God's plan and summer camp

God is on a rescue plan to reconcile and restore his creation through Jesus Christ. God’s plan is pushed forward when broken creatures are made whole in Christ. Jesus, in turn, tasks his followers to spread this message of hope to the world.

It seems crazy that the God of the universe would use broken and fallible people to carry out his work. God shows his power in using his redeemed people to image him to the broken world around them– the church is the agency of God’s Kingdom.

So how does a summer camp fit into the plan of God?

Summer camp can be a valuable tool to help aid churches and push forward the mission of God.

If you’ve ever taken a retreat, you know how rich that time can be. While accomplishing his missionon earth, Jesus often retreated for times of solitude and prayer. A good retreat can bring perspective, focus, clarity, and connection with God.

In the same way, summer camp provides a change in environment that is pregnant with possibilities for the Spirit of God to work.

In an age of over-stimulation, instant gratification, information overload, and distractions vying for our every attention– it’s amazing we give any room for God’s voice.

Summer camp offers a break in routine. For a few short days at camp students leave behind cell phones, Internet, television, gaming, friends, everyday activity, influences, and other environmental factors. This cultural fast often creates a space for students to listen to God speak.

The core of a good camp is a gospel environment where life in Jesus is authentically preached, witnessed, and lived. The structure of the camp day often lends itself to this end with chapel messages, devotions, and times that inspire students, engage thinking and worldview, address heart issues, and provide practical tools to navigate through life as a follower of Christ.

Of course, it wouldn’t be camp without the fun, games, excitement, campfires, cabins, meals, traditions, activities, and all of those little things that make up the memories of summer camp.

With all of her bells and whistles, it is the quality of counselors and staff that make or break a summer camp. A good camp is filled with staff that love Jesus and have put their lives on hold for a summer to speak into the lives of students who are a step or two behind them in life stage. These life-on-life relationships often connect scripture with real life and model what it means to live for Jesus.

Philosophically, a poorly designed Christian camp will function outside of the church and create only an individual and emotional experience. A good camp will recognize that God’s plan is carried out through his people, as the church, and will work to support the church and connect students to local church bodies.
Time and time again, God uses the environment, people, and experiences of summer camp to draw students to himself and change lives for an eternity. Real Kingdom impact is seen as summer camps proclaim Jesus and partner with churches to accomplish God’s mission in his world for his Kingdom’s sake.

A Devotional Thought on Prayer

So I'm sitting outside of a Coffee Bean in Downtown Palm Springs today reading and praying through Matthew chapter 6.

Just before Jesus gives his followers a framework in how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13) he warns them to not practice their righteous acts before men, but before God who sees in secret and rewards in secret. Jesus also warns his disciples not to heap up empty words towards God without intentionality.

The reason why we're not to heap up empty words made me stop and think.

Jesus says in verse 8, "...for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

If our Father knows what we need before we ask him, then it's not for the sake of information that we pray. It's not for the Father's sake that we pray. We pray for our connectedness with the Father and our life participation in him- for aligning our heart to his heart, our thoughts to his thoughts, our will/desire/motives/etc to his.

We pray to make our life open and available for God's work- both in, through, and around us.

"Pray then like this:
'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'"

RWANDAN FORGIVENESS

Everyone loves a good story of reconciliation... especially when the situation is so out of control that any hope of forgiveness and restored relationship between the two parties is out of the question.

The 2004 movie Hotel Rwanda starring Don Cheadle chronicled the horrific events of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and one man's attempt to save as many of his countrymen as he could. Tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi people of Rwanda had boiled to the point of break. In the course of 100 days an estimated 800,000 Tutsis were slaughtered by the Hutus. Sick... sad... desperate... broken.

How in the world could there ever be any hope of future reconciliation between these two peoples?

The following video is an amazing story of reconciliation that shows the power of the gospel, the character of God in his people, and the peace that Jesus brings.

True forgiveness and restoration is modeled after the forgiveness that God is so eager to bring his creation.

Watch the full episode. See more Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

Goad for America - Episode 1 - Kids and Jobs

My college roommate, Jeremy Goad, is running for President 2012... he's got some good points.

John Stott: 1921-2011

John Stott passed away today at age 90.

The author of over 50 books was born in London, ordained in the Anglican church in 1945, and ministered at All Souls Church from his ordination until his death.
What a faithful man.

Stott is now in the presence of the One he served for so many years.

What an incredible example of what God can do with a life made available and sold out to Jesus Christ!

Click on the links below to reference John Stott articles in the following publications:
-NEW YORK TIMES
-CHRISTIANITY TODAY

Thieves & Liars

I came across this band earlier this summer (thanks Greg) & I was impressed.

My head turned when I heard they were a Christian rock band.

They sound like classic AC/DC. It's just good rock n roll. Littered with tatts & enough long hair to choke a donkey, these guys are definitely in the wrong era and they flat out ROCK!!

But you don't have to take my word for it...
(said in my best LeVar Burton impression)


Take a listen:

LOVE WINS: a thought towards method/venue appropriateness

I really enjoyed Love Wins. Did I agree with everything? No. Did it make me think? Yes. And that, I think, was Rob Bell's goal.

The aftermath of Rob Bell’s Love Wins has left a wake of blogs, articles, and books soon-to-be published. Most of these writings attack Bell’s theological views on heaven and hell.

Some of them rightly question him on his treatment of scripture (The most glaring transgression in my mind is the misapplication of OT reconciliation/restoration passages to say that ALL people/nations will be restored to right relationship with God. When the context of these passages most clearly fall in line with God’s eternal plan for the people of God- now those in Jesus [cf. Genesis 12:3; Galatians 3:14, 28-29]). Others rip him apart and attack a view that would probably seem foreign even to Bell.

I’m upset and saddened by those who fall into this second category- mostly because of their misrepresentation of Bell’s views. I’ll admit, nailing down Bell’s thoughts on heaven and hell is a little like nailing Jello to the wall. There are few places in the book where you can get a concrete glimpse into where he lands. However, a fair treatment of Bell must be upheld regardless (And if you haven’t read his book, you can’t talk). Here is the litmus test: if Rob Bell were to read what you said he believes, would he agree? Sadly, with many of these articles I don't think he would.

So what am I adding to this discussion? In this blog, I will steer clear of conjecture and thoughts on Bell’s theological convictions on heaven and hell and speak towards his method and platform. While so much is being written about Rob Bell, I'd rather talk about my last visit to the chiropractor.

My neck was really tweaked. I looked sideways at my chiropractor with a half smile. He turned me around and quickly yanked my neck well beyond what was natural and normal (Is this even safe?!). I was immediately back to balanced. In order to re-align your neck, a chiropractor will extend your neck far past the natural range in order to get you back to center. If the chiropractor simply rotated my neck to normal, it would have quickly returned to jacked up. The over-extension forced my neck to rest normal once again.

This experience sheds light on what I believe Rob Bell is attempting to do with our thinking on heaven and hell. In his intentional line of questioning, he’s taking us well beyond what we’re comfortable with in order to bring us back to what he believes to be a more balanced position.

There are two ways to change someone's thinking. One, you can plead and tell them where they ought to be and hope they change their thinking more towards your view. Or two, you can get them thinking so far beyond their current position that they move closer to the view you actually want them to hold than they would have with method one.

If ever you want $40,000 (I don’t know when this would apply), you’re more likely to get the full $40K if you ask for $80,000. In the stretching and questioning of Love Wins, Bell is more likely to get drastic results in changed thinking on heaven and hell. However, this leads to a very important question…

Is it right for Bell to use this method in his bestseller?

While I respect Rob Bell, appreciate his heart, admire what he’s trying to do, and am grateful for some/many of his observations in his book (Especially his thoughts against an unhealthy divorce of heaven in the earthly realm and more towards a marriage/recognition of heaven in the earthly realm [read The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis or Jesus in the gospels.. ie- Matthew 6:10])- I believe his careless chiropractic method is reckless in his chosen medium.

Maybe his book is completely appropriate and effective for those in his church, the people he knows, and for his culture; but the same values don’t transfer when printed for mass media. The things Bell brings up would be great for a classroom setting or for shepherding someone through issues when you can walk with a person week in and week out as they wrestle through the questions. But when he tosses a grenade out to the general public without follow-up or instructions and says, “Here, fiddle around with it… you’ll figure it out” -it crosses over to the realm of carelessness.

And that’s what he’s done. Bell has introduced many ideas to be wrestled through without a guardian. Who will shepherd those going through his New York Times bestseller? Frankly, it shocks me that the chosen platform for this method comes from a man that plays the role of pastor. Isn’t careful shepherding and follow up the very thing that scripture calls church leadership to do (Titus 1:9)? What sorts of views and heresy will the masses form about Christianity with the platform Bell used?

Fortunately, neither the gates of Hell nor even Rob Bell can crush Jesus’ church (Matthew 16:18). But it doesn’t mean that a teacher like Rob Bell can be as careless as he wants (James 3:1).