Friday, August 30, 2013

A red thread, an upside-down world and the difference between a disciple and a fan


The summer is a busy time for us, filled with our summer Bible camp weeks. This year I was at camp for three weeks in a row, directing, teaching and participating. It was an especially challenging summer with many thoughts and challenges for our life that I am struggling to hold on to and make practical in daily living. Here are some of the things that amazed and encouraged me.

The red thread
In Dutch we talk about ‘the red thread’ that runs through something, the main theme. At Benjamin Camp (for the 8-11 year-olds) I was privileged as director to sit in on the lessons from Henk Rog about Genesis. Henk and Celia Rog have given their lives to Christ in all they do for many years and I have always been challenged by their example. During this week they were the teacher and crafts leader.
Henk’s lessons took 5 people in Genesis and made clear to the kids that God’s love and plan for us is shown again and again throughout his interactions from the very beginning. I was thrilled to see how he showed the gospel in each of these stories. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that the Old Testament is done away with! From the very beginning, it is in these stories of lives that God shows us His mighty love and His plan and strength to save us.
Take a look at how God dealt with Adma and Eve, at Noah – saved by faith through water, Abraham – receiving the promised life because of his faith, Joseph – who trusts completely even though he doesn’t see how it is going to work, and Moses (okay, we went a little into Exodus). Henk took the time to explain these stories, but also gave the kids some practical lessons to remember each thought. It is so exciting to see how the kids start grasping these ideas.

An upside-down world
In the following week I was the teacher for the Teen Camp (12-14 year-olds) and we were looking at Matthew 5-7, Jesus’ sermon on the mount. What a challenge! Jesus tells us that the world is completely different from what we think and are told by our society. And he shows us how to be different and make a different world.
But trying to make that practical is the real struggle, the real joy. I warned the young people each day that what we were learning would bring some real challenges that very day. And indeed – trying to use our tongues to build up, turning away from revenge, making Jesus our true treasure (instead of the ‘snoepwinkel’, the candy store time each afternoon) were real challenges.
Above all, I tried to emphasize that following Jesus was the best and most important thing they could ever do in their lives. 1. Follow Jesus. 2. Get to know him – read your remarkable library (the Bible). 3. Talk to God (pray). It has thrilled me that God has touched many of the hearts of the young people from that week who were already thinking about their future. We have seen two of these teens give their life to Christ in faith through baptism since then and I have seen and heard how the others are encouraging one another. That is exciting!

A disciple or a fan?
The theme for the Family Camp was simply ‘Being a disciple’. I presented the first lesson on ‘How do we become a disciple?’ Throughout the week we had some really challenging discussions about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Are we only dedicated fans? What does it look like to follow Jesus? Are we actually saints? Or disciples? And how do we look to those around us?
This fit right in with all the other things I had been struggling with earlier in the summer – the lessons from Marseille, the gospel theme in Benjamin Camp, the upside-down world that Jesus knows and shows is real. I want to follow Jesus. This means I need to get to know him, to fall in love with him, to listen to him and to obey him.

As we round out the summer and start into our various activities, it is these lessons that are shaping my thoughts and actions. What a wonderful challenging summer! How did God bless and challenge you this summer? 

If you would like to see some of the pictures from the three weeks, check out these links: 

No comments:

Post a Comment