Inspiration

Tonight I was checking my sitemeter just to see if anyone is actually reading my posts, when I noticed that someone had been referred to my site from another blog called revmcgator. I knew right away that it had to be my friend Tim who I worked alongside in my first position in full time ministry in N. Ft Myers, FL. I was eager to read his blog and catch up on the happenings in his life, since it's been some time since we've seen each other. I had read almost all of his posts, and was getting ready to leave the site, when I got to the very bottom of his first post titled "Getting Started". I was shocked to see the last sentence that read, "Thanks to Mark Lunsford for inspiring this." Since I am still a blogging novice, I was surprised to think that anyone would be inspired by my blog, but I appreciated the sentiment and left a comment for him that he had made my day. And, since it made me feel so good, I thought I would take a minute to give kudos to the person who inspired me to start this blogging journey too. My friend Roy over at Hooked on Grace is a member of my church, and one of my favorite guys to hang out with. One day I saw his blog address attached to an email he sent me. His writing is always thoughtful and thought provoking, and I am continually blown away by his insight. When I finally decided to start my blog, he was one of the few people I told about it. So, thanks Roy for your example and for helping me catch the vision for this. You inspire me!

Rethink Christian

I never watch commercials anymore. In fact, since I bought my first Tivo seven years ago, I have come to loathe the two and a half minutes plus that the networks expect me to sit through while waiting for the next segment of my favorite television show to come back on. But, every now and then, a commercial catches my eye and I forget to push fast forward. That happened last night. As I started watching it, I couldn't figure out what product it was advertising, until the last few seconds when the brand came into view. Obviously Anne wasn't as stricken, as she was clearing her throat and pushing fast forward on her "air remote." It was a commercial for the Saturn auto company. You may have seen this, but I'll try to describe it to you. (You can see it for yourself here)

(There is an image of a fist showing four gaudy rings) Rethink Bling (Changes to a fist with a simple wedding band).

Rethink Power (A picture of a power plant chimney billowing smoke changes to a picture of a large solar panel).

Rethink Strength (a picture of a body builder changes to Lance Armstrong.)

Rethink Status (a picture of a car with a big engine "V12 Biturbo" changes to a picture of a hybrid engine)

The commercial ends with the phrase "Rethink American."

The commercial is trying to tell us that the game has changed, and Saturn is changing the way you should think about American car companies. I can't verify that all of that is true, but I was definitely impressed with the commercial. I started thinking about it today...what if we substituted "Rethink American" with "Rethink Christian"? Should we re-look at that way we think about our faith in the context of bling, power, strength, and status? Here's my new take on this commercial....

Rethink Bling - The world's view is that he who dies with the most toys wins. But Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Rethink Power- 2 Timothy 3:2-5 sums up the state of affairs in our world today. "They will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power." But Paul urges us that in spite of this we should "not be ashamed to testify about our Lord" (1:8) because "God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of POWER, of love and of self-discipline." (1:7)

Rethink Strength- The world tells us never to show weakness, but 2 Corinthians 12:10 says that "when I am weak, then I am strong."

Rethink Status- The world says that you're not cool unless they say you are, but God says that you mean so much to Him that he sent His only son, Jesus, to take our sin so that we can have a personal relationship with Him. (John 3:16). In fact, we are God's children. That means that we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17) Sounds like more status than Paris Hilton!

Sometimes we can lose sight of how God wants us to see these things and get caught up in the same mindset that surrounds us. But maybe it's a good time to stop, step back and "Rethink Christian."

Perspective

It's looking like my posts are hanging out in the "Life" category more than normal. But, I guess that's the way it goes when you're making a life-changing decision that's taking your family half way across the country. :) Well, to give you an update...This weekend we cleaned out the garage and had a garage sale. Last weekend was focused on preparing the house as it is now "on the market." We spent Friday and Saturday trimming hedges, putting mulch in the beds, and pressure washing the cage over the pool and the deck, which was an incredibly tough job. Many thanks to Anne's parents and my parents who came and rescued us from the overwhelming tasks. I didn't get a picture, but I don't think I'll forget anytime soon seeing my father-in-law fully clothed, soaking wet, in the middle of the pool, standing on a ladder trying to spray the mold off the pool cage cross beam. I was sore at the end of the day, and I thought to myself, surely Anne's father is sore too. So, I asked him the next day, and he said that he wasn't. So now I know I'm just really out of shape. :) Anyway, through all of this, our kids were helping out some, playing more often, and generally just enjoying life through the process. I got a glimpse of their perspective when my 9 year old daughter Morgan let me read an entry in her journal from that day. It made me smile so big that I asked her permission to re-print it on my blog. Here is her take on the day (spelling errors and all)

"Today is 'day 2' of house cleaning. Getting ready to move is hard work. 'clean, clean, clean'!! I usaly get the easy part. SWIMMING!!! And sometimes SWINGING!!! I'd like to move more often! Mimi and Papa came over. Now all of the adults are working. We are just swimming. It is a lot of fun. Just sitting here in such beutiful weather. I love the smell of freash mulch. My parents are laying new freash mulch. They want our house to look perfect for the open houses. I think this work is hard and boring. I can't wait till Tuseday. On Tuseday we get to tell everybody at school we're moving. I am not happy that I am moving because I will miss my friends, but I am happy that we are moving."

My favorite line is when she says, "All of the adults are working. We are just swimming. It is a lot of fun." Sometimes it's just a matter of perspective. :)

Telling the kids

As you may expect, Anne and I were a little nervous about telling our girls about our upcoming move. This was the first big family decision that we have made since they were old enough to have an opinion about it. We decided to tell them as soon as we arrived back in Tampa. All of us gathered in the living room and I told them that we had to have a family meeting. They knew that we had just come home from Frisco, and they knew about the church since we had been there on a family vacation before. I started out by saying that the church in Texas had really been growing, and that they needed another pastor on staff, and that they had asked me to join them. I told them that their mom and I had been praying about it, and that we felt that this was what we were supposed to do, and that we were going to be moving to Texas. It seemed like they immediately understood what that meant, and how that impacted all of us, and we all became a bit emotional. After a few minutes of crying together, they began to ask questions about the new church, the new town, the new house. One question they had about the church was, Did it have a children's ministry? We explained to them that that was very important to us too, and that we had even sat in the children's service. We told them that even though it wasn't going to be the same, we knew they would like it. Scott, the children's pastor there, had given us t-shirts with their church's kids ministry logo on it for the girls. I didn't know how they would respond to them, but they have ended up wearing them all the time. I think it's been kind of a "connection point" for them. When the time came that they could tell their friends at school, Morgan wore her shirt and explained that this was her new children's ministry. I have been amazed at how resilient the girls have been. In fact, after our family meeting that night, we decided to do our devotions together. The girls brought their devotional books out and shared ones that they felt applied to our situation. One read a page about "worry." Another read about being "sad". It was a special night. Anne and I commented to each other that it was so great to see our children applying the bible to their own lives in the proper context. So far, they are excited about the move and the new possibilities. I'm sure that there will also be times of sadness as we get closer to leaving, but their positive reaction has been a real relief.

BIG, BIG News!

The time has come for me to share with everyone some very big news that is happening in our family. We are going to be moving to Frisco, Texas! I have accepted the position of Executive Pastor at Hope Fellowship. I will be reuniting with my friend John McKinzie who I worked with for five years in Nashville. He started the church seven years ago, and it has grown to a current average attendance of 1200-1300 a week. We are excited about what God has in store for us, but at the same time, are sad to leave Tampa. This has been a huge decision for us, especially since most of our family lives here. But, we believe that this is a step that God has called us to take, and we feel a real peace about it. My last Sunday at Grace Family will be on July 1. Please keep us in prayer as we make this transition, and pray that our house will sell quickly!

You see

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6

As I read this verse today, it literally jumped off the page at me. Just as the first two words say, "You see," there are many times when I don't see! As I have grown in my relationship with God, I have become accustomed to His love. I think that there are times I have taken it for granted. But this verse reminds us to "see" how big God's love truly is.

"At just the right time, while we were still powerless." Sometimes I wonder about God's timing. It doesn't always feel like He's working on my time table. That's because He's not. He knows when it's the right time, and sometimes we have to admit that it's only through His power that it can get done. Yet, He always responds at "just the right time."

"Christ died for the ungodly." If Christ had died for the godly, we might wonder what we had to do to be included in that number. But, if in fact He died for the ungodly, then He died for everyone. Not just those who were "living right" or "measured up." But He has even died for those people that I haven't prayed for in a long time because I figured they were lost causes. There are no hopeless causes! Christ died for them.

"Lord, help me to see people through your eyes. Help me to show your love in all that I do. Thanks for your perfect timing." Amen.

Music Stuff: New Jazz and good muzak

I recently downloaded Joshua Redman's new album, Back East. Although it's a trio album, which is typically not my favorite, he is in great form. He continues to establish himself as a modern master of the saxophone, and will be listened to for years to come. Along those lines, another saxophonist who is moving the art of jazz forward is Chris Potter. Check out his recording, Underground, especially his take on the classic track, Yesterday.

Today I was having lunch with my wife at Ruby Tuesday and my ears were drawn to their muzak selections. They were playing some great tunes! I'm pretty sure it's a bad sign when you start to enjoy restaurant music, but there's just nothing like the classics! Songs they were playing that I liked included:
Bonnie Raitt- "I Can't help you now" Her voice is so good, and she's got just the right amount of soul.
Corinne Bailey Rae- "Put Your Records On" This was my favorite album of 2006.
The Police- "Message in a Bottle" Can you get too much Sting?

Heard any good music lately?