LETTER FROM MEMBERS

Of The Apnc

With great enthusiasm, your Associate Pastor Nominating Committee is pleased to nominate Rev. Dr. Robert M. Austell, Jr. as our new Associate Pastor for Worship and Adult Discipleship. Robert has been the solo pastor at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC, for over 21 years.

The APNC was elected by the congregation in December 2022 and we began our work in January 2023. From then to now, we have met every week as we prepared the documents necessary to post the position, reviewed applications, and handled other administrative details for calling a new associate pastor. We posted the position with the National Capital Presbytery, contacted several pastors around the country, and notified numerous seminaries to help get the word out. In the end, we reviewed over 80 applications. We watched numerous sermons online, read blogs and personal websites, and compared our impressions of the many applicants.

From the very beginning, Robert stood out as a perfect fit for this position. We were looking for an experienced pastor, and Robert has been a pastor for over 25 years. We were looking for someone with a musical background, and Robert majored in music, worked as a sound engineer and session musician in Nashville before going to seminary. He provides pastoral oversight and is also actively involved in both the traditional and contemporary music at Good Shepherd. We were looking for someone to lead our adult discipleship ministry, and Robert has the same passion for teaching that he does for worship. He has overseen and led a full range of adult discipleship classes, from large group Bible study, to small group discipleship, to topical classes on subjects like racism and racial justice. He believes that being committed Christians entails both ongoing study and going out into the community.

Most of all, we were looking for someone who loves Christ. As you will see in his statement of faith, Robert has both a profound faith and an uncanny ability to communicate his faith in a down to earth way, free of theological jargon that often accompanies these statements. You don’t need a seminary degree to recognize that his identity in Christ is authentic, it is readily apparent in all that he says and does.

Robert knew about VPC before most of us knew about him. He has been friends and colleagues with Pastor Hope for many years, and even played piano during her installation ceremony. All the APNC members were enthusiastic about Robert’s range of experiences and how he would enhance worship and adult discipleship at VPC. We watched many of his sermons posted online (gspc.net) and read additional material on his website (robertaustell.com). We had several Zoom conversations with him, and after each one we were more and more convinced that he is uniquely qualified to be our new associate pastor.

Throughout this process, we prayed regularly—as a group and as individuals—as we sought to discern God’s will for VPC. We fervently and unanimously agree: this is God’s will for us. We are excited by the prospect of calling Robert as our new associate pastor. We recommend him to you whole-heartedly and with great enthusiasm.

Yours in Christ, Erin Allen, Bill Carter, Carla Davies, Bruce Dickson, Christina Jones, Paul Mayer, Stephanie Seckinger, Rob Skaggs, and Kevin White

ROBERT AUSTELL AS WORSHIP, MUSIC AND SPIRITUAL LEADER

"Robert’s love for the Lord is apparent in every way imaginable. He will bring this excitement to worship and discipleship here at VPC. I’m looking forward to all God has planned for VPCs future with Robert."