After sleeping on it, I think that the Joomla and phpBB partnership is the way to go. Not only do you have the way to put content out there on the front page, but it can be commented on and spur various other discussions in the forums. It really was not all that difficult to configure, and I'm sure some tweaking here and there will need to be done, but that's what happens when you start something new.
Now, the tough part. Content!
