Chris Kuntz leading worship at Anchor for the last time.

Yesterday in church, we said good-bye to Chris and Lisa Kuntz. Chris has been our worship leader for the past four-and-a-half years, and for those of us in the band, he’s a friend. We’ve laughed and learned and prayed together many times. Mostly laughed, I suppose. And made some great music. I, for one, will greatly miss Chris.

Next week, Chris begins as worship leader at Union Chapel, a United Brethren church located on the north side of Fort Wayne. Chris’s parents go there, and both are part of the worship team. The idea of going to Union Chapel arose in May, when Chris was invited to lead worship for a Friday night youth event. Other opportunities have arisen over the years, and Chris has shrugged them off. But he wasn’t able to shrug this one off. This one seemed to be of God. And doggone it to pieces, I think it was.

Chris plays acoustic guitar, plays a mean violin, sings, knows sound equipment. Knows what it means to worship. He doesn’t hold a college degree. He does hold a great deal of passion for what he’s doing. And I’m gonna greatly miss the sonofagun. I told him that while I support his decision, I will commence trashtalking Union Chapel for stealing him away. Actually, I won’t. Probably won’t. There is a reasonable likelihood that I won’t, except in the interests of national security. Having seen Chris wrestle with this decision all summer, I have no doubt that God wants Chris at Union Chapel. That doesn’t mean I can’t deeply mourn Anchor’s loss. Or throw random objects at walls.

The Anchor congregation had prayer for the Kuntz family as we, reluctantly, send them off to a new church. Somewhere in that huddle is Pastor Tim with Chris and Lisa.

At the end of the service, Pastor Tim brought Chris and Lisa to the front and invited people to express their appreciation for what they have meant to them, and to Anchor. Lots of soapy stuff was said, including by Yours Truly. Then there was a massive group-prayer-hug thing. I worked very hard to find an angle to take a photo which actually showed Chris and Lisa. Which means I wasn’t praying, of course. Call me bitter.

Chris is one of those old-school guys who throws himself totally into his church. A dying breed, regretably. He’s also a wonderful father. I enjoy watching Chris interact with his three young boys (who will now get to interact every week with their grandparents). And Lisa’s fabulous. Wonderful sense of humor.

Next week, Anchor’s worship team is playing at Union Chapel’s 150th anniversary. Or maybe their 100th. It’s a biggie, anyway. It’ll give us another chance (I refuse to say “one last chance”) to play music with Chris. I told Chris I would take a can of spray-paint so I could leave nasty graffiti at Union Chapel. Though I probably won’t. Probably. It’ll be fun watching Chris–and Union Chapel–flourish in the years ahead.

And maybe, just maybe, God will bring along somebody new to Anchor. As Chris’s Uncle Dave Ward told him point-blank as we prayed before practice on Sunday morning, “Chris–you’re replaceable.” Which is exactly how Chris wants it.