There’s this new amazing service called Grand Central by Google. And because of the amazing Virgil, I am now a exclusive member. This is a free service provided by Google where you choose one local telephone number that can ring a whole bunch of secondary numbers when called, depending on how you configure the service; i.e. one phone number for life.

So in an experiment, I’m going to post my Grand Central number online for your calling pleasure. If you want to chat, or have some prayer… give me a ring.

If I don’t answer, I’m either chilling with my family or in a meeting.

If you don’t get me, it’s not personal… just try back again.

360-474-5117

This could be either really stupid or completely amazing. And note: this isn’t my cell phone number, it’s a service that uses the given number to connect to my cell phone. If it becomes intrusive, I’ll turn it off.

I received a call yesterday from someone in our community. He was calling to express his disapproval of me for a decision I have made.

You see, I’ve been asked to be the best man in one of our (Youth Dynamics) former student’s wedding. He’s a young man that’s been raised in the church, but never seen it for anything more than overbearing rules held by hypocrites. I’ve journeyed for a season with this young man and I really value some of the frank conversations about faith we’ve had. He knows where I stand and I know where he does. Our relationship has been a continuing conversation that I hope someday will grow into a lasting faith in Christ. All of that is fine and well, but here’s the kicker and reason for the phone call… he’s marrying a Mormon girl.

This is the point of contention that I’m being attacked over. They say that if I stand with him, I’m blessing this ‘unholy union’ and it ruins my witness and my ministry. They also told me that I will lose financial support from local churches and people who support me and my ministry.

My decision to stand up with this young man in his wedding was borne from my love for him and continuing desire to see him and his bride come to know Christ. My desire is to see the lines of communication open, not bridges burned. Am I condoning his actions? Nope. He knows that I don’t approve of the marriage, but also knows I love him.

We as Christians are often times so concerned with being right, that we forget to be kind. I just don’t think we’ll ever guilt or judge people into heaven. It doesn’t work that way. If we, as Christians, are to be Christ to an unbelieving world, how are we supposed to act? Judgmental or loving? Which one will show them Jesus’ true nature toward us? I firmly believe that by being a part of this couple’s lives, I’ll have a better chance of witnessing to them.

Let’s get this straight. We’re all depraved. We’re all sinners. And if we’re Christian, we’ve really done nothing to earn the saving grace of Jesus Christ. It was a free gift. So it’s a futile thing to draw line in the sand, trying to point out how we’re on one side and non-believers are on the other. We’re just fooling ourselves. The only one with the right to draw a line is Jesus, and NONE of us will ever measure up to that. Thank God for his grace, I just wish we could grant it to others.

So, I’m willing to lose face and financial support simply because I think Jesus would do the same.

“Deep within us is a desire to share the life of Jesus - no just the words of Jesus… Young people are not looking for adults who have more poetic or more reasoned beliefs than they have. They’re looking for adults who have experienced something, who trust something larger than themselves. They’re looking for adults who “have heard with their own ears, seen with their own eyes, and touch with their own hands” (1 John 1:1)… Our hope is that our young people might know God and trust the way of life Jesus emblazoned - one in which a person lives in greater transparency to the reality of God and greater vulnerability to the presence of others.”

Mark Yaconelli - Contemplative Youth Ministry

If we were to truly take a minute and think about the ministry that we are involved with - and I’m not just talking vocational ministry, it can be the ministry of parents to their children or even members of a community to one another- look at your ministry in your space. Ponder what it is, what it looks like and not what it is meant to be. On the basis of simply actions, what message do those actions or activities convey? Are we seeking to profit the ministry or the people involved? Are we seeking to make the kids (or adults) more safe, moral and good? Or are we pushing them towards being more like Christ at any cost.

And outside the ministry, as leaders, are we living in a way that they see Christ modeled in us? Are we too safe and good? Or are we transparent and vunerable?

I took some moments today to think about the failings of my ministry. The areas where I’ve push the messages contrary to that of Christ in the sake of ‘youth ministry.’ At times I seek to entertain. At times I use more words than actions. At time I seek to teach them good rules of living right. At times I’m just their buddy. And those times aren’t necessarily bad, but sometimes they outweigh the times of the real, raw, experience knowing Christ. I’ll admit that “doing ministry” is simply easier. Doing activities, takes less out of me. I don’t like to be vulnerable or give up control. But what am I teaching them? Do my actions say that following Jesus is a path marked with busyness, being good, playing video games and eating candy?

Needless to say, it was a very centering morning.

I was reading a movie review this morning and ran across the word: zeitgeist. I had no idea what it meant, so I looked it up and found something interesting. Learning a new word is good thing, but this was a really interesting word.

zeitgeist (n) - the spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation.

So it led me to ponder this question, when considering youth ministry/culture…

What would you say is the zeitgeist of this generation?

[WoD Challenge: work this word in to casual conversation today and tell us how you used it in the comments area.]

Saturday we took a few kids on a hike to the old mining town of Monte Cristo (in the Northern Cascade Mountains).  It was a beautiful day for a hike and a great time for going deeper with students. You’d be surprised at the discussion you can get into hiking 8 miles on a chilly day. There’s something amazing that happens when you just have a couple of hours to spend with teens. It gave me an appreciation of why Jesus spent a lot of time hiking between towns with his disciples.  No programs. Nothing planned. Just quality time.

I read an email from a friend this morning and my heart was broken. He didn’t say much, but he didn’t have to. He shared with me latest chapter of his struggle at a church he’s been pastoring. He was called to pastor an older church and all he’s met over the past few years was grief, abuse and struggle. I sat in my office praying for him and crying for the pain he was experiencing. I’ve watched this happen to him over the past few years at a few different churches. My heart breaks for him and his family. He’s honored me by sharing his journey with me and I’m continually amazed at his heart and his steadfast faith over these years.

I wish this was the only story I’ve heard from people I’ve befriended. What has the church become? I have seen little grace, love and compassion within it’s walls. It has simply become an institutionalized building. A grave reminder of what it was once meant to be.

I’ve also been burned by churches (and one quite significantly). But like my friend, I never saw this abuse as coming from God’s hand. I’ve only seen the Lord shower me in love and grace through the hard these times. This awareness has been key for me. Has the church left a bad taste in my mouth? Absolutely. Has the Lord? Never. And I’ve begun to hate church because of what it has become.
I hate church because of what we’ve made it. BUT, I love the church because of what God created it to be. My passion is to see the church restored to a vibrant, organic body that it once was. I have hope in that. The church is meant to be a glorious thing that changes the world, but we’ve made it something else. It’s become a corporation with four walls to keep some in and the other out. It has become confining, safe and tame.

If you pay attention to Jesus in the gospels, he never treated it as a job, or a career. It was always a passion; a calling. There was no point where his ministry ended and Jesus began. It was his whole being. It was his purpose for existence. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t clean, but it was good and completely Godly fueled.

The early church was the same. It wasn’t a club to join. It was a way of life. It transformed lives. It reached out to the poor and needy. It brought God’s love to a broken and hurting world. It was a remedy.

Now, we are people pleasing and program driven business. We are safe and tame. We are no longer faith driven, God fueled, and Christ centered.

I sit alone in my office and weep as I pray for my friend and the church. We have walked so far away from where we were supposed to be. I am grieved. But I am also hopeful that there is a way back.

I preached in church on Sunday on the Death of the American Dream.

[audio http://www.mypodcast.com/cached/stuartdelony_20071018_1928-113007-50262-2-25.mp3]
If anyone wants a missionary speaker for church or youth group…

I have mic, will travel.