Man of the Week - Andre McLean
Virtuous, principled, and forthright. We get the unfiltered truth about what Jesus has done in our Man of the Week's life: Andre McLean. This week we share his story of what it was like to be dead without Christ. Read about how Andre found a life full of purpose and belonging because of the sufficient grace provided to him.
Name: Andre McLean
Age: 46
Occupation: Chief Operations Officer at Brookstone Financial
Crazy fact about Andre:
"I am a former University of Louisville cheerleader and a former Christian rapper who once opened for former Dove Award winner, Clay Crosse. I love personalized plates and have had a state-issued personalized license plate on nearly every car I've owned since high school. DR DRE was my first plate while UL CARD and CARD UL are our current plates that have been on our plates for many years."
Q: Andre, tell us a little about you.
A: I'm married -nearly 9 years, to the best woman ever- father of three beautiful young ladies ages 25, 21 and 19. I'm from Radcliff, KY, and am a graduate of the University of Louisville. I'm a former US Marine and enjoy sports, movies, travel and spending time with friends and family
Q: In a nutshell, who were you were before you had known Christ?
A: Before I met Jesus I was dead...spiritually dead. Thankfully, I wasn’t old enough to get into much trouble. My parents raised me in church and I knew I was spiritually dead without Christ. I was a dead (young) man walking. Without the life of Christ, I was dead in my sins and in Adam. Because I was so young, my life experience was little to none. Many mistakes were made throughout my life but I'm fully aware those would have been multiplied exponentially had I not accepted His life at such a young age. As I progressed through school, I was friends with many people that had not chosen life in Christ. I am fully aware of the blessing that Christ revealed Himself to me as a child.
Q: So do you remember then how you came to know Jesus personally?
A: My mother and I spent lots of time together as I was her youngest child out of five. She had been a Christian for many years and had a yearning for her youngest child to know Jesus. She was never pushy or obnoxious. She knew things would occur in His perfect timing and they did. I can’t say that I remember the exact moment I became alive in Christ but I do recall my Mom inviting close family friends over to speak with me and ensure I was aware of the transformation that was to come. They lead me in a prayer to become alive in Christ and my life has never been the same.
Q: In what ways is your life never the same as before?
A: After accepting the life of Jesus within me, I became one of His own. I became accepted, redeemed, totally forgiven and complete in Christ. Having Christ’s life in me means I will never be alone or forsaken. It means the God of the universe lives in me. He cleaned house (in me) and moved in and that is reason for unending joy and peace. Life in Him does not mean there will not be challenges or struggles but I do know His love for me is not based on performance. Do more, be more is not of Christ. He animates those in Him and we get to be ourselves while exuding him simultaneously. Joy. Unspeakable joy. Jesus changes everything.
Q: What is the Lord leading you through in your life today?
A: I understand this question is meant to focus on personal challenges but I want to answer it differently. I am still working on understanding the grace by which I stand. Christians shortchange the depth and goodness of Christ and what we have in Him as a free gift. I’m working on ensuring I don’t cloud or minimize the greatness of grace. Grace is a person and his name is Jesus. Christians focus so much effort and time on sin management instead of reveling in the joy of “Christ in you, your only hope of glory.” This is not to minimize sin but to maximize Jesus. He paid the price for sin so we could live abundantly and often our days are consumed with counting sins instead of celebrating and walking in step with Jesus in all we do. Less sin does not cause Christ to love us more. More sin does not cause him to love us less. Sinner is not who we are. Our identity is in Christ and Christ alone
Q: You have three words, encourage men today.
A: Jesus plus nothing.
Andre is a man of integrity and transparency. We are so glad to share his story and hope that it has encouraged you to live a life in Christ. We have all found ourselves as he described "spiritually dead" at one point and it is our hope that you are finding new life in Jesus day by day. If you wish to contact Andre or nominate a man for Man of the Week, please visit our 'Contact Us' page!