Postkiwi

Had coffee with three of the guys from Forge Queensland yesterday. We met at the Coffee Club by the beach at Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast. I was there to connect up with the Forge Missional Training Network, on behalf of Seeds of Hope, the Uniting Church underground movement in Queensland.

Steve Turner
Steve’s the Director of Forge Queensland, and pioneer of a missional community called “Joshua Tree” on the Sunshine Coast. That’s him in the photo to the right. His support is raised through friends and supporters and overseen by Youth For Christ Australia. Steve’s overseeing the development of training for mission interns, accredited through ACOM. We talked about the possibility of a Queensland equivalent of ‘Future Travellers’ - an internship designed for 18 - 25 year olds. We talked about the possibilities of connecting with denominations who could benefit from the training offered by Forge. Steve has a wealth of experience in connecting with young people and their families that comes through in his approach to sustainable missional community.

Dave Allan
Dave’s a professional coach with access to a wide range of resources for people in business, church planting and the stuff of life. He runs his own business, Advance Lifestyle Development - Personal and Executive Coaching, and does some work for CoachNet, the brainchild of Robert Logan and Neil Cole. Dave’s the administrative genius behind Steve’s pioneering leadership.

Ken Baker
Ken and his wife Leanne are pioneering with City Wesleyan, a missional community in Newfarm. This central Brisbane community is strong on social justice, evangelism, creative arts, movies and State of Origin! We had some stirring conversation around the need for alternatives to consumer-driven life. He talked about The Corporation, a film exposing the corporation’s grip on our lives. The film could provide a useful edge to Duncan’s TV Ad Land.

Future Partnership
So what’s next in the dance with Forge? A few of us will be at Dangerous Stories: the Forge National Summit on Emerging Missional Church in Melbourne next month. There’s a ‘postcard event’ on Saturday August 13. And a Forge Queensland intensive, October 28 - 31, focusing on pioneering leadership. I’ve made a commitment to sitting in as much as possible, while we work out how we can best work together.