the Forge
my initial thought in creating this particular blog is that i might be overstepping my bounds in copywriting issues regarding the title. yet, at the same time, i am hoping it might bring more publicity to such a beloved program that i will risk it all for the sake of trying to describe a wonderful 8 months of my life. a few things one might need to know before i continue. i participated in this leadership/discipleship program during what would have been my sophomore year of college and have since (among other things) been somewhat of a 'go-to' girl for other women who are interested in potentially doing the same...taking time off from higher education in particular.
Ok, so the Forge.
This program radically, drastically, and completely was used by God to change my life...a life that was flipped upside down, turned inside out, heated, shaped, molded, pressed (and sometimes close to being crushed :) ), challenged, refined, and redefined. It is almost impossible for me to tell you in words what my experience in the program meant to me or what it did in me. I will do my best to hit the high points (and low points), but know that it only scratches the surface of my 8 months there...and partly because I am still finding ways that I am different. this program will help you clearly develop a vision for your life. during your time at camp, you are exposed to a vast variety of ministry opportunities..and some of them not being particularly within a clearly defined "ministry." Each week holds a handful of speakers/teachers who range from renown authors to pastors to stay-at-home moms to pilots to Pine Cove staff to accountants...etc. etc. The biggest thing the Forge meant to me was an identity refinement...a work still in progress...but it is a main topic covered. You have got to know who you are to know where you are going to know who you are leading and where you are leading them. Personal life vision would definitely fall into that category. Another amazing thing is that you are not in this program alone, there are at least 11-13 other people from all various backgrounds and places in life all going through this process with you. I learned just as much, if not more, from my fellow classmates than I did when we were actually in class. Discipleship is rubbing off on one another...living life among fellow believers. Making an impact on someone else's life and at the same time being impacted. Even Matt and his wife Darcie open their offices and home to us...that really includes all of the Pine Cove staff...they were all willing to teach as well as LEARN from what we were learning. It is an environment specially and specifically tailored for growth. It is family as well.
Sure, God could very easily teach you everything He would in the Forge outside of the program. God certainly does not need the Forge to teach and stretch you. I do know that this program is only what it is because those who initiated it intentionally designed it to not function without the hand of God. So it exists only to be used by God, for His purposes and His glory. It creates an opportunity to be set apart for at least 8 months to focus strictly on your relationship with our amazing and personal Savior and to allow Him to move. When else could you set aside that amount of time INTENTIONALLY for that purpose alone? This is not to say if you dont do the Forge, God wont move...thats ridiculous, but it IS an opportunity for Him to do so.
I'll be honest. The Forge is hard. and im not sure "hard" is even a decent enough adjective. but HARD: Emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. There were times that I just wanted to go home (and at a tempting 20 minutes away), times I broke down in tears, and times I actually threw my cell phone across the room in frustration. But those were the breaking points...the points where the junk in my life was coming to the surface and being skimmed away by the Blacksmith. Those moments are some of my fondest (looking back-haha!) Some of the hardest times actually, were coming back to Baylor...leaving that community (what I think the first century churches must have been like), the intentional environment, the men and women of God who would lovingly and boldly ask me the questions I needed to face, the fellow Forge students who cried and grew along with me--oh the blessing of living among men and women who share the same passion to grow in their relationship with Christ, studying the Word and other things that really, truly matter in life, and as you could probably guess I could go on. Coming from that...to a college campus where life is "supposed" to be about the capital Y-O-U. But that is Forge part II. application of it all. you dont finish the program a statue of what Christianity should look like. to the people who didnt know me well at school only knew i was gone for a year, but the people who know my heart can see the refinement. i'm not perfect and will never claim to be. i hope that i am not sounding arrogant with any of these claims...the only pride i have is what God did through the Forge for me...in me...and hopefully through me. it may not be for you. and thats fine! He doesnt need a program...but He might want to use one...and maybe this one, for you. Really, the Forge just opens the door for the refining process God desires in all of His sons and daughters.
the following is a letter i spent hours (due to the fact that [as i have decided] it is something practically impossible to fully express, explain, or describe) trying to compose in order to have a ready-made, thought-out response for said inquiries. here you have it.
Ok, so the Forge.
This program radically, drastically, and completely was used by God to change my life...a life that was flipped upside down, turned inside out, heated, shaped, molded, pressed (and sometimes close to being crushed :) ), challenged, refined, and redefined. It is almost impossible for me to tell you in words what my experience in the program meant to me or what it did in me. I will do my best to hit the high points (and low points), but know that it only scratches the surface of my 8 months there...and partly because I am still finding ways that I am different. this program will help you clearly develop a vision for your life. during your time at camp, you are exposed to a vast variety of ministry opportunities..and some of them not being particularly within a clearly defined "ministry." Each week holds a handful of speakers/teachers who range from renown authors to pastors to stay-at-home moms to pilots to Pine Cove staff to accountants...etc. etc. The biggest thing the Forge meant to me was an identity refinement...a work still in progress...but it is a main topic covered. You have got to know who you are to know where you are going to know who you are leading and where you are leading them. Personal life vision would definitely fall into that category. Another amazing thing is that you are not in this program alone, there are at least 11-13 other people from all various backgrounds and places in life all going through this process with you. I learned just as much, if not more, from my fellow classmates than I did when we were actually in class. Discipleship is rubbing off on one another...living life among fellow believers. Making an impact on someone else's life and at the same time being impacted. Even Matt and his wife Darcie open their offices and home to us...that really includes all of the Pine Cove staff...they were all willing to teach as well as LEARN from what we were learning. It is an environment specially and specifically tailored for growth. It is family as well.
Sure, God could very easily teach you everything He would in the Forge outside of the program. God certainly does not need the Forge to teach and stretch you. I do know that this program is only what it is because those who initiated it intentionally designed it to not function without the hand of God. So it exists only to be used by God, for His purposes and His glory. It creates an opportunity to be set apart for at least 8 months to focus strictly on your relationship with our amazing and personal Savior and to allow Him to move. When else could you set aside that amount of time INTENTIONALLY for that purpose alone? This is not to say if you dont do the Forge, God wont move...thats ridiculous, but it IS an opportunity for Him to do so.
I'll be honest. The Forge is hard. and im not sure "hard" is even a decent enough adjective. but HARD: Emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. There were times that I just wanted to go home (and at a tempting 20 minutes away), times I broke down in tears, and times I actually threw my cell phone across the room in frustration. But those were the breaking points...the points where the junk in my life was coming to the surface and being skimmed away by the Blacksmith. Those moments are some of my fondest (looking back-haha!) Some of the hardest times actually, were coming back to Baylor...leaving that community (what I think the first century churches must have been like), the intentional environment, the men and women of God who would lovingly and boldly ask me the questions I needed to face, the fellow Forge students who cried and grew along with me--oh the blessing of living among men and women who share the same passion to grow in their relationship with Christ, studying the Word and other things that really, truly matter in life, and as you could probably guess I could go on. Coming from that...to a college campus where life is "supposed" to be about the capital Y-O-U. But that is Forge part II. application of it all. you dont finish the program a statue of what Christianity should look like. to the people who didnt know me well at school only knew i was gone for a year, but the people who know my heart can see the refinement. i'm not perfect and will never claim to be. i hope that i am not sounding arrogant with any of these claims...the only pride i have is what God did through the Forge for me...in me...and hopefully through me. it may not be for you. and thats fine! He doesnt need a program...but He might want to use one...and maybe this one, for you. Really, the Forge just opens the door for the refining process God desires in all of His sons and daughters.
posted by jess at
10:38 PM
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