Just around the Riverbend

Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz wrote this soaring song, and Judy Kuhn sang the tar out of it for Disney's Pocahontas in 1995, but the lyrics still hold true- especially for us as we step into the waters that are always changing, always flowing...

We're still not sure who is Pocahontas and who is Meeko in this season of transition just yet ;)

As Kelsey and I were sitting down after the kiddos had gone to bed the other evening, we started discussing what we wanted to share with you all, our dear friends and partners, for our second blog post. Where we landed was to share what we are going to be doing in the UK and particularly with Rea Church in Birmingham.

Following the River...literally

If you've spent any amount of time around us in a worship leadership or training setting, you have probably heard us mention the book Following the River: A Vision for Corporate Worship by Bob Sorge. This book came into our lives almost 7 years ago and is a beautiful tool that we have used as a starting point to lead teams, rooms, congregations, and individuals into a deeper understanding of Spirit-Led worship.

Well, one of the powerfully prophetic moments as we journeyed with The Lord into our transition to the UK was that the church we felt Him calling us to is named after a river - The River Rea - that runs through the city of Birmingham, England. It was almost as if Holy Spirit was asking us, "you've taught people to 'follow the river', but are you ready to do it yourselves?" That's a question that will cut deep into the flesh of your heart in the best way.

Another fun river connection is that a different river that runs through the city of Birmingham is aptly named The River Cole.

Schwartz writes in the aforementioned song, "to be safe, we lose our chance of ever knowing what's around the riverbend, waiting just around the riverbend". I love these lyrics because even, maybe especially, in the worship leading sphere in which this book has impacted us, there is an opportunity to miss something waiting just around the bend. Certainly, in these last few months for us, we have wanted very much to NOT miss our chance of knowing what was around the riverbend...

The River Rea running adjacent to Cannon Hill Park

What's in a name?

Rea Church, named after the River Rea, also carries a powerful second meaning in its name. The word from which the river gets its name is a translation of the same word used to describe how Living Water goes forth. It says that "Living Water will FLOW out of those who believe in Christ Jesus and are filled with His Spirit" (John 7:37-39 paraphrased).

I hope this settles as weightily on those reading this as it has on our family. We are following The River (The Holy Spirit) to be part of a church that is named after A River (The River Rea) that is named after The Verb (Will Flow) used to describe what the Spirit-filled life offers a very dry and broken world.

We are honored, filled with holy fear, and covered in joy to partner with Rea to bring about a revival and movement of Living Water that will saturate the city of Birmingham, the UK, and beyond!

So, what are the details?

Like we mentioned in our first blog, Kelsey has moved into a season of mothering our home with renewed focus and energy, and we have honestly benefited from this transition more than any of us thought. Proverbs 31 describes a woman who is described as a woman of valor, and while Kelsey has always been an Eshet Chayil, we are all seeing the importance and need for this focused mothering in the life of a family. From thoughtful, healthy meals to creative, life-giving experiences for our kids and so much more in between, Kelsey stepping more fully into managing our home has been a huge blessing.

This is not changing when we get to England. Kelsey will continue to lead, minister to, and impact our local church and our area with her unique and powerful gifts, but her primary focus will be on our family and home.

So, a lot of the "doing" is going to be with me. I will be joining the team at Rea through Worship and Digital Pastoring. Both of these roles are areas in which I have served The Church for over a decade now, and I am excited to continue to utilize the gift set that God has given me to continue to further The Kingdom of Heaven on The Earth.

Worship

The Rea Worship team has been without a spearhead for several years now and has been led by a group of lay-leaders. In these years, quite surprisingly to those with earthly eyes, the worship experience and expression at Rea Church has blossomed into something that both Kelsey and I were immediately drawn to. There is encounter, presence, ministry, incense, and power at the center of the worship moments at Rea Church, and I am so honored and excited to come alongside current and emerging leaders as we begin to build a Psalm 132 House for the Lord.

Prayer

Rea has a beautiful culture of prayer and worship, from the top down. The Rea Prayer Room has only been around for a short period of time, but is growing and attracting people from other area churches to come and experience the Manifest Presence of God that comes when people gather to Minister before Him. Each Monday evening, people gather in this beautiful church (built in 1888) and join their prayers and songs with generations of believers. I cannot describe what it initially felt like to walk into this space and immediately be struck with the history and actual seeping into the wood of prayers and songs to Father, Son, and Spirit

Paga is the final Monday of each month and comes from the Hebrew word that means "To encounter, To meet," and is a deepened time in the Prayer Room where even more are coming to join in the Levitical call to Minister in His Presence and encounter His life-changing goodness.

Digital

As we walked through the journey to join the Rea team, one of the things that was incredibly confirming and exciting for me was a deep-rooted need for the digital footprint of this House to be a space of encounter, discipleship, and connection instead of promotion, promotion, and promotion. I have been grieved over the years watching the Church miss the opportunity before her in the digital space to curate places of encounter and discipleship in favor of pushing their next big event, series, or "to do". We have had some beautiful conversations about what this is going to look like for Rea, and I cannot wait to start, at the risk of using a word I already have, curating this space and, at the risk of using a word some people might struggle with, colonizing it for The Kingdom.

For now, I am supporting Rea in both of my main areas of responsibility remotely and am having the time of my life getting to know the team, the congregation, the differences between American and British English ("whoops" has been said a few times already!), and seeing God show up already!

The Quiet Revival

If you follow along with what God is doing across the Globe, you might have heard this term. Pete Greig, founder of 24/7 prayer and former senior leader at Emmaus Road Church in the UK, has brought a lot of exposure to this term that was thrown about by numerous news outlets in the UK to describe the move of God happening in the UK right now (especially in the men of the emerging generation!)

Rea Church is uniquely planted in a university town, full of students (from all walks of life). We believe that the Quiet Revival is only getting started and that Rea is positioned to be a leader in this movement - a revival marked less by large crowds and production and marked more by prayer and worship. We are truly honored to be coming to this beautiful country and congregation at such a time as this, and believe that the harvest is ripe and ready for God to bring souls upon souls upon souls out of the kingdom of darkness and into the Kingdom of Light.

So, as I sit here writing this blog, about 48 hours before I fly to England for my first extended trip to serve Rea Church and Birmingham, I am reminded of the final lyrics of our song - Or do you still wait for me, Dream Giver, just around the riverbend? - Luckily, I am more than confident that our good Dream Giver not only waits for us but goes before and behind us!

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Thanks for reading The Forehand Five blog! We have a lot to share, to look forward to, and to celebrate in what God is doing in us, Rea Church, the UK, and the World - and we are honored (or should we say honoured) that you are here with us.

As we continue to walk the road ahead of us, here are a few things we would love to invite you into with us:

• Please subscribe to our Blog. We will both be writing and sharing in this place, and we cannot wait to celebrate King Jesus through this medium together with those we love.

• Join our Newsletter. We are going to be sharing prayer requests, needs, wins and losses, and exciting updates through this, and would love to have you a part of our little huddle.

• Prayerfully consider becoming a Financial Partner for us through this journey. We have some very real, very tangible financial needs as we step into this next season that we will share more about soon. All donations are tax-deductible and will go directly toward helping us minister in the areas of prayer and worship in England.

• Pray for us. This is the most important thing for us. We do not want to take any steps without knowing that we are covered in prayer. We covet them and are beyond humbled to know that people are lifting us up before The Father, Son, and Spirit.