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!