e-news for week of 9/6/09

What God is doing at Forum continues to excite me very much. The new series we begin on Sunday — “VIII” — is truly going to bless and inspire you. If you want to get a head start, we will camp out in Romans 8 over the next several weeks. This passage explores the heights and depths of Christ’s love and liberation. Invite friends, acquaintances, relatives, even total strangers. They need Jesus and you have been placed in their lives to help them connect to Him.

Once again, I truly want to commend our staff for the excellent day we had at the tailgate party. I’ve run in to a lot of people within our community who know I’m the minister here and they have asked me what was going on, etc. It’s great to be a part of a church that values relationships and interaction, isn’t it?

I had a “drop in” from out of state this morning. He works for a Christian College. He wanted to talk to me about Forum, about Columbia, about ministry, etc. As we talked, his passion broke through. He said, “Do you realize the United States is now the third largest mission field on our planet?”

It doesn’t shock or surprise me. I’m not going to diatribe about why. I’m not going to cast blame on previous generations. I’m not going to throw stones at the upcoming generations.

But I will acknowledge it. Within any problem/solution scenario, there has to be an identification and admission of the problem. While none of us can solve this on a national level, we can do something about it in our back yard and in Columbia, MO. At the core of this challenge is our willingness to live like Jesus – lives of love, sacrifice, elevation, and purpose. I realize that many sign on with Jesus as almost a “fire insurance policy” – a get out of jail free card if you will. That will not define the type of disciple making and imitation of Christ that we are about here at Forum. Christ lives in you. You are not defined by who you were in the flesh. You are defined by who you are in Christ. We’ll touch on this Sunday as we challenge one another to grow in love and good deeds.

Sunday:
• Pizza with the Pastors happens at 5 in rooms 104/106
• Parables for 4-year-olds - 5th grade starts from 6-7:30
• Synergy Sunday happens for our Jr. High students starting at 5:30-7:30

Looking forward to a great day of worship with you this Sunday. — Scott