Jesus Camp

I watched a movie last night that was interesting and disturbing on so many different levels all at the same time. Would I recommend watching the movie? To some, but I would be careful how I recommend it. Here are some of my thoughts.

To non-believers: Of course you do not understand the language of warrior or being in an army because you do not understand the concept of spiritual warfare. Don't worry -- we are not going to take up guns, blow ourselves up, etc. for the cause of Christ. If we do that, then we are not following the Bible. As for the radio guy that quotes the Sermon on the Mount where we are called to be peacemakers, you do not understand that type of peace either. It is a peace brought about by reconciliation in your relationship with God. It comes through preaching the Gospel, which you find offensive and accuse us of not being peacemakers for sharing. There is a context to all things, so don't take things out of our Bible out of context. As for me, I don't speak in tongues, I do not "prophesy", I do not believe that these gifts are necessary to show the validity of my salvation, and I really do not think that these gifts have a place in America. Also, I did not know who Ted Haggard is until his scandal last fall. He is not my leader. God is.

To believers who think America is "God's Chosen Nation": Sorry to burst your bubble, but it is not. God's chosen nation, in this stage of redemptive history, is the Church (as in the Body of Christ, not the Catholic church), which is made up of believers. We are called to live with our eyes set on heaven where our true citizenship lies. We do not need a theocracy in this nation. I have no problem voting for Christian leaders because they support the values that I hold dear (yes, I am against abortion, gay marriage, etc.). I think that we should be praying hard for our leaders. However, I think that praying for our government to do the work of the church is wrong -- it is our job to bring the Gospel to the nation, minister to the poor, etc. In fact, if the church really understood the love of God that it is supposed to be sharing with the world, the government would not need to do a lot of things. Continue praying for our leaders and for godly men to be elected, but do not give politicians the temptation to portray themselves as "godly men" when they aren't just so that they can get elected. Government is already filled with enough hypocrisy. Also, remember that our true citizenship is not of this world, and that we do not need to become more American than God's.

To those of you who now fear to send your children to church camp: Not all children camps teach abortion to children under 10, try to get them to speak in tongues, have 12 year olds preaching, or encourage children to take up a political cause. In fact, I had not heard of any camps that did this until I saw this movie. All the camps I attended as a child had crafts, mission projects, nature walks, sports, swimming, worship service at night (that was about the Gospel instead of politics), and your normal not-so-great camp food. We were taught we could (and should) be missionaries instead of politicians. We were taught the Bible.

To the directors of the movie: Wow, you managed to give a completely one-sided view of the evangelicals in America today. You mocked kids, who, although may be misguided in some of their beliefs, have a genuine belief in God and His salvation that is admirable. You chose to follow Pentecostals, who are going to be the most frightening to a nation that is already fearful of evangelicals because of the way that they are portrayed in the media. Although I may base my vote on morality (because valuing life is a moral choice), that does not mean that I vote based on religion. All it means is that for me to vote for a political candidate, they must value human life. That does not mean that I think a candidate has to be a Christian for me to vote for them, so long as they value human life. I think that the most interesting part of the movie was the commentary on the DVD. Your words that you speak seem to try to minimalize the mockery that you produced. Try reading "The Divided States of America" for a more neutral view of the influence of religion in politics.

So do I think people should watch this movie? Well, I still haven't decided. I think that evangelicals who are more conservative than the Pentecostals in the movie may need to see it in order to defend ourselves and to see what the world thinks we look like. We must remember that the world finds Christ and the Gospel offensive. We also must remember that our actions are not understood by the world. I am also bothered by the fact that there are churches out there that are more concerned about entertainment, an emotional experience, and teaching our kids that certain spiritual gifts are necessary to show our "salvation". If you listen closely, the adults are speaking the same phrases over and over again when they are speaking in "tongues," and there is no one interpretting, making the speaking of the "tongues" un-Biblical. But that is another blog!