AllanStanglin.com
“The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead! God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him!”
~Acts 5:30-32
Christ Jesus our Lord is risen and reigning today, right now, at the right hand of God. May he bless us and his Church with the same boldness and courage of the apostles who witnessed it.
Peace,
Allan
On this fifth day of Holy Week, the “4 Amarillo” churches are assembling together at Polk Street United Methodist Church this evening for a traditional Maundy Thursday service. “Maundy” comes from an old French word (mande) and a Latin term (mandatum) that mean “command,” and point to Jesus’ words around the table with his disciples on that night he was betrayed: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Tonight we are reminded of the sacrificial and self-giving love demonstrated by our Lord as he washed the feet of his followers. We’re reminded of his faithfulness and obedience as he went willingly to his death that very night. And we’re inspired to imitate our Savior in living lives of service to others, considering their needs more important than our own.
And they’ve asked me to preach it again.
Still not sure why. It probably has something to do with the fact that Howie and Howard and Burt all have Good Friday services and multiple Easter Sunday services they’re preaching this weekend. And I don’t. So I get the Maundy Thursday gig.
Regardless, I’m very, very honored and excited to do it. This is a communion service. And there’s nothing more distinctly Christian we can do than to share the Lord’s Meal with a bunch of different disciples from a bunch of different denominations and backgrounds and interpretations. Christ died to destroy all the things that separate us from God and from one another. He died to tear down the walls, to annihilate the barriers, to rip the veil in two from top to bottom so that we all have equal access to the Creator of Heaven and Earth and all his people. So that we can all eat and drink together in his everlasting face-to-face presence. That’s why he died. And the only thing that keeps us from enjoying little slivers of that eternal feast here in this life is our refusal to love one another as Christ loved us.
Our own prejudices. Man-made lines of distinction. Our own arrogance and pride. Our unwillingness to practice the same love and acceptance and forgiveness and grace to other Christians that God in Christ showed and continues to show to us — that’s the only thing that keeps all God’s churches from expressing and practicing the kind of unity that would flat-out change the world.
I am grateful to belong to a faith community that understands this. I praise God that the leadership of our four downtown churches is pushing us to do more together, not less. And I cherish my partnership and friendship with Burt, Howard, and Howie. I pray that our Maundy Thursday gathering tonight encourages our churches, that it testifies boldly to the transforming work of Christ Jesus, and that it results in praise and glory to God.
Peace,
Allan
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
do not be afraid, for I am with you.”
~Isaiah 43
Nola Havins finished her race earlier this afternoon. And she ran well. Very well.
A surprise of a brain hemorrhage took Nola down Sunday night a week ago. Nola and Derrell had just returned home from their small group where they and some of their oldest and dearest friends had been praying through Psalm 23. The dinner was great, the fellowship was sweet, and the time spent meditating and listening to the voice of God through the hearts of their friends had been inspirational. As soon as they got into the house, Nola bent down to pick a couple of towels off the laundry room floor. And that was it. Just like that. No warning. No signals or signs. No symptoms. No nothing. One minute Derrell and Nola are enjoying a really great end to a really wonderful day together like so many they’ve shared during their 57 years of marriage. And the next minute, Nola has left for the next life without even saying “bye.”
Whew! Tough pill to swallow. Very rough week. For everybody.
Derrell and Nola are like grandparents to our three girls. Valerie talks about her boyfriend with Nola. Carley hugs and high-fives Derrell and exchanges smart aleck comments with him. Whitney hugs them both like she’s known them for 20 years. Derrell and Nola are just those kinds of people. Nola is 76-years-old and defies you to add the word “former” to Rodeo Beauty Queen when you describe her. Just a strikingly gorgeous woman. Inside and out. Sweet as can be and just as healthy and active as anybody half her age. At Family Camp two years ago, there was Nola, strapped in to the zip line and ready to jump off the platform 45-feet in the air. Always encouraging Carrie-Anne and me. Taking us out for burgers at Buns Over Texas or catfish at that all-you-can-eat place in Umbarger. Always talking to our girls. And always loving each other with a mutual affection and faithfulness that rubbed off on anybody who came near.
She goes down Sunday night and it’s a shock to everybody.
She’s in a coma for nine days, until 1:00 this afternoon and it’s just hard. Really hard. For everybody.
But Nola belongs to our God. She is his. He created her and he loves her. She is his daughter and he is her Father. And he is faithful to her, to bring her into his glorious face-to-face presence forever. We mourn today with Derrell and the kids and grandkids and everybody else in their super-huge, well-connected, and really fun family. We grieve. And we pledge to take care of Derrell; to love him and support him through very difficult times ahead. We vow today to remember in Nola the ways her gentleness and grace reflect the glory of our Lord. We encourage the family by reminding them of how much Nola touched our lives.
And we hug and kiss our husbands and wives tonight. We tell them how much we love them.
If there’s one thing Derrell has told me every single day — sometimes twice or three times a day — since that Sunday, he’s ordered me to tell Carrie-Anne how much I love her. “Promise me,” Derrell has said every day, “that tonight you’ll tell her. Because I didn’t get that chance with Nola.”
So, tonight, in honor of Derrell and Nola and their 57 years of marriage that truly reflected the glory of God and served as a powerful testimony to our Lord’s love for his people, tell your wife tonight how much you love her and how much she blesses your life. Tell your husband how much he means to you and how you can’t imagine living without him.
God bless all the Havins. And God receive sweet Nola into your faithful arms.
Peace,
Allan
Valerie and Jordan were born six weeks apart in the winter of 1997. We were living in Marble Falls while Jordan’s parents, Billy and Shannon Whiteley, were living fourteen miles north of us in Burnet. But we were members together at the Marble Falls Church of Christ and really great friends. Even after we parted ways — we’ve moved seven times since then and they’ve moved twice — we’ve always stayed close. We’re the kind of friends who can only see each other two or three times a year, even less since we moved to Amarillo, and still just pick right up where we left off.
So, Jordan’s in town this weekend with the UIL Latin Competitions which are being held at Amarillo High School. She nailed her solo yesterday and is competing in the Latin quiz this afternoon. And we were so blessed to pick her up at noon today and spend a couple of hours with her at Blue Sky, introducing her to the cheeseburger that changes lives. How great to get caught up.
She and Valerie were each other’s first best friends. The picture on top is from 2002 when they were five-years-old and playing with Beanie Babies and singing Veggie Tales songs. The picture on the bottom is from today, thirteen years later, at Blue Sky. Jordan’s heading to the University of Arkansas at the end of this summer and Valerie’s enrolling at West Texas A&M. I don’t think we’ve seen Jordan or her parents in over four years. But today, we picked up right where we left off.
Thanks for letting us horn in on your weekend, Jordan. Thanks for clarifying the correct usage of “ratchet” and “salty.” And thanks for your sweet friendship with our daughter.
Peace,
Allan
A few of our members here at Central have asked for a copy of the benediction that was used at the end of our assembly this past Sunday. It was written by John Newton, the author of “Amazing Grace,” in 1779.
“May the Father’s boundless love, the grace of Christ our Savior, and the favor of the Holy Spirit rest upon you. May we abide in union with our Lord and with each other. And in this sweet communion. may we possess joys which earth cannot provide. Amen.”
“…your Father who sees what is done in secret…” ~Matthew 6:3, 6, 18
Remember the old church song about the All-Seeing Eye? It was creepy. It was scary, actually. I think it must have been written to keep church people from leaving during the invitation song. The All-Seeing Eye. And the song created this terrible picture of our God as this angry, arbitrary, ogre in the sky who just can’t wait to nail you. To grab you by the scruff of the neck and throw you out. Or destroy you.
Yes, our God sees everything. He sees all the good things you do. And, yeah, he definitely sees all the bad things you do. He sees your sin. He sees everything.
That means he not only sees your sin, he sees under your sin. He sees behind your sin. God sees above and below your sin. He sees beyond your sin to your pain. He sees the fear and the scars. God sees the hurts and the wounds that cause your sin. He knows.
God doesn’t just want you to stop sinning — yes, he definitely wants you to stop sinning — but he also wants to heal you. He wants to make you whole. He wants to get to the pain that drives you to those websites. He wants to fix the hurt that causes you to lie. God wants to cleanse the wounds that push you to anger or stealing, addiction or gossip. God loves you. And he wants to transform you. He wants to make you whole.
Peace,
Allan
© 2026 The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
Recent Comments