Category: Golf Course Road Church (Page 26 of 26)

Sunday was our first official day here at Golf Course Road Church of Christ and Carrie-Anne and I are completely overwhelmed by the tremendous love and generosity of our new church home. The shepherds here ordained me during the worship assembly — they made promises to me and asked me to make promises to them, they charged me with preaching God’s Word and helping to pastor the flock and fostering a culture at GCR in which we will be more transformed into the image of Christ. And then Eddie Lee prayed a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving and blessing over us on behalf of the congregation.

I can’t adequately express the excitement we’re experiencing nor the tremendous anticipation we’re feeling for what our God is doing here at GCR. And that we get to be a part of it!

I am so thankful for the faith and confidence this church is placing in me and my family to represent our Lord and his church at GCR in our Midland community and beyond. That blessing and that responsibility are not lost on me. It’s sacred to me. It’s heavy. I feel it. I cherish it. I feel very honored by this church and by our Lord to be here.

I am so grateful for the warm welcome we are receiving here. So many texts, emails, phone calls, cards, food — it’s overwhelming! It’s a constant reminder to me that our Lord is the one who had moved us out here to be with these folks. He’s way out in front of us on this. The timing is his.

The call from our God here is clear and the challenge at GCR is real. But I am confident. I am supremely confident. Because the shepherds here are honest and humble men who have a passionate heart for loving God’s people. Because the people at GCR are committed to this congregation, to each other, and to what God wants to do here. Because our Father wants to do something truly magnificent in us and through us together. And he will. This thing that he started at Golf Course Road a long time ago, he will bring to completion. He is faithful and he will do it.

I am anxious for all of us to roll up our sleeves together and love really well and work really hard and have an absolute blast in the flood of our Father’s blessings. May he bless us richly. And may his holy will be done at GCR and in Midland, Texas just as it is in heaven, to his eternal glory and praise.

Peace,

Allan

Carrie-Anne and I join the celebration as J.E. Bundy and his family are making the move across Midland to join the work at Golf Course Road Church of Christ! J.E. is our new Youth Minister at GCR and he’ll begin his full-time work with us on August 15. He and his wife, Megan, have three great kids: Will (16), Kadee (14), and Clark (12 next week).

Here’s what I know about J.E. He is a thoughtful and engaging teacher, a deep thinker who connects with young people, and a reflective man who takes his relationship with our Lord and his people seriously. J.E. has strong Gospel convictions and he is passionate about what our God is calling him to do. His wide-spread reputation as a dynamic speaker stems from his years of work at various youth camps and Christian conferences throughout Texas. I have thoroughly enjoyed my conversations with J.E. and am anxious to begin working with him soon.

We’re putting together a pretty good team down at GCR. The Youth Minister position is solid now and we’re close, I believe, to securing the next great worship minister at GCR. God be praised. And may his will be done at Golf Course Road and throughout Midland just as it is in heaven.

Peace,

Allan

The Golf Course Road church family officially welcomed us to Midland Wednesday night with  – what else? – an ice cream social featuring Marble Slab sundaes! Carrie-Anne and I spent the better part of two days down there looking for houses, eating lunch with the GCR ministers and staff, moving some boxes into my new study/office, and, most importantly, finally getting to personally meet more than a hundred of the good people at this very good church.

GCR live-streams a monthly “Family Update” hosted by Ryan Rampton from the worship center. It’s a 45-minute conversation intended to keep the congregation in the loop on important church news and developments, especially as it relates to changes within the ministry team. So it was a blast to do the Family Update live, in person, on the stage in that historic sanctuary. You can see the entire video with Ryan and me and a special cameo by Carrie-Anne by clicking here.

It was really good to see Amber Weems and her girls there Wednesday – familiar faces in our brand new setting. It was such a blessing to participate as Charlotte Siemer put on our Lord Jesus in baptism. It was fun to make so many connections with all these brand new people. We met the self-proclaimed deacon of coffee who has promised to provide my Diet Dr Pepper on Sunday mornings, Tod Brown’s sister who may have once dated a minister friend of mine in Amarillo, Trish-like-Fish who claims to be the shortest woman at GCR, and lots of generous people who are truly thankful and ready for us to move in and get settled with them there. Carrie-Anne and I feel very warmly welcomed and received by this church family in the middle of the West Texas desert and we can’t wait to experience all that the Lord has planned for us together.

The latest development on our housing situation is that we do have a signed contract on our house here in Amarillo. Praise the Lord! We signed the papers yesterday and should close on it before July 22. We’re selling it to a wonderful young couple with three really young kids who have lots of energy. Everything here is perfect for them and it’s working out really well for us, too. As for Midland, we’ve seen 29 houses and feel like one of them might be a possibility. Maybe. The housing market down there can be really discouraging. But we’ve got good people looking out for us and a faithful Father who is providing for us every step of the way. So, we’re not panicking. No way.

My new email address is allan.stanglin@gcrcc.org. Yes, that’s right, both names – two opportunities to misspell the address so I won’t receive your message. You can email me anytime or, of course, just comment on a post on this blog. 

Peace,

Allan