Our Stories: Kris Lundy

The practice of testimony carries power because Scripture says God’s people overcome “by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony.” The Our Stories rhythm keeps that power in front of Harvest without letting testimony turn into a spiritual gripe sesh. Chris’ story shows a life built around worship, family, ministry, and church, and then shows how fast everything can look completely different.

Worship was not just something Chris did. Worship was a call, a pull, something that would not let him sit easy or rest until he stepped into it. His marriage and ministry were tied together, so when the relationship began to fracture, the pain did not stay in one corner of his life. The collapse touched home, kids, church, and the very place where his calling had lived.

Galatians 6:2 gives the first word over that kind of pain: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” The text does not tell people to pretend burdens are not there. The text does not tell people to hide what they are carrying. The text assumes burdens will be known, because a hidden burden cannot be carried with someone else.

The call to “see and be seen” presses deeper than simply being around church people. Community is not just rows; community is circles. Church can be full of people and still leave someone unknown, unless real space is made for someone’s heart, not just someone’s role. Relationships work two ways, so the need to be seen also becomes the responsibility to truly see others.

Chris’ second chapter brings another truth to the surface: something new cannot be built with old blueprints. Romans 12:2 says transformation comes through the renewing of the mind, not through dragging old patterns into a new chapter and hoping for a different outcome. The same unhealed places will keep producing the same scenarios until God is allowed to deal with what has been avoided.

God’s restoration is the deepest part of the story. The greatest restoration was not just Chris returning to Harvest or getting back on the worship team. The greatest restoration was God healing something inside him that felt beyond healing. God is not intimidated by places that look too broken, too far gone, or too impossible, and no story is out of reach for the One who can rewrite the ending.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Burdens must be seen to be carried Galatians 6:2 makes burden-bearing a shared act, not a private performance of strength. A hidden burden may feel protected, but it also stays isolated from the grace God often sends through people. Spiritual honesty is not weakness; it is the doorway where community can finally become obedience. [47:53]
• 2. Community lives deeper than rows Community is more than sitting in the same room once a week. Real community takes intentional space where a person is known beyond a role, a gift, or a Sunday morning smile. The church becomes healthier when people stop only noticing what others do and start seeing who they are. [49:18]
• 3. Old blueprints rebuild old outcomes Romans 12:2 points to transformation through renewed thinking, not recycled patterns with new labels. A new chapter cannot carry the same untreated wounds, habits, and reactions and still become truly new. Grace does not only forgive the past; grace also confronts the patterns that keep recreating it. [64:25]
• 4. God restores hopeless-looking places God’s restoration reached deeper than a church seat or a worship team position. God healed a place in Chris that looked like it would always stay painful. The places that feel too broken for repair are often the very places where God shows that human impossibility is not divine limitation.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [29:16] - Our Stories and Harvest South
• [30:35] - The Power of Testimony
• [32:18] - Chris Begins His Story
• [34:17] - Called Into Worship Ministry
• [37:18] - Finding Harvest After Church Hurt
• [41:09] - Warning Signs and Unanswered Prayers
• [43:31] - Stepping Down While Life Falls Apart
• [46:12] - No One Carries Burdens Alone
• [48:14] - Willing to See and Be Seen
• [53:46] - Dating, Healing, and Hard Lessons
• [56:09] - Returning to Harvest
• [60:10] - Back on the Worship Team
• [63:32] - Old Blueprints Cannot Build New
• [66:36] - God Restores What Looked Gone

1. In Galatians 6:2, what are believers told to do with each other’s burdens, and what does that action fulfill? [47:53]
2. What details in Chris’ story show that worship was not casual for him, but something that felt like a calling he could not ignore? [34:17]
3. What parts of Chris’ life were affected when his marriage fell apart? [45:29]
4. In Romans 12:2, what contrast is made between being conformed and being transformed, and what is the means of that transformation? [01:04:25]

1. Galatians 6:2 assumes that burdens are known and shared. Why is it so hard for people to let others see what they are carrying, especially in church life? [48:19]
2. Community is deeper than being in the same room. What is the difference between being around people and actually being known by people, and why does that difference matter in seasons of pain? [49:18]
3. Romans 12:2 connects change to the renewing of the mind. What kinds of old patterns, reactions, or mindsets tend to follow a person into a “new chapter” if they are never faced honestly? [01:05:01]
4. God’s restoration can reach deeper than a changed circumstance. What does it mean that the greatest restoration was healing inside, not just returning to a place or role? [01:07:39]

1. A burden has to be seen before it can be carried with someone else. What burden has been kept mostly hidden lately? What makes it hard to bring that into the light with a trusted believer? [48:19]
2. Church can be full of people while someone still remains unknown. Where does life currently feel more like rows than circles? What would it look like to take one honest step toward real community this week? [49:36]
3. Relationships work both ways. Who has God placed nearby that may need to be truly seen right now? How could care move beyond a quick greeting into a real conversation? [51:23]
4. It is hard to address what is never acknowledged. Is there an area of the heart, a habit, or a pattern that has been easier to excuse than to face? What helps bring honesty before God in that area? [52:52]
5. A new chapter cannot be built with old blueprints. Where do the same outcomes keep showing up in life—relationships, conflict, approval-seeking, shutdown, anger, or something else? What might be one old blueprint underneath that pattern? [01:05:22]
6. Some places in life get labeled “too broken” or “too far gone.” What part of life is most tempted to wear that label right now? What makes it hard to believe that God can still bring restoration there? [01:08:11]
7. God is able to rewrite endings that seem hopeless. What would trusting Him with that look like in a real, practical way this week—not in theory, but in prayer, confession, conversation, or obedience? [01:10:10]