Don’t you just love the advice and wisdom of people who know you really well? You know that simple, honest, heartfelt wisdom. I’ve been feeling pretty worn lately and one of my best friends left me an amazing message on my cell phone. I’ve saved it and listen to it often. It goes something like this:

“Stuart Delony.

You’re tired.

And I’m real tired.

But the Lord isn’t.

So lean on him.

He never gets tired.

Amen.”

I love my friends. They are an ever present blessing to me and my life.

Please pray for Mikey Lang. He and his wife Bonnie are amazing couple, friends, guides, missionaries, and fellow followers of Christ. This afternoon I found out that Mikey has a softball size tumor on his lung and will be going on May 25th for treatment in Canada. Lift Mikey and Bonnie in prayer during this time. Pray for healing, peace, and strength as they go through this time together.

Mikey and Bonnie’s blog

Forward. Pass on. Repost this. Link to it. Whatever.

“Stuart, it seems like a long time ago doesn’t it? I’m thinking of that day climbing that mountain to get to the top and thinking how difficult it was, but I was going to make it up there. ”

-my friend and brother in Christ and life

A friend emailed me recently a reminder. A reminder of the journey we had been on together. He called me to remember back to who I was years ago. To remember where the Lord has brought me from. To remember the work he is doing in me right now.

Often times, life gets busy and I forget. I forget who I am and who the Lord has called me to be. I forget what is important and what is true. And if I’ve lost that, what am I left with?

So take some time to remember. What does the Lord not want you to forget?

I have a friend that I’m very proud of. His journey hasn’t been easy, but through it, he’s been a consistent man of God. I feel honored to know him and say that I’ve worked along side of him. I’ve written about Kevin anonymously before, but now today he’s sharing his story on his blog.

Yesterday Kevin quit his job and I continue to respect him more every day. Kevin was a pastor of a church and to say his experience there rough and un-Christ-like is to put it mildly. His last 2 years of pastorship have been a trying one. Yet, he continues to be positive and upbeat, knowing that the Lord is in charge. Kevin is an encouragement to me.

I’d encourage you to read more about his story in his post:
New Wine into Old Wineskins

Pray for his family in this time of transition.

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.