A Great Run

On behalf of all who participated in the Forum we want to thank you for a wonderful run. We learned much about following the Lord's lead and doing ministry and as a result CCC will be putting its efforts in other areas. The Forum as we know it on Sunday evening will discontinue. The Forum Band will continue to play at other venues and at CCC. Thank you for your support.

Just a little something I read...

To those of you still reading our blog over winter break...

I started reading I Peter the other day, and a verse stood out to me that I had seemingly overlooked before. "These [trials] have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory & honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." v.7


It just puts things into perspective by comparing something that is so highly valued in this world to a faith that is strong in the Lord. This gives us hope when we face trials--they come only to strengthen your faith in Christ so you'll be prepared when He comes back for us. When you look at it in that light, all of the day to day trials you face don't seem so bad. These trials only shape us to be more like Him, and keep our eyes on eternity.

Q & A

Come ready with your questions this Sunday evening as we will have another of the Q & A sessions. No topic is off the board.

Concert and Getting Dunktized

The Autumn Film did a wonderful job in their concert. What a delight it was to deal with musicians who didn't project any diva spirit and brought it from the heart and with excellence. I heard folks comment that they loved the music and thoughtful lyrics. Of course the Forum band also did a wonderful job. I think I have a new favorite song in "You Won't Relent." Nick and Jil knock it dead on that one and my heart just soars everytime I hear it. Very powerful lyrics.

You won't relent until you have it all
My heart is yours

I'll set you as a seal, upon my heart
as a seal upon my arm
for there is a love, that is as strong as death
jealousy demanding as the grave
and many waters, cannot quench this love
My heart is yours

The baptism on the hill is one of the coolest venues for baptism I have ever seen. Perhaps a baptism in an ocean might beat it, but I love everyone gathering around standing on the hill. What a delight to witness young and old following Christ in baptism. Way to go Dalton, Isaac and Bill! I heard one small boy had commented to his mother afterwards that he saw people get "dunktized." I love it!

Guest worship leader at the Forum

We are blessed to have guest worship leader Steve Hammond and his team with us at the Forum this week. Adam Nelson plays drums with Steve and will also be leading us on Sunday evening. Don't miss it!

Forum Oct. 5, 2008

I thought Jay's message on how to discern the will of God was very insightful. I love the no-nonsense approach that makes the truth of the message much more palatable. Check out the below post for some of the meat of the message.

The music from the Forum Band keeps getting better. I don't know how, but it does. I hate to even mention such a thing because it is unfair to have our expectations so high every time they play. However, it is the sincerity and heart and passion of the group that makes them unique from other worship bands. I am moved to worship and I am moved to worship freely and openly. Thanks to all in the group for your hard work. If you know of places that might appreciate them playing be sure to pass along the information to Jil.

Jay's Message on Will of God

The Forum Band @ First E-Free

This morning, The Forum Band was fortunate enough to lead worship at a local church, First Evangelical Free. We had a wonderful time of worship & fellowship with the people there. I think it's such a wonderful thing to be able to get together with fellow Christians in the community and worship the same awesome God. What a blessing! Thanks to First E-Free for having us!

Great Start

What a great start to the new season of the Forum last night. I could listen to the Forum band all day. The new songs were very good, but what I appreciate the most is the heart of everyone who participates. It is also nice to have our own resident Skinny Improv MC. Jeremiah does a great job of setting the tone for the evening. My heart was moved to hear Anna share her passion for Christ. As she leaves us to serve elsewhere let's remember to pray for her. Can't wait for September 21.

September 7th Forum

September 7th at 6:00 PM will be the first Forum for the new semester at the CCC facility. There will be no Forum Sunday, August 31 because of the holiday weekend.

24-Hour Prayer

My spirit feels revived this week after spending some time at the 24-hour prayer room at CCC. The event has been a good impetus for me to consider my own prayer habits and ratchet up the quality of my time with God. I appreciate the various ways Anna Pollock and her friends from Emmaus set up the room with different stations to promote prayer about various personal needs and issues around the world. There is still time to participate as the event ends Friday. Come by at any time to be a part. The picture was taken in the early morning as I arrived to join others for prayer.

Forum CD's Are Here!

After much work and anticipation the Forum Band CD's are here. They will be available in packs of five for $10. The idea is to take the CD's and get the word out to friends about the Forum by giving them a free CD. If anyone would like to buy large blocks of CD's to give to various campus ministries/venues such at Campus Crusade at MSU or Potter's House, Evangel, or to the Mudhouse or Rendezvous Coffee Houses let us know. We have CD stands for such places to give the CD's out for free. $100 would provide 50 CD's for these locations and would be a great start. All funds collected will cover the production costs of the CD and support the Forum. A big thank you goes out to all those who have already given toward this project to make it happen.

Forum Dates for Fall

Below are the dates for the Forum for Fall 2008. We are stoked for a great season of worship and community.

Sunday, September 7

Sunday, September 21

Sunday, October 5

Sunday, October 19

Wednesday, October 29, Autumn Film Concert

Sunday, November 9

Sunday, November 23

Sunday, December 7

No Forum this Sunday

Don't forget the first Sunday in August the Forum will not meet. We will gear up with the full band once the new semester kicks in. I saw Brannon tonight in concert and he did an amazing job. His song writing is exceptional.

Daniel and Culture

I enjoyed the discussion this past Sunday about how to engage the culture. We talked about how it was that Daniel could stand with such conviction without retreating from the culture or be jerky and self-righteous. Loved those banana-splits. The whole crew went go-karting afterward. Great time!

Missing You

I have certainly missed being at the Forum. I have heard wonderful things about Jay and Nick leading the Forum while I was gone. What a blessing to have such quality folks who lead. Thank you guys for your thoughtful and loving leadership. We will resume at the Short home July 13.

Russia

It is very difficult to put into words how powerful the trip to Russia was for myself, Bryan, and Kyle and the rest of the group. We arrived home late this Sunday and leave again for Dallas, Texas for a wedding later this week. We went to Russia along with a group from Fellowship Church pastored by my very good friend John Cremeans. I also had the privilege of having a great friend from Denver go with us, Todd Matthies. Todd was my roommate for the trip and I must apologize to Todd now for my snoring. I can take it to a whole new level. The purpose of the trip was to build two playgrounds at orphanages near Smolensk. The spirit of unity and connection that was enjoyed by the team was other worldly. I was especially moved by how God worked in Bryan and Kyle's heart the whole week. Some of the lessons we learned were:

1) The importance of service in the body of Christ. It was noted many times over by Bryan and Kyle how well they connected with the people at Fellowship. As we worked together on a common mission and made sacrifices we all shared something together that was very spiritual and unique. God knitted our hearts together. When the church serves and sacrifices in a common mission the Spirit of God uses it to unite our hearts as we all follow our Leader who told us to give our lives away. I don't want to overstate the point, but my observation is that service is a key point in others "feeling" connected to the body of Christ. Endurance and enjoying deep fellowship with others seems to be a common benefit for those who serve. On the other hand, show me folks who don't make service to others a part of their life and I will show you a larger number of folks who do not endure and don't feel connected. To my fellow Forum participants...consider long and hard how you are using your gifts and resources for the kingdom of God. Being a true follower of Christ is always associated with serving.

2) Leadership matters. I was so impressed by the leadership John expressed on the whole trip and how he leveraged his influence to pour into the lives of each team member with positive reinforcement and direction toward the vision. John is an incredible leader and every ministry leader should take note that servant leadership is where the action is in the church. I believe one of the reasons Fellowship is growing at such a steady rate is because of John's leadership.

3) Mission partnership. God really spoke to my heart about the importance of CCC partnering with other missionaries in ways that go beyond sending money. I am not making light of sending our money, but we can do so much more and be more strategic in how we use our resources to encourage and stand with our missionaries. CCC has a wonderful group of people, most from our body, who have committed their lives to specific missionary endeavors. They deserve our sacrifice and time and relationship. I can assure you our elders will be taking a closer look at how we can partner with our missionaries. We can't go and take a trip to every field, but we can with one or two. Pray for direction in this matter.

4) Gratitude. There is no way to not be impacted by the lives and surroundings of these children in Russia. So many times I heard members of our team repeat a semblence of the phrase, "We cannot take for granted what we enjoy in the US." Having some kind of Western guilt for our riches is not what I am talking about. Rather, I think God was impressing on our hearts the need to be good stewards of all we have in light of the kingdom of God. Gratitude is certainly part of our stewardship.

There is so much more to share, but I need more time to process the lessons learned. My desire is not to replicate the emotion here in Springfield, but learn the spiritual lessons God has for me and grow from there. A huge thank you goes out to those who gave and prayed so that Bryan and Kyle could go. Your sacrifice changed lives...not only the lives of children in Russia, but the lives of my two sons. For that I cannot thank you enough. I was very proud of how hard Bryan and Kyle worked and how they opened their heart to others and God on this trip. I missed being at CCC and can't wait to be back with you on July 13. I will share more later.

Location Change

The Forum will be at the Sandidge home June 22 and Wiseman home June 29. Call the church office if you need directions. We had a great time last evening recalling how God was most evident in our lives.

Back on Track

The Forum resumes this Sunday evening at the Short home at 6:00 PM.

Change of Forum Venue During Summer

The Forum will have a more intimate setting during the summer. Starting Sunday, June 8 the Forum will meet at the Short home. Call the CCC office for directions at 417-863-0901.

Forum Dates

The Forum will not be meeting on May 25 due to Memorial Day. We will also not be meeting on the first Sunday of the month during June, July, and August.

Worship in the Round

Thanks to everyone for flexing well. We took it outside this Sunday and enjoyed the sunshine and great view. Chairs were set up on the front lawn and we enjoyed an unplugged worship experience along with time for Q & A. I love the feel that everyone brings to the Forum...laid back and authentic.

A Serious Talent Pool

The past month has demonstrated the amazing depth and giftedness of folks at the Forum. With Larry sharing a few weeks ago, Nick sharing last week and Joel tonight they all knocked it out of the park. Josh leading worship tonight was charged with some serious energy using great songs he wrote himself. Of course, I can't forget the awesome job Jil and the regular band do when they play. Every week folks serve behind the scenes in childcare, snacks, sound, video, setup, and cleanup. Thanks to all who make it happen and for making the Forum something very special.

I saw Expelled today, the movie about the bias against those in academia who might question major premises within the evolutionary theory. I find it interesting how quickly the barrage of seething hatred for this film has already started on many blogs. Check the movie out. I am fascinated by the the worldview questions the film raises and understanding the implications of our basic beliefs. The film should be required viewing for every American college student.

Who would've known?

Carrying a Cross and Culture

To follow Jesus we must carry a cross. Luke 9:23 says, ^"23And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Carrying a cross means we follow Jesus to the point of suffering. Cross carrying does not come naturally. We have to choose to allow suffering to be our teacher. Often the story about Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane is portrayed as an injunction to stay awake to pray. You might recall Jesus asked three of the disciples to stay up with Him to pray and instead they all fall asleep. Remember, the disciples repeatedly rejected the idea of a suffering Messiah. At the end of the garden episode Luke 22:45 says, "He came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow." The sorrow was a realization of the suffering ahead. Sleep was a denial mechanism. The garden incident seems to be more about accepting suffering and praying so that our hearts will be filled up with the power and presence and purpose of God. We must prepare ourselves so that when suffering comes we don’t sleep or run or grow bitter or blame or do what we normally do to avoid it. Cross carrying takes discipline. Cross carrying isn't cool. Carrying a cross is not the church growth technique of choice. When Jesus started inviting disciples to carry a cross the crowds thinned.

In our desire to be relevant let us always remember our goal is to equip disciples to carry a cross in obedience and faithfulness to Jesus Christ. Filling up a venue with people is fine, but greater is building a band of believers who are sold out for Jesus Christ and willing to carry their cross. “God make the Forum a venue where worship and fellowship and authenticity move us toward a life of faithful discipleship. Let us not accept a lesser version of Christianity where comfort rules. May our worship be expressed in hearts willing to follow you to a garden or to a cross. Amen”

Open Mic Night

The Forum this evening (March 16) was an open mic night as we simply sang to the Lord and people were encouraged to share whatever God put on their heart. We patterned the evening after Isaiah 6 where adoration, confession, and thanksgiving proceeded being in the presence of God. The Forum band, as always, led with sensitive hearts and God ministered to us Big Time! What a beautiful thing to behold the level of openness and authenticity.

Shh! They said "sex" in church!

Sunday, March 9 at the Forum had an open discussion on sex. I played the part of a person who enjoys his “freedoms” and the group was given the opportunity to refute the reasoning of my self-proclaimed Don Juan. Try doing research on sound reasoning to support pre-marital sex and you will find it to be a difficult task. Of course, many Christians would find such endeavors futile and would never engage in such a discussion. Such attitudes supply support for why the Church as a whole has failed to engage the culture and why young Christians would never talk openly about the topic in church. The discussion at the Forum was lively and enlightening. The reasoning in favor of pre-marital sex included:

The only way to become a good lover is through experience with multiple partners.

If you have sexual hang-ups or problems, these often will translate directly to the quality of your relationship.

Becoming good at sex gives you new tools to communicate with others. Sex gives you perspective and wisdom.

The sexual organs are like any other in the body. By using them you exercise them and keep them healthy.

Sexually active people are more emotionally mature. Sex is an avenue of personal growth.

Sexual experience gives you sexual confidence, which makes you an attractive mate for the dating pool.

Oral sex isn’t really sex and even Christian couples who date are free to explore.

The above “reasoning” was soundly refuted and the discussion was spirited with many participants giving words of wisdom.

Questions Allowed

We spent this past Sunday evening discussing the question "Why are people so turned off by church?" Many took the opportunity to express issues that negatively impact the mission of the church including legalism, narrow-mindedness, hypocrisy, having an entertainment mindset in worship, lack of genuine care, and a host of other reasons. Being serious about the mission of discipleship was given as one anecdote. I was struck by the level of honesty and again am very appreciative of the authenticity of the Forum crowd. Thank you to all who participated.

Entertainment Overload?

In honor of the Oscars last evening we had a lively discussion at The Forum on the impact of media/art in our lives. Movies and music provide significant influence upon American culture. Our only options in how we relate to art in culture are not the extremes of being immersed in or retreating from the culture. We can embrace artistic expression and engage the culture. We start by filtering everything we see and hear through a biblical worldview. We must consider what is true and good and beautiful. We also noted that we must be aware of our own proclivities and be responsible for our own relationship to God. Romans 12:1-12 says along these lines, ^"1I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ^"2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Here are a couple links for those who are interested in pursuing the discussion.

http://imagejournal.org/

http://www.internationalartsmovement.org/

As always your comments are welcome.

Psalm 27:4

I ran across this verse today. It just seemed to stand out among the rest.

“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.” Psalm 27:4

What a beautiful thing to seek! How wonderful would it be to constantly dwell in His presence? If only our human nature would stay out of the way and let us become perfect followers of Christ, seeking Him in everything, gazing upon His beauty, all the days of our life. God, we ask this of You, that You would put a desire in our hearts, a passion, a fire in our souls to only thirst for You and what You have for our lives. We want You to be the Ruler of our hearts and our souls. Take control of our wills, Lord!

The Whitest Light tour update

As many of you know, Brannon & Micky, regular attenders of the Forum, are touring right now with their band The Whitest Light. They are touring with Kate Voegele, who has been on the TV series One Tree Hill with her music. They started the tour in Springfield last Saturday, and have since been to Chicago, IL, a couple places in Michigan, Pittsburgh, PN, and now they're in Ohio. Everything is going well so far, they seem to be getting a lot of new fans and their new music is being received well by all.

Please continue to pray for them, for car safety, no van problems, good health (Brannnon & Micky were both sick just a couple days before they left for the tour), and that this tour would be successful for them in the music industry. It's a hard industry to break into, and if anyone deserves it, they do. So keep them in your prayers! They're scheduled to be home around March 4th. We're proud of you guys!

The Forum Band @ Randy Bacon

The Forum Band played last night at Randy Bacon Gallery downtown. Thanks to everyone who came out to see us! It was great to see so many familiar faces. Everything went really well--we're just so stoked to have an opportunity like that to play christian music, and even some worship songs, in a secular place like that. What an incredible outreach! The manager there who books all the bands has asked us to come back this summer--he said he wants to have an all worship night and have us and a couple other bands play. What a great thing to have in the middle of downtown Springfield!

Keep us in your prayers as we hope to find other places to play!

Forum Band

The Forum band led by Jil Powers will be playing at the Randy Bacon Studio tonight at 7:30 PM. I love their music and presence on stage. All heart, wonderful musicianship, and easy to listen to. Check them out.

Speakers

Coming up this week we will have Joe Copeland with Youth With a Mission speak at the Forum. Joe will be talking about mission opportunities for the coming year. A big thank you goes out to previous speakers of the Forum including Finch Sprouse with Campus Crusade, Dave Embree with Christian Campus House, Earl Creps author of Off-Road Disciplines, and Randy Copeland of Stonebridge Church.

No Hype Zone

What is the worst product marketing idea you can think of? Now I am not an expert on marketing, but whoever suggested that bacon-flavored breath mints would be a hit should be fired.

Have you ever considered the way Christianity is often hyped? Watch the “Christian” TV shows and you get well-coiffed hosts who often sit in gilded chairs extolling the virtues of the good life. Listen to the testimonies and you hear the “victories” gained by an anonymous donor leaving a $1000 check in your mailbox or how seed faith produced healing. Our super-star, entertainment mentality bleeds into worship with what may be catastrophic results. Like American Idol, “You are going to Hollywood baby!”

Whenever I get on such a rant I take a chance at being seen as a sour and jealous person who rues that he cannot rise above his own mediocrity. I am telling my inner child to shut-up right now so here is what I think is the truth of the matter. I really don’t like the self-promotion often seen in Christianity. I don’t dream of being involved with any other endeavor other than what I am doing. I find myself saying more often lately, “I can’t believe I get to do what I love.” I work with people I not only love, but also like. I know the ride won’t last forever. I also know (boy do I know!) conflict is always a part of the equation.

So where is all of this leading? The Forum was largely born out of frustration with what others have experienced in church. The Forum is also an attempt to combine some of the best experiences we have encountered in a faith community. The Forum is primarily an attempt to exhibit essential biblical elements in worship. The Forum is not about packaging Christianity so that truth is obscured or even denied. The Forum is not an attempt to be cool, just authentic. The Forum is about connecting with folks who have felt disconnected from a faith community. We want our faith straightforward, real, honest, sincere, and free to express being awe-struck with God. We want to feel free to ask questions without feeling like we are speaking out of turn or that we don’t know the inside language. (Do you speak Christianeze? “Praise the Lord. Thank you Jesus. Yes Lord I see that hand.”)

We make no claims that we are better than others or everybody else has it wrong. God is doing great things with other sincere, truth seeking ministries in the community. Other ministries that may not be our cup of tea God uses in ways far beyond the Forum. Hey, the fact that God is using any of us is a miracle in itself.

A big thanks to all those who participated in the meetings at Kaldis Coffeehouse and dreamed about what could happen. (Kevin, Alisha, Don, Brannon, Jil, Janae, Stevie, and Marissa) Does it get any better than seeing a team of people coming together and create a kingdom work? The biggest thanks go out to the leadership team and members of Christ Community Church. Because of the freedom and support you give the Forum was born. It is my prayer that more people can experience what you display on a consistent basis as a part of CCC. As the Forum continues to evolve feel free to give us suggestions.

Gang Info

Mandy and Stacey from Evangel University used the CCC Forum this past Sunday as their test pilot for a presentation they hope to make to various churches in the Springfield area. In conjunction with the Community Partnership of Springfield, the Task Force on Gangs and Youth Violence was informative and we hope spurs some to action. A big thanks to Lacey Nunnally, Director of the Social Work Program at Evangel for making the contact with the Forum.

Forum Band studio session

The Forum Band cd is almost here!!!

The Forum Band cd is almost here!!! 

We finished recording it this past week with Jeff Smith at Studio 2100. Thanks so much to all who donated to make this happen! We are confident that we can reach out to so many people through this.

We are playing at Randy Bacon Gallery this Friday, February 15th, 7pm. Unfortunately, there is a cover of $7. We're opening for a band called The Autumn Film (www.theautumnfilm.com), who is also giving out a free demo download. The link is on their website. 

Hope to see you all Friday!