Following His Ways

Brad McMullan

Brad McMullan, WAPT Channel 16 Morning Anchor and Emmy Award winning journalist, was planning to go to law school. He did all the prep work—good grades, campus involvement, resume building—whatever he knew was key to the goal. With a glowing GPA and elected president of the student body at the University of Oklahoma, he was on the right track. Ummmm…except there was the God factor. Don’t I remember something about, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways?” (Isaiah 55:8) Brad is the poster child for these words. He wasn’t fighting it as much as he just wasn’t paying attention.

Brad is the youngest of four children, was born in Norman, Okla., to Don and Donna McMullan. His mom worked for The Norman Transcript and his dad worked for The Daily Oklahoman and later for Gaylord Enterprises (the umbrella company for such things as Opryland Hotel, etc.) Despite all those journalism genes, Brad never thought seriously about a career in that field.

As a high school student, he did choose a “media” class as an elective simply because he had to fill up his school day. Within a week, he was assigned to covering the girls’ soccer team. As dead-end as that assignment may have seemed, it quickly got the attention of some local media execs who began opening doors Brad wasn’t even knocking on!

This seemingly small, obligatory assignment morphed into a state-wide radio show covering Prep sports for the Fox affiliate in Oklahoma City during his college years that then led to his first broadcasting job as the weather guy at the NBC affiliate in Joplin, Mo. His “accidental” journey into broadcast journalism mushroomed from there. However, even as the doors kept opening, he was plotting his exit. But God did not let go.

More Signs Along the Way

Brad’s first real concept of this relationship thing with Jesus happened at Camp Kanakuk in Branson, Mo., when he was 8 years old. He says he got the important parts although he remained a truly “baby” Christian for the next decade at least.

It was only after he was chosen as one of 13 student body presidents in the nation to attend a leadership seminar sponsored by the American Jewish Committee to study politics in the Middle East that he reached back into that Camp Kanakuk experience and knew he needed to know all there was to know about why he believed what he believed. His faith became—not something handed down—as much as something that was his.

At a One Day conference in the summer of 1999 the speaker on stage began to impress upon an audience of 60,000 how important it was to take their faith in Christ into their marketplace careers and relationships. It was a call to be mindful of what it meant to live and breathe Christ every moment of every day.

This was Brad’s defining moment. As the speaker began by asking, “How many here want to enter the medical profession?” Many raised their hands and a special prayer was offered for them. “How many want to enter…” And so it went through a host of professions. Then he came to media, and he asked “How many here want to be journalists or to pursue a career in media?” Not one person raised a hand. Brad began to sweat as he recalls “an eerie silence” in the crowd. This is the moment when he knew law school was not the Jeremiah 29:11 plan for his life, but broadcast journalism was.

“I kept thinking back to how God had opened this door and that door. I loved the things I had gotten to do and felt honored that I had been able to do them. I prayed that if this was what God wanted me to do with my life He would make it clear.” The next day he got an offer he was not expecting—to renew that state-wide Prep sports program he had anchored and developed. Maybe it wasn’t Good Morning America or The Today Show, but it was confirmation to Brad…he was supposed to be in broadcasting.

“I have continued to pray, ‘OK, will you just show me what you want me to do?’” And, according to Brad, God has continued to open doors and he has continued to walk through them. Brad can hardly believe God has called him to do something that is so much fun he rarely thinks of it as real “work.”

Although, he can’t really share Christ on the air, his high profile allows him a significant platform when he is out and about in the community, and he does not take that lightly. He says the fact that people recognize him offers an instant rapport and it makes it easy to bring Christ into the conversation.

His Toughest Interview Ever

Somewhere in our memories, right beside the date September 11, 2001, we remember the date April 19, 1995, one of the first times we realized we were not as safe as we had always believed we were. That was the day the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed and 168 people lost their lives. Brad’s dad was part of the melee that day. Don McMullan, a YMCA board member was on his way to a board meeting at the downtown ‘Y,’ directly across the street from the Murrah Building. He still has the wrist watch that stopped at exactly 9:02 a.m. and has never worked since.

The roof in the YMCA collapsed, but Don was able to climb through the rubble and help in the recovery efforts. He lost many friends that day and had nightmares for months following.

Brad, the journalist, was assigned the task of interviewing his dad as part of a documentary 10 years after the event. He calls it “the hardest interview I ever had to do” because it was so personal, so painful, but so poignant to have his father’s story out there up close and personal.

As one of the 800 names listed on the Survivor’s Wall, a portion of what remains of the once grand Murrah building, Brad’s dad, whose faith was firm before 1995, has an even firmer faith and stronger testimony today.

As Brad recounts his father’s experience, he also comments on the lessons Don McMullan took away from that catastrophic day. “Dad uses the fact that his name appears on the Survivor’s Wall as a great testimony to tell everybody that God gives us all an allotted number of days on this earth. We need to share our faith and experience life—real life. You want to tell somebody you love them? Do it. You want to tell somebody thank you? Do it.”Brad learned that everything his dad had always professed to believe was true, that faith in the Lord gets you through whatever life sends your way, and that he wanted to pass the same faith on to his children. “He is a hero to me.”

Love and Marriage—Another God Event

Life post-college was going OK for Brad. As for romance, he was dating, having a good time, and had in the back of his mind that someday his soul mate would show up. He had a ready list of what he was looking for in that person.

What shocked him was when Stephanie Crumley, fresh out of high school in Mustang, Okla., showed up at his sister’s wedding in 1998. “Love at first sight” is not a very sound concept, but as cliché as it may sound, it definitely happened between these two. Stephanie had her own list of criteria for the man of her dreams, too. And Brad was it!

During the reception at Brad’s sister’s wedding, the two walked out on Owen Field (home to the Oklahoma Sooners). They talked deeper than surface, danced, and both were absolutely smitten. Stephanie, who had just graduated from high school says, “I was in no way looking for a mate, but I knew Brad was the one as soon as I met him. I wanted a man who loved God first and then me. I wanted someone who was handsome AND funny.” Brad blew her expectations out of the water. He made her laugh but had such depth and substance. He was either quite real or too good to be true!

From Brad’s perspective, “I always wanted to marry someone who loved the Lord with all her heart. I was just crazy about her from the very beginning.”

Brad, despite his background with three brothers and a career covering sports, found a romantic gene when it came time to propose. He hired a  violinist to play the song they had danced to at his sister’s wedding 12 months before, planned a picnic on the 50 yard line of Owen Field (never mind that the meal consisted of a Big Mac with cheese sworn to be Stephanie’s favorite entrée) and included an engagement ring in the presentation.

Eight years and two sons later, Jake and Austin, the two are still laughing and loving their way through the ever unfolding journey that is theirs to share.

Entrepreneurial Sidelines

If you have not heard of BuyFromAChristian.com yet, now you have. Some compare it to a Christian Ebay. The idea for such a company was spinning around in Brad’s head way back in college. The idea kind of came and went periodically, but he had no time and not enough interest to really pursue it.

A friend who was watching his budding success advised him to purchase his own domain name, BradMcMullan.com just to have it so that nobody who meant him ill, would be able to buy the domain for less than honorable purposes. Brad went online to do it and found that he could buy two domains for the price of one. Without any real forethought he just typed in www.buyfromachristian.com. As soon as he did it, he wanted his money back, second guessing himself and wondering why he had done it in the first place.

Time marched on. He and Stephanie moved to Jackson in 2002 and he became an anchor at the ABC affiliate WAPT.

The McMullans joined Broadmoor Baptist Church in Madison and became involved immediately. It was a friendship with Dr. Philip Chustz that brought to Brad’s mind that long ago domain name he had registered.

Philip began thinking about some kind of Christ-centered commerce community where Christians could feel safe buying from other Christians soon after his first child was born. There were challenges for a young couple with a new baby, a dad in medical school, and a mom who was trying to schedule the most routine of shopping trips around infant schedules.

Philip says, “God definitely put it on both our hearts. At the beginning, we just started by meeting together to pray about it. Then we got an Internet law specialist to answer our questions and set us on the right track.”

Launched in 2006, Brad laughs that the unique business plan he and Philip devised included the provision that the CEO and the President do not get paid. No kidding. They created a website, set up the business, and opened the website to Christians and non-Christians alike. They also decided that 10 percent of every dollar that came from a seller registering an item would go to support a ministry of that seller’s choice…quite a new concept and quite an undertaking.

Brad says, “What we have done is we have created a place where a church or a non-profit ministry can raise money for free. You know everyone has got a fundraising plan to help a church or a non-profit, but they ask for 5, 10, 20 or even 50 percent of what you raise. Ours is free. We don’t even charge for the postage it costs to send the seller a check. Everybody has ‘stuff’—an extra VCR, DVD, clothes, CDs, books—something. People can donate that to help their church or the Salvation Army, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Ronald McDonald House…you name it. The great part is that where they weren’t giving before in this economy…now they are.”

What began as an online community to benefit the church and allow Christians to support other Christians has turned into something with amazing potential to reach others and to fuel the necessary funds for those who are trying to keep a non-profit ministry or church afloat in these difficult times. You have to check out the website with daily devotions and a prayer request hotline to completely understand what makes this website different.

What Comes Next?

Brad does not look too far into the future. He is definitely a “Give us this day our daily bread” kind of guy. The interesting thing about all of his ambition—and he sure has ambition—is that when all is said and done, he believes that nothing counts for anything unless God can say, “Job, well done.”