Hey

What's happenin' everyone,
By now we have settled back into a daily routine. The Forge is for me a memory of great fellowship with amazing people. And it is also much more than that: not just an isolated personal experience, but a firmly set foundation on which I can ask God to continue building. It is my firm belief that my American peers need to be exposed to the kind of people I was fortunate enough to spend a month with this summer. Because the summer fellowship expressed not an isolated, distant faith, but life together that developed within the immediate and renewing presence of an eternal kingdom--something that can be hard to see in America. And as God continues to build and refine our lives into precious stones, we can (for those interested in writing or would like to practice their writing) use this forum as a point of connection. Whether it be to reflect on topics discussed during the Forge, tell a story, share a challenging thought, or make a cultural observation, your input here can continue to sharpen our lives. There are some particular questions that I'm interested in working through, as noted in the "read more" section below and in the "Church" entry at the bottom, but this forum is open and any input is welcome.

"And Jesus said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of the heavens is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old." Matthew 13:52

As an initial thought, reading Henri Nouwen has encouraged me to view my culture with a critical eye--to discern the influences my surroundings (which are highly material and secular) have on me. So, I'd like to offer a Nouwen quote that struck me and a brief observation. Nouwen characterizes the confusion of a friend of his named Peter:

"In the absence of clear boundaries between himself and his milieu (surroundings), between fantasy and reality, between what to do and what to avoid, it seems that Peter has become a prisoner of the now, caught in the present without meaningful connections with his past or future...When he looks into his future everything becomes one big blur, an impenetrable cloud. He finds no answers to questions about why he lives and where he is heading...He looks into empty space and is sure of only one thing: If there is anything worthwhile in life it must be here and now." (The Wounded Healer, p. 4).

Nouwen says our "here and now" has been disconnected from any greater purpose. I think I would agree that I do not often connect my daily flesh and blood experiences with God's eternal purpose. That is when I feel some confusion about life. So, I'd like to look into this connection with you. As stated in Matthew 13:52, let's bring out of our heavenly treasure things new and old in order to bring light to the "here and now" of our lives. I hope to further explore with you the issues we deal with today in their relation to this kingdom. Whether it is books, music, television or our relationships with one another, our experiences may be similar or very different; either way I am eager to hear about them, either in brief or longer comments.