nation, Randy made a big impact on your life.

Is there a way to play a shot on the air? I don't know, man. We have to ask Crossfire Ministries. We have to ask those guys.

We're going to have to ask those. You know, Jamie Johnson is running hard, and he's fielding calls from people, heads of state, all these folks all over the world love Randy and love Jamie. But Randy's in heaven, and so Jamie's here. And so Randy's survived by his sister and his mom, amazing family. Randy Shepherd, who lived his life to, listen to this, introduce people to the Good Shepherd.

What a story, what a testimony. They are laying his body to rest this weekend. I believe on Monday there's a celebration of life service on Sunday that people are going to come to the Trinity Church from all over the country. There'll be some tall people there with their baller nation. Oh yeah, there'll be some serious ballers in the house.

I'm telling you. And we have some folks calling in right now to be a part of this conversation. And what we're excited about is, I'm just telling you, the beauty of a life lived for Christ. A life lived in honor of him. And John, how did you meet Randy?

Talk about his life. And if you want to call in and ask a question or give a shout at a crossfire, we were at a golf event Monday of this week. Calvary Day School. Truth Network sponsored it. I gave a testimony. I honored Randy. Coolest thing happened at that golf event. The head of the whole event, Tony Robinson, who's the head of the development and works for the athletic department, does a lot over at Calvary Day School.

He comes to me and says, Stu, I was one of the campers at Randy's camp. His message and his mission had an amazing impact on my life. And just one of many. I mean, people are calling me from all over, and people have been so gracious. So we're celebrating Randy Shepherd's life today on Truth Talk. Back to Baller Nation, who plays ball and leads people to Christ as well.

He's been all over the world himself. John, tell us about Randy's impact on your life. Well, Randy has a huge impact on my life.

We've known each other for about five or six years. And he's just been such a supporter of my ministry, Baller Nation, as well as just really teaching me how to be bold for my faith. I think that's something that everybody's going to speak to in his funeral on Sunday is how amazing he was at sharing the gospel boldly.

He was not afraid at all. And so I just had a great connection with him. We played a lot of basketball together. When I worked at Carolina University, he came and spoke to the team on just countless, countless hours of talking about the Lord. And it's just been he's been an incredible mentor.

And I've got the opportunity to also work his basketball camps up in Asheville, which have been going on for about 35 years of these basketball camps, thousands of campers coming through there. And it's just been cool to see the impact that that Crossfire has had. And not only that, the impact that Crossfire is going to have even in Randy's passing. He's just it's going to be a huge impact. And it's just been such an honor to get to know Randy over the years.

And he's been a huge mentor and friend. Yeah. You know, you go on the court, you play ball and you can mix it up with all of them. John, you're way up far above the rim than I am.

And, you know, you're banging in there. But the thought doesn't always occur to you to share Jesus with someone. But when Randy comes in your life, tell everyone how that changes.

Yeah. When Randy comes in your life, you really you begin to say, well, I need to share the gospel instead of just, you know, making shots and dunks and threes. Like I actually need a there's, you know, maybe 15, 20 people in a gymnasium that you're playing ball with. And, you know, maybe one or two people actually know the Lord.

You've got to share the Lord with at least one person. And Randy was even more bold. He showed he usually just went for it and said, I'm going to preach to everybody in the gym. But he did it in such a way that was so exciting. You know, spinning the ball on his finger and and and the toothbrush and the phone. And if you've seen his routine, it's it's something to marvel at. It definitely catches your attention. And then also he draws it right to Jesus, which is so cool.

And all these kids are spellbound with his whole performance. Jamie Johnson with Crossfire Ministries, Frank Shelton, evangelist Frank Shelton with Frank Shelton Ministries. They're both going to call in. We invite your call. If you want to call in and celebrate how how God's used basketball to bring you to Christ or a sport or whatever, maybe your thing is and whoever the Randy Shepherd has been in your life. If you know Randy or you want to say a little funny story about Randy, we've got a whole bunch of them. We'd love to hear from you at 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884, celebrating the life, the legacy of Randy Shepherd. Listen, this won't be the last time we talk about this guy, because there's all kinds of people that are in his wake that he's touched, that he's shared the Lord with, that he's, you know, in the videos are priceless. John, we have him.

He was at Carolina University with you not too long ago. Remember sharing for the whole student body, leading people to Christ and inviting people to get saved. And so many people have come and said, man, I gave my life to Christ thanks to that guy spinning the rock. Frank Shelton with Frank Shelton Ministries and Evangelist. Frank's been all over the world preaching the gospel. And Frank, one of your travel buddies was big-time Randy Shepherd, man.

How about that? Yeah, I tell you, him and Jamie are two, and you guys are some of the best of the best. And thank you for dedicating this show to Randy.

It's amazing. Well, thank you for your friendship to him. I know Jamie's going to be calling in. We're going to get you guys lined up here and talking. But, you know, tell everyone a little bit about how you met Randy and how he's just one of those once-in-a-century kind of guys. And I think the listeners are going to be real inspired by these testimonies.

Yeah, well, I think it was 2007 I was booked to speak on a Christian cruise of the Bahamas. And they had a lot of folks. It was kind of the who's who in the zoo. They were who's who, and they're like, well, who's he? And that was me. And that was one of the speakers.

But, I mean, everybody like Michael Tate and Sonic Flood and Nicole C. Mullins and Jensen Franklin and Pastor John Hagee. And they were all speaking on this ship, and I was one of the speakers. And I met these two tall guys. It was Randy and Jamie. Randy and Jamie. Now, Jamie's going to join us. Frank, finish this story. And you've got some amazing things to share.

We're going to come right back. Celebrating the life of Randy Shepard. What happened to him?

You know, how did he pass at a relatively young age? And all those details and the details of the celebration service coming up in Asheville. Coming up with Jamie and Frank and Baller Nation on Truth Talk Live.

Don't touch that dial. More coming up. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. Truth Talk Live's Stu Everson on the air with you and in the air putting hoops up. I just posted a three pointer from the corner.

One take wonder. Baller Nation, you've seen many of these. And I'm very candid.

Look, if it takes me multiple times, I let people know. But I did it in honor of my buddy Randy Shepard, who I saw hit shots from the stage from full court from half court. Jamie Johnson, he can flat out ball, man. Randy can flat out ball, couldn't he, brother? And you have some serious game yourself.

And I say that in present tense because I know you're dropping buckets. Well, Randy had game. Good to hear from you here, Stu, Frank, Baller Nation, all you guys out there. But yeah, Randy was a great shooter, very consistent, and he was really wonderful in fundamentals.

And that's really what he taught the kids at camp. Loved seeing Randy shoot that ball. Yeah, and just the impact of just the presence of... And it's funny, I met Randy before I met Jamie, and Frank, isn't it remarkable?

And Baller Nation, you can testify to this. When Jamie showed up, we're like, wow, where did this guy come from? Because we thought Randy was amazing.

This guy's amazing! Isn't that right, Frank? I mean, what a blessing in the way he has just shined the light on Jesus.

I mean, he could have crawled in a cave last Wednesday or last Thursday when he found out the news and just said, I'm going away, don't talk to me, I'm shutting my phone off. But Frank, what about Jamie? He's just been shining the Lord and just trying to preach Jesus in this tough stuff. You know what, I tell you, when it comes to friendship, Jesus and Jamie have modeled what it's like to be a true friend from beginning to end. And I publicly own the air, and I'll say it again in person, but Jamie, we're all just inspired in all the way you've been able to walk through this dark time. You were there nonstop ministering, administering, it never stops.

So I just pray the Lord can not only comfort you, but give you some strength and grace. And there'll be thousands that are coming out to show their love for Randy, but for every accolade and everyone that's praying, a lot of that is also for you as well, because you guys were the dynamic duo, you guys were the triple threat for the enemy, and God really brought you together, and we're all better, not only because of Randy, but because of you. So thank you for your ministry. Well, thanks Frank, I'm humbled by your words, and just so kind, and Randy was a great teammate, Stu and John and Frank, we just had a lot of things in common, we both obviously played ball together and loved to see people come to Christ, but we also surround ourselves with people like you three men. You know, you guys love Jesus, you guys, I could pay you all compliments for the next hour and what the three of you have meant to Randy and me and many others, so thank you for even entertaining the idea of having me on the program today, God bless y'all. Well, thank you, and Jamie, I want you to, and by the way, Baller Nation's the head of Jamie and Frank, we've got Baller Nation in the house, all six foot eight of him, man, he's ready to throw a dunk down, you know, and I saw a video last night on social media of Randy teeing you up nicely, he set the alley-oop perfect for a Denny Baller Nation. He did, he set up the alley-oop perfectly, and he always did, and welcome guys, I love you both. And then Randy stepped back and hits an NBA three, and then he hits 107 free throws in a row, I mean, who does this, he rallies, you know, you and him, Jamie got these ACC All-Stars together, how many of us have been blessed by that, the Crossfire team playing them, and always Jesus being lifted up.

I'm going to shout out to Will, I'm going to shout out to Eddie, two guys that are listening right now to Truth Talk Live, so glad you guys are here, we're talking about someone whose passion, like John the Baptist's passion, was to introduce every single person he came in contact with to Jesus Christ. You're in a restaurant, Frank, trying to get out of there, and you had to go back to the kitchen to find Randy, what'd you find, Frank, tell everybody. Well, I saw about six guys huddled with their hands on each other's shoulder looking down, and I knew they weren't drawing up a play, it was Randy leading six more to Christ, I mean, he'd never stopped.

I think he was even shaking hands with, like, light posts on the way out, he was witness to everybody. But he just, he not only scored in the game, but man, he scored a lot, you know, for the afterlife, and that was what was most important. Yeah, just intentional, just, you know, like, we go to the restaurant, listen, I'm hungry, I want my food, you know, I've been looking forward to eating, you know, maybe I missed breakfast. Randy wants to know the waitress's name, he wants to know how he can pray for her, if it's cram-jammed in there, he's not going to, you know, do two hours of the gospel, but he really cares for people's souls. He had that heart always, and Jamie, just for our listeners to know kind of what happened, he carried this health condition for some time, and it's interesting that he didn't talk about it, he pulled me aside, we were a group of people, he would pull me aside and say, Stu, just pray for me, I'm going up to the Mayo Clinic, and he had to have been battling that for some years, Jamie. Give everyone a little update about how Randy, he's not gone, he just changed locations, but tell everyone how that went down, will you, Jamie, real quick? Sure, you know, thanks, Stu. You know, Randy, almost 30 years ago, was diagnosed with carcinoid cancer, not carcinoma, but carcinoid, and it's a slow-growth cancer that, in Randy's case, was in his intestines, liver, and he had, oh, 25 years ago, about a foot of his small intestine removed that had the carcinoid, and at that time, that's where it was, they told him he had one of the million chance it would come back, it came back in his liver, in a spotted, spotted effect, and so you'd never know it, you know, he'd preach, play, travel, run, ride his bike for miles, just like the rest of us, he was an exercise guy, healthy, but all along, you know, as we progressed forward the last few years, there have been some little things that were kind of showing up that were questionable, like, you know, flushing when he would eat a meal, and some other things I won't talk about, but so he was aware, Stu, Frank, John, that he needed to do something about that, so he was doing some checkups with his liver doctor in Denver, Colorado, liver doctor did a great job and just said, hey, let's look at some things we can do for your liver, and Rainer did what they call a bland embolization, where they, no radiation, because chemo doesn't work on carcinoid, it was a very natural way, organic way to shoot in some treatments that would block the air supply and blood supply of the lesions in the liver, and cause them to shrink, and it was effective, he did that last year, twice, once this year, and it was effective, so over time, though, you know, in the body, because of the carcinoid cancer of the liver, carcinoid produces what they call stomach serotonin, not a brain serotonin, but a stomach serotonin that you don't need in your body, that got on the bloodstream, and as that bypassing going by the heart valves, it damages them to the point where they don't function anymore, so at that point, if your heart valves are not opening and closing, then they're always open, because they're damaged, then you have constant blood flow, which tires you out, you know, understandably, he was tired, he was weak, and so you gotta replace those valves, so Mayo Clinic, July 31st, has this replaced, successful surgery, all bottles were good, everything was great, so to answer the question of what went down at the end, it seems to me, outside looking in, watching, rehabbing him, that the kidneys were being, we'll call, overworked, by the meds trying to recover from the surgery, trying to keep everything in check, they were normal meds that you need, but it seemed to be a little bit much, and the renal glands being challenged, and so, maybe the answer is, complications were very real, he was trying to push through it, and it was just a little hard for his body, you know, for him to recover.

Now, keep in mind, Sue, Frank, John, when he went into surgery, he was already kind of weak, physically, so he didn't go in strong, that probably didn't help him as well, you know. We're going to take a quick break, Jamie, I want you to finish that thought, I want you to tell us about the plans for his celebration service coming up this weekend, more on the legend himself, he's in heaven with Jesus, celebrating, spinning those balls, Randy Shepard on Truth Talk Live, listen on the app if you can on the radio. You're listening to the Truth Network, and TruthNetwork.com. You've heard for years on this radio outlet, and across the country, about Crossfire Ministries, and the impact of these two evangelist, ball-playing men of God, Randy Shepard and Jamie Johnson, and one of them has gone to heaven, Randy Shepard, and we're talking about him today on Truth Talk Live. I'm Stu Epperson, so glad to have everyone with us, so glad to welcome our friends on 91.3 in Brunswick, Georgia, 91.7 Jacksonville, The Truth, and 91.9 FM in St. Aug's.

God bless you folks. Randy traveled all over the place, spun the ball, shared the Gospel, we've got videos of him spinning the ball on cell phones, he's brushing his teeth while he's spinning the ball, inviting people to come to know Jesus, and we'd love to hear your testimony, maybe something, the way he touched you. But Jamie Johnson, he just had this battle with his health, and some stuff in his liver, it went to his heart, they had all these surgeries, they had all these things, and God just took him home, right? I mean, this happened just last week, and we were all shocked, Jamie, you were right there with him.

Yeah, we were shocked, because he was trying to push forward after the heart surgery and the heart valves, but as I was saying before the break there, I think the complications of emergency gallbladder surgery back in May, the liver is not perfect, replace heart valves, your body's trying to recover, you go in tired, very weak, you come out, here we are, it's just tough to overcome. And let me say this to our viewers, or listeners rather, always remember something, we as the body of Christ, we all know that God heals, ultimate healing is to be with the Lord, we know that. And you think about thousands of people, just pray for Randy, thousands, God heard their prayers, what we have to assume, very carefully here, physically, is God orders our steps, he was calling Randy home.

Now, that being said, what do we do with that? We should respond as the body of Christ, certainly to comfort his mother, his sister, locals are doing that, I'm trying to do that, but respond to say, what Randy did well, man, let's charge forward and let's keep it going, because he was such a wonderful example of sharing the gospel, like you said, John the Baptist, Apostle Paul, he was incredible, and so let's keep this thing going, have his passion, share the good news with everyone God puts in our path. Amen, and Frank Shelton, we need to support ministries like Crossfire Ministries, send them some money, send a blessing in honor of Randy, to help them take these kids and teach them the fundamentals of basketball, lead them to Jesus at the Crossfire camps, and as Jamie goes around and him and his team go around and spread the gospel, you know, we need to continue this ministry, right, Frank Shelton, this is a continued ministry of missions. Yeah, absolutely, I think one way we can honor Randy and honor the Lord is two-fold, it would maybe even sponsor a kid right now, whatever it costs, send a tax-deductible gift to Crossfire today, and my son went and it changed his life, and he's not only a better basketball player, he's a better person. Yeah, so donate today, and Randy, you know, the mission goes on, the beat goes on, the ball goes on, and Jamie and Jesus and has a great team around him, and when you get a chance, you know, I just want to tell those listening, you know, some of us preach, some of us teach, but we all can reach, and you know, you're going to see someone at the grocery store tomorrow, you know, at the cubicle at work, and one way you can honor God and Randy is just sharing the love of God, sharing the gospel. Can I tell you what Jesus means to me?

So yeah, donate to Crossfire and share the gospel. I love it, and we got Pastor J on the line, he called in, he was impacted by Randy, he's called, we got all these folks wanting to share a word, jump on in here, Pastor, what about Randy Shepherd? He was one of a kind, wasn't he? Oh yeah, just what an awesome man of God, I'm so blessed to have known him. I met Randy and Jamie, gosh, 25 years ago, maybe when I was working in Asheville at Trinity, and so influential just personally in my life, my son Grady, who's 20, graduated from Carolina University, attended Crossfire Camp there in Asheville, and learned the fundamentals of basketball, but also learned a lot about Jesus, and you know, there's a couple people in my life personally that I just would consider them to be Apostle Paul-like, you know, Randy didn't plan a lot of churches necessarily, but what he did was just his approach to ministry and evangelism just wasn't ashamed of Jesus anywhere he went. He was telling people about the Lord, he's one, and then Stu, you're the other one, I just think you're that way as well.

Oh, watch out. You're a witness for the Lord. A few things I'll never forget about Randy is I had the privilege to work with him many times at Fort Bluff Camp, on the NACA National Tournament, I would lead worship and he would preach. Jamie, I don't know if you remember, I was able to go to Israel with you guys in 2008, that was a blast. A lot of good memories, a lot of great times. In the last couple of years, Randy coming back through here, and me reconnecting with him, just playing pick-up ball, he came here by our church many times with Stu and Baller Nation there, and we just had a great time, and he's going to be greatly missed. But Jamie, I totally agree with you man, I believe that he's received his ultimate healing. I know he battled a lot of, and you never know it, but he had a lot of battles physically, but just kept right on going. What a testimony, my goodness.

Just, you know, he's a guy, and I say this with, if you're around him long enough, you start feeling like, you know, you need to go to the altar and get things right. Well that's exactly right. He's just like, this guy, he's not afraid to tell anybody about Jesus, it doesn't matter where he's at, what he's doing. So blessed to have, just so blessed and honored, not just to have known him, but to be able to be his friend. Incredible.

What a blessing. You know, and Jamie, Pastor J, you know, Randy would call us and say, hey Baller Nation, Stu, I need to come and I need to speak to Calvary Day School, Winston Christian School, whatever school we get them in front of, somewhere, Wake Forest or Carolina University. But he'd say, hey, but we've got to get a run-in. So we get on the court, we mix it up.

I mean, we mix it up. And he dropped some jumpers, but he always wanted to share Jesus, to the point where he's one of the people that's influenced me to say, I'm going to share Jesus with one person before I walk off this court, and sometimes I can talk a lot better than I can play as I get older, you know, I'm barely able to walk out there, Jamie Johnson. But what a blessing from Pastor J, Jamie, isn't it good to hear from him?

Absolutely, and J, by the way, you're a good baller yourself. Oh, he can stroke you. He's shooting that rock, man.

He's got that left-hand stroke. He's dropping buckets. Well, we dropped buckets today. Hey, J, God is our witness.

We dropped buckets today at the Yackeville Y, but our nation wasn't there. You know, he would have dunked on someone if he was, and J hit three in a row, and then afterward, we got together and we said a prayer, and we honored the Lord, we shared the gospel, and we honored Randy's memory. And I just said, so, you know, this is real, but, you know, the truth of Jesus. I mean, Randy with a megaphone from heaven is going to be saying, hey, tell those people about Jesus. Don't waste their time.

Get to what's really important. Now, here's a blast from the past who I used to play ball with, going way, way back, who loved Randy and talked to him even as soon as a couple weeks ago. Mark Sinner is on the phone. Mark, are you there? Yay, Stu, how you doing? Can you hear me?

Hey, I can hear you now. Look, we got enough talent on the phone in the studio to beat the dream team. I mean, we got some shooters, we got some ballers, we got some defenders. Frank, you're going to have to set a couple of picks for us, though, will you, up the top, and then I'll just come off. Hey, but Mark, what about Randy Shepard, man, and how he impacted you, because you've been working with nations of coaches, you've worked with athletes in action, you've worked with FCA, you've shared Christ on the court with a lot of folks. Mark, what do you say about Randy? Oh, well, let me tell you about Randy. I met him for the first time it was the ACC tournament in Greensboro in 2023, and a good friend of ours, you guys probably know, Al Wood, reached out to me and said, hey, I'm at the ACC tournament, and I've got David Thompson with me and Randy Shepard, and I said, you mean Randy Shepard, the legend from up in Asheville, that played with Michael Jordan, and he said, yeah.

And he said, have you never met him? I said, man, I've never met Randy. I always wanted to meet Randy. So I met Randy, got to see David Thompson. He used to speak for me a lot when I was with FCA. And Al Wood, we all hung out that night. But the first thing Randy said after he met me was, do you know Jesus?

I said, brother, I do. He gave me a big hug. Amazing guy, man, I'll always remember that first.

I even have pictures from the first time I met him. And then my wife was a cardiac ICU nurse, and he talked to us. He talked to her. The three of us were on the phone about two weeks before his surgery, and she was just going through play by play what to expect, what was going on. And they had a great talk, and we had a great time of fellowship, the best we could considering his situation.

But we prayed with him, man, and we're definitely going to miss him, but we'll definitely see him again. What a testimony. Jamie, you're going to hear a lot of testimonies like this, aren't you, brother?

They're flooding in, man. What's it like for you as Randy's partner in ministry to hear these stories? Well, I enjoy it.

I'm not surprised. I mean, the work of Randy, the heart, the call, and sharing the gospel is what he was about. And he was more than that, but that's always something on the forefront. He made sure. He always said what Bill Bright said.

Five minutes with someone is an appointment, and you've got to share Jesus with them. So he practiced that. He lived it. He loved it.

He didn't miss, but boy, he's certainly been an example to many and told them how to do it, showed them how to do it. So you've got a bright future for a lot of people. What a blessing. Thank you, Pastor J, for calling in. Thank you, Mark, for calling in. Thank you for your friendship to Randy. Frank, hang on, because you've got a closing word for us. Jamie Johnson, hang on, because you're going to tell us about the celebration details. I'm Stu Everson. More Truth Talk Live!

Baller Nation is in the house as well. We're after this. Don't touch that dial.

You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Oh my, my little tiny chubby fingers are pecking away on Instagram and Facebook, posting little stories of shots that Randy hit. He hit one from the stage. He upstaged all of us with that one. A lot of trickery, a lot of good stuff. Jamie, you guys walk into an arena, these kids think, okay, it's just another speaker.

And you leave and they're just spellbound by these ball handling tricks and maneuvers. And you did this, Jamie, you guys have done this all over the world. The Philippines and in Asia and Africa, everywhere, and all over the U.S. And we're just so grateful, Jamie, for those that are just now meeting Crossfire. Maybe they just joined us or they're one of our many new affiliates of Truth Talk Live! I'm Stu Everson, so good to have everyone here. We've got a host of ballers that have called in. Ballers can be callers, too, and they've phoned in. We've got Baller Nation in the house, who played and worked the camps and loved Randy and loves the ministry at Crossfire. We've got Frank Shelton, a wonderful evangelist on the air who's sojourned with you guys in so many places, preaching the gospel to hundreds or to thousands, wherever God led you.

But Jamie, what effectively does Crossfire do? Talk about how you and God led you and Randy to start this ministry just a few decades ago. Yeah, well, you know, Randy and I were competitors, and we competed against each other in middle school, high school, and then college. And post-college, you know, he went into sports ministry.

I went into the business world, and then at age 27, we both converged, met again. He was playing a game with his sports team out of Memphis, Spirit Express, against UNCA. I saw that, and, Stu, I loved it, and I thought, man, this is me. I love to preach the gospel. I love basketball. I'm going to talk to Randy.

I did. Next thing you know, I moved to Memphis, played with Spirit Express for a year. Age 28, January the 1st, 1993, we started Crossfire Ministries 31 years ago. And what do we do? I mean, we take our talent and have taken many players that are talented, that are basketballers, used them with a platform of basketball games, exhibition college games, ACC All-Star games, basketball camps in the summer that Frank and John Bolognese both helped us with. We would do international trips against All-Star teams, some pro teams, you know, speak in prisons, going to schools, middle, high school, universities, and speak.

We might speak to the SGA huddle groups, as Mark said earlier when he was with SGA. We also will go and speak to teams of any sport. It doesn't have to be just basketball.

It could be volleyball, cheerleading, wrestling, football. It could be the band for our week here. And now we've moved into a season the last few years where we'll even provide a meal for that particular team pregame as a way to kind of build the bridge. We're like a sponsor. We feed the kids of the parents, and they love that.

The boosters love it. Then we give them Jesus. And so our whole goal, Sue, was to really reach the unchurched. However, we preach in churches.

We love that too. But we wanted to go outside church walls and reach people where they are. Let's just face it, Stu, you're in Wake Forest country.

You know, Frank grew up in the Maryland Terrapin country. Ballerination, you're in the Wake Forest country. Where there is sports, where people are playing ball of any sport, whether their kids are playing or not, they relate to these teams, and they follow these teams, or they follow their kids. So we know that just like in church culture, for those that are pastors out there, you have VVS, the kids come to VVS, mom and dad, grandparents follow them to the program. We're going where they're outside church all the time faithfully to these games, to these camps, whatever, and we're saying, we'll teach them the ball, we'll play the game, but we're going to drip and share what Christ has done in their lives. And that's what we're about.

Totally. Share the gospel. Yeah, crossfireministries.org, what a great ministry.

What an impact. Frank Shelton, you've been around, acquainted with this ministry, you've been on the stage with them, and people listening, this show today is not about basketball, although it is God's favorite sport, and he did create the world in the shape of a ball, so we know that. But Frank, not going to belabor that, although I love it, Frank, this is about everyone listening out there. If God has put you on this planet, he's given you a unique DNA, a unique giftedness, and Randy and Jamie just happen to have this amazing ability and giftedness and proclivity toward the game of basketball and leveraging it to bring thousands to Jesus.

But Frank, it could be anything anyone's gifted. There's someone out there that can just make really good brownies, and God's going to use that to bring a soul to Christ. Amen.

Well, we need to support the brownies. Can I get an amen? You know, I love the verse.

It says, whatever your hand finds to do, do it for God's glory. And, you know, whether they were hitting jumpers for Jesus or, you know, crossovers for Christ or breaking ankles for the Almighty, they did it at their best of their ability. And can I share one story? So one of the Olympics, 2016, we're in Rio. It was a day off during the Olympics, and we were in the most dangerous part of the whole country.

The police did not even go into this because it was always a gunfight. And they snuck us in, and I was with Randy. We had a former person representative with the Dallas Cowboys. We had a Harlem Globetrotter. They told us, do not get off the bus. Well, we saw two kids, a brother and sister, crawling out of a dumpster, and it broke our hearts. And I broke protocol, and I jumped out, and Randy came right behind me.

And we gave them all the money we had in our pockets. And just then, a guy comes on a motorcycle. He looked like Stallone in First Blood. He had an AK-47 behind him, but he had the Xs of bullets over both shoulders with a 9 millimeter on his waist, riding at full speed a dirt bike towards us. And I remember thinking, I wonder what I had last night, because this is probably the last supper, and he came up to us, and then our interpreter came out.

It was Portuguese. And we found out that he was the drug lord. He was like the unofficial mayor of that whole area. And we prayed under our breath, and Randy went straight for the juggler. He looked at him and said, quote, you're a warrior. And the guy through the interpreter said, yes, I'm a warrior. And then as God as my witness, Randy looked him dead in the eye. Randy said what I was thinking, but he had the guts to say it. He said, quote, you're a warrior for the wrong team.

And then I'm thinking the guy with two guns, as this is where it ends. And he dropped his head in shame, and he had tears in his eyes. And Randy said, the Lord wants the Savior to be a warrior for the Lord. And Randy Sheppard led the drug lord to Christ, put him on the back of his motorcycle.

And you talk about Saul DePaul, he became a promoter. That drug lord was taking us door to door to invite all the kids to come to this outreach. And hundreds got saved that day. And you know, whether it was a drug lord, we saw the Muslim priests in London get saved together. Whether it was him sharing the gospel with President Obama, you know, at the Biltmore golf links. Whether it was Steph Curry. Whether it was the wait staff at Pizza Hut.

Or if it was the janitor, Randy was sharing Jesus, just like Jamie. And I tell you, he was nonstop. He was a life well lived. And he that went and sold his wife. So it was my honor to be linked with Crossfire, Jamie, Randy, and all of you.

Praise the Lord. I tell you, Jamie, I don't think I could be in a car with Frank and Randy at the same time. Those two guys. If you're on a road trip with them, you're going to know where you stand. I stood in front of probably a hundred or so golfers that this Golf Hanging Truth Network was partnered with on Monday. And I said, look, if Randy Sheppard's in a golf cart with you for 18 holes, you're going to know where you stand by the end of the day. But that's just how it was. Baller Nation, it didn't take long for him to challenge you to share your faith, right?

You're at camp. Give a quick, as we get out of here, give a quick word. And I want Jamie to close us out with the details. But give a quick impact at the imprint he left on your life. And I just saw the video you posted of him hitting that trick shot again on your Instagram. Yeah, he really challenged me to share the gospel. Not only that, he was just a bold man. Yes, he shared his faith.

He did all that. But the memories that I have about Randy is the one-on-one times. You know, his ability to relate to whoever it was, whether it was a so-called important person or just a janitor, he related to them and he brought the gospel to them in such a fun and relatable way.

You know, spinning the balls, as we said, and I will miss that. And I'll just miss, you know, going out to dinner with him as he's coming by Winston-Salem or I'm up in Nashville. He was always available, you know, if he wasn't traveling to talk and to be a friend. And I think that's a powerful thing.

He really cared deeply about people. Yeah, what a testimony. I played ball recently with some guys. The last time I played over there was with Randy. And I showed them a picture of the guys that we played with that day, Jamie.

And I said, guess who is in heaven from this picture? And suddenly, I had their attention. And I talked to them about how Randy would want you.

Now I said, Randy might be a little more aggressive than me. Like, he might lock the door and say, no one leaves here until they're saved and baptized and they're on a missions trip. But I said, this guy was intentional and aggressive about sharing Jesus. And just in honor of him, I want to make sure that every time we step on the court, we give a word and we invite people to Christ. Because, Jamie, people need Jesus. The world needs Jesus. And ministries like Frank Shelton Evangelistic Ministries, ministries like Crossfire, Jamie, that's still going on and still going strong. Writing on the prayers and the support of so many people listening and so many folks that are going to show you a bunch of love. Tell everyone what's going down this weekend for those that can get there at, I believe it's Trinity Baptist, right, up in the Asheville area? It is. Trinity Baptist in Asheville on Shelburne Road.

I think it's 216 Shelburne, 2806. But, yeah, Sunday we have receiving of friends, us two at 1.30 until 3 p.m. and then at 3 the service. Which will be a great opportunity just to talk about the Lord and give a gospel and also brag about Randy and his life.

And then at the end of that service, I did post something last night, I didn't go into detail, but I'm going to have our players, I'm going to recognize them. And many of them are going to wear Crossfire shirts into the funeral. I still wear them with scripture on them. And the reason for that is because we all knew, and myself included, Randy was wearing the Crossfire shirt all the time. All the time. With those scriptures. Because he wanted to be a billboard for Jesus.

That's all he's ever where he went. We're out of time, Jamie. Give the website for Crossfire Ministry real quick, will you, as we wrap up? Yeah, crossfireministry.com. Make sure you sit not or crossfireministry.com. God bless you. This is another program powered by the Truth Network.