By Van Mitchell, staff writer
Dr. Frank G. Tunstall has been on a lifelong mission to serve the Lord and teach others about Him.
Tunstall, a resident at Tealridge Retirement Community Independent Living, located at 2100 NE 140th Street in Edmond, has undertaken his latest mission with his new book “The Day That Changed Everything: Meditations on Christmas.”
His book offers reflections designed to help readers redirect their attention from the commercial busyness of the season to the true meaning of Christmas – the birth of Jesus Christ.
Tunstall served as Bishop and superintendent at the Heartland Conference for eight years. He was the pioneer pastor of Northwest Christian Center in Oklahoma City. Having led the congregation for 23 years, he’s been an ordained minister in the International Pentecostal Holiness Church for 62 years. He also served as president of Southwestern Christian University in Oklahoma City, and as editor in Chief of IPHC publications.
“I gave my heart to Jesus when I was in the seventh grade and I never looked back,” he said. “I wanted us to get to a place where we remember the focus of the real meaning of Christmas.”
Tunstall said a biblical Christmas has slowly been lost.
“The story of baby Jesus over the years has slowly faded into the public arena. The result is that a secular Christmas that has largely taken the place of Mary’s baby, the son of God,” he said. “My goal is to put baby Jesus back through Christmas. Jesus Christ is the son of God who died on the cross for our salvation.”
Tunstall said God called him to write this book.
“I love Jesus and I wanted to write his story,” he said. “I’ve got one goal and that is to love the Lord and serve Him and do what he’s wanting me to do, and that’s what I’m doing now. I want to get students and parents to recognize that Christmas is more than commercialization.”
Dena Chitwood, Tunstall’s daughter, said her father instilled in her family the importance of education and the true meaning of Christmas.
“We had a Christmas tree, we had Christmas presents, but Dad would always focus us back to the real reason why we were celebrating,” she said. “He would always make sure as kids we understood that while all this (celebrating) was fun, it isn’t the reason we celebrate Christmas.”
Chitwood, a music teacher in the Bethany school district, said her father taught generations of students the importance of faith.
“He has many generations of students that he’s taught over the years or pastored. I think people would say that even in his sermons, he was just helping us have a deep understanding of Scripture,” she said.
Melissa Mahaffey, Executive Director Independent Living, said Tunstall is a positive example of seniors enjoying their passions.
“At Tealridge we love to know that our residents continue to live, grow and achieve goals. We seek to foster relationships and community through a loving atmosphere where respect and kindness are abundant,” she said.
To order Tunstall’s book visit www.lifespringsresources.com.
