Forge Update

It's been a few weeks since the last update.

Life at the Forge is settling into a routine, which is really not too predictable at all. Our schedule is somewhat set, but at the drop of a hat we can be told to pack our bags and be ready to go somewhere (and its always an unknown destination at that). It's great, though, to have the variety, the spontaneity--plus all the trips are baller-awesome (thats right Jimbo, I said it).

On top of all that, the lessons are starting to get really good and powerful. The classes are really starting to take off, and we are starting into the nitty-gritty of what it means to live in community, how/why we have faith (both in God and in general), and perhaps most powerfully, in learning about our identity (how it is built, and how it should be built). That class specifically is really opening my eyes to what is going on with my thoughts and perceptions about the world, and me in it.

Then there are the lessons learned outside the classroom, which may be the most powerful. Since we have been here, we have been in the process of writing a covenant which will help serve us and sanctify our time here as much as possible. It's taken 6-weeks, lots of meetings, a few moments of hurt feelings, and some awesome worship, but we finally have it. It has been interesting to see how we have been transformed simply by the process of making this covenant. We have been learning what it means to die to the self, to put others before yourself and your own "rights," how not to be a stumbling block to others of the faith, and what it means to live in a community. We have seen with our own eyes what it is to be in a relationship, to be fully invested in that relationship. We have learned that in order to have a successful relationship or community, you have to think of others before yourself. It's not about me or my rights or my preferences; it's about doing what is best for the community, about doing what will best serve and glorify God in that community/relationship (since that is what it exists for in the first place). For us, for this family of the Forge, sacrifice is no longer just a word on a page. Love is not merely a word we throw around without understanding the significance and the implications of its usage. We are learning more and more what love entails, the sacrifice (which can sometimes be extremely difficult) that is so often required for love to survive, the forgiveness that is absolutely necessary to live in close fellowship with other human beings. And all these lessons came in the first six weeks. I can't even begin to imagine where God will take me in the coming months, but know that this program and this place is a blessing which I can't even begin to describe.

I do miss everyone back home, and think of them often. I especially miss three little girls back in Georgia, who by the day are becoming less and less little, but ever dearer to my heart. If you see them, give them a hug for me--and tell them that Chris misses them a lot, and will be coming to see them as soon as he is able.

"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."