As I walked through the lobby right after the start of the second service – I noticed 4 children sitting up perfectly on one of the benches. I asked them what they were up to. They told me, “We’re waiting on our mom.” About that time their mom – who is a single parent – came in from the pouring rain to round them up and take them to class. Then I opened my eyes and noticed several things – man after man came in just soaked as they dropped off families. Young adults were coming in equally wet and I realized how passionate you are to be here on Sunday. I was so proud to be the minister of Forum at that moment because you have such a “game face I’m getting to church” love of the Lord within your lives. I cannot tell you how proud I am of you as a church. That is a seismic type of lifestyle.
This Sunday I can’t wait to dive into this next segment of Acts and the seismic church as we will be in Acts 12 looking at the church as it begins expanding outward in reaching new regions. Again, I want to point all of us to imitate these pioneers of the faith when it comes to societal change and impact. The church, through the power of the Holy Spirit, moves, captures, and elevates all the communities it takes hold in. God wants to do the same in Columbia. God continues to move in our ministry and He continues to hone us as a church, as a staff, and as leaders.
For a couple of days this week I attended my alma mater’s “homecoming.” It is a preaching and teaching summit that happens yearly. There are no cheerleaders with pom-poms on the sidelines yelling, “Preach the word, preach the word.” There aren’t any referees keeping score and umpiring the event. It won’t ever show up on ESPN. But it is a time of great encouragement, challenge, and coaching from ministers and faculty that have been part of our lives since we entered those halls. We all need encouragement. We all need people alongside of us to challenge us to keep going. We all need people to challenge us toward constant and continual improvement. Encouragement will be part of the sermon on Sunday – look forward to seeing you then.
Here are some upcoming events for you to put onto your schedule:
If you are new to Forum – we’d love to connect with you at our first “Pizza with the Pastors” night March 2 at 5 p.m. It will go until 7 p.m. Childcare will be provided. This is an introductory night to learn about the overall teaching within Forum as well as a time to ask questions about the ministry that you might have. Watch the bulletin and this blog for further details.
On March 8th there will be a day when we will be doing the spring cleaning/painting/gearing up kind of day. We want to constantly be improving this facility, so let me encourage you to be a part of that service day as well.
March 22nd is our annual Easter Family Event. All children 5th grade and younger are invited to come with their families for a fun time of drama, worship, games, crafts, and lots of candy! The theme is Children of the King, so come dressed in your royal best.
Friday, February 22, 2008
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