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.