Category: Golf Course Road Church (Page 24 of 27)

You can’t be the preacher at Golf Course Road and not know Willie Goudeau. Willie is THAT guy here at GCR and, frankly, in Midland. He’ll be 100 years old next month. He’s been at Golf Course Road for almost that long. He’s a shepherd. A Bible class teacher. A small groups leader. His name comes up around here at least once a week. He’s the legend.

My first week in Midland I was introduced to Willie via a video that’s come to be called the Lawnmower Man video. It’s the true story of how Willie won over his gruff, hard-hearted neighbor by mowing his lawn every week while he was recovering from surgery and a broken leg. The video reveals Willie’s kind heart and his sacrificial nature, his desire to consider the needs of others more important than his own, his generosity and love. I watched it twice. It moved me to tears both times. I was told about Willie’s son, Eugene, who was killed by a drunk driver and how Willie publicly forgave the driver and appealed to the judge in the criminal case for leniency and grace. He studied the Bible with his son’s killer and prayed for him fervently. Dozens of times I’ve been told about Willie’s signature line, “Richly blest.” That’s what he says about himself. That’s how he answers any inquiry regarding his well being. The line inspired a song written by Ken Young. Most people around here use the phrase quite often. Not everybody knows it comes from Willie.

For the past three months I’ve been regularly getting asked, “Have you met Willie Goudeau?” Because everybody at GCR knows Willie Goudeau. Everybody here has been blessed by Willie Goudeau. Encouraged by Willie Goudeau. Everybody has a Willie Goudeau story. And now, finally, I do, too.

I was honored last week to spend a little over half an hour with Willie at his home on Bristol Court where he has lived since 1973. I was privileged to be joined by Tod Brown, Kyle McGraw, and Gary and Gaye Glasscock, all of whom have known Willie for decades and have their own wonderful Willie Goudeau stories. Tod tells me Willie has been his biggest cheerleader his whole life. Kyle interviewed Willie a few years ago for Ken Young’s two hour documentary appropriately titled “Richly Blest.” Gary and Willie taught a Bible class together. Everybody’s deeply connected to Willie Goudeau.

From the moment I walked in the door and shook his hand, he knew exactly who I was and seemed genuinely delighted to meet me. He told me he watches me preach online every single Sunday. He quoted my own words to me from a couple of recent sermons. And he very graciously said many kind things about me that just aren’t very true.

We talked together about GCR and the good people at this great church. He reminisced a bit about the Browns and the McGraws and the Glasscocks and their families. He offered me some advice about loving people and serving others. He told me he was ready to meet the Lord in person and then to get things ready for us. I told him I could officially be the preacher at GCR now that I have met him and have received his blessing. He said I was blessing him, he wasn’t blessing me. He said I didn’t need his blessing. He said he knew that I was listening to God and following Christ when we came to Midland to worship and serve with Golf Course Road.

Willie is a saint. He has an incredibly warm and sweet spirit that reflects the glory of our God. He is gracious and kind. His impulse is to encourage and he does it easily and naturally. And it’s obvious that he has a tight relationship with the Lord. He and God are close. They are friends. They know each other intimately. Being in Willie’s living room is like being in the presence of Jesus. Not because Willie is Jesus – he’s not. But because it’s so clear that Jesus lives in Willie.

I thank God for Willie Goudeau and the Christian impact he has had and continues to have on this congregation of God’s people. I feel official now. Of course, I’ve met Willie Goudeau! And. Wait for it. Here comes the line. I am richly blest.

Peace,

Allan

I was so blessed to spend a quick 21-hours with all our GCR shepherds and ministers at a leadership retreat this past weekend at the beautiful The Way Retreat Center just outside Midland. From 5:00 Friday afternoon until 2:00 on Saturday, we committed to worshiping together, praying for the GCR church family and for one another, bonding through shared mealtimes and a few silly games, and discussing seriously together the call of our Lord for his people at Golf Course Road.

The main topic of the weekend was fostering a culture at GCR so that we more regularly experience the transforming power of our God. How do we facilitate an atmosphere in which we are more aware of God’s Spirit and the work he is doing to change us into the image of Christ? Can we create more opportunities, can we lean into more circumstances in which our people are drawn closer to God and think and behave more like Christ? We talked and prayed together about the realities of our situation at GCR – the strengths of our congregation, things that might possibly trip us up, questions we have about the present and the future. We shared personal stories about God’s transforming work in our own lives. We dreamed and brainstormed together about what’s next. And we talked realistically about our potential.

The question started out as “What is GCR poised to do better than any other church in Midland?” We were trying to identify our strengths and passions – what we’re good at, what we really enjoy doing, what we’re equipped for – and how it might be used to advance the Kingdom here locally and around the world. Several things were mentioned with enthusiastic and unanimous response. But then something was said that resulted in puzzled expressions on most of our faces. Are we really poised right now to do that? Is it ready right now? Is it really something we can do immediately? To which someone graciously allowed: “Well, we’ve got the potential to be poised.”

And that turned into the catch-phrase of the weekend. The potential to be poised. We’re not ready yet, but the potential is there. We have the potential to be poised to restructure this or re-imagine that. At 10:00 Saturday morning we had the potential to be poised for lunch. I think Mauri’s already designed a T-shirt.

I feel very privileged by our God, and supremely blessed, to be the preacher at GCR with so many good shepherds and ministers. It was such an encouragement to hear the hearts of these people who love the congregation so much, who’ve given their lives to serving our Lord Jesus and his precious people, who care so deeply for the great history of GCR and are eager to work hard for the glorious future. These same people who take so seriously their calling and their ordination, who pray so fervently and minister so tirelessly, and who will play a game of musical chairs in which the loser has to eat a big spoonful of a random jar of baby food and the winner gets to choose a book by William Willimon or Eugene Peterson. A great weekend in a beautiful setting with some outstanding Christian leaders.

May our God bless us richly with his wisdom and grace as we lead his people at GCR. And may his holy will be done in and through his church here just as it is in heaven.

Peace,

Allan

Good looking crew at last night’s annual Harvest Party at GCR. We trunk or treated with almost 3,000 Midlanders on our church campus – candy, games, bouncers, costumes, music. We met a ton of people and had a blast doing it. I couldn’t be more thrilled or feel more blessed to be working with this great group of ministers.

The Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ has come and it is coming and this is what it looks like and feels like. That no matter the chaos and confusion out there, no matter the uncertainty that surrounds us, sin and death do not have the final word. Our risen and reigning Lord Jesus is the author of eternal life right now, today, tomorrow, and forever! He always writes the last line. The final chapter always belongs to him. He says, “I AM the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will never die!”

So we thank God. And our lives are a continuous hallelujah to his eternal glory and praise.

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