Jesus Camp Revisited

Some time ago I wrote a post that included a brief reference to a movie called Jesus Camp. While the movie is a documentary that compares lively churches (lively music, shouting, etc.) to dead churches (hymns, solemn prayers, preaching to quiet congregations) and implies that God is not in dead churches...it occurs to me that there are others with views that are exactly the opposite.

Some people think that music can be evil; that drums are tools of the devil. Some people have the idea that you can't teach kids the lessons of the Bible when they are enjoying themselves in church. Apparently we have to drag kids to boring churches before they can learn that God loves them and sent His Son to die for them.

Why can't we recognize that there are many ways that people can effectively worship God and share His love. I am not so arrogant to think that God only likes the way I worship Him and every other way is an act of heresy.

I do believe that there is only One True God. I do have an exclusive view that heaven is only attainable to those that have trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior. These are basic beliefs of the Christian faith that we are taught in the Bible. I also know that many cultures worship the One True God in many different ways. We worship Him as God using different styles of music, different customs of attire, different presentations of The Word, different types of services. We worship in large churches and small homes. Some worship openly and freely and some are persecuted and have to be discreet in their gatherings.

At some point we have to realize that there are enough enemies of the Faith that we don't need to be fighting amongst ourselves. Certainly we can find a place that we can worship God without criticizing the way others worship or openly condemning their methods--especially when they are effective in sharing the Gospel and people are coming to know Jesus. Maybe it is just easier to be hateful than to share Jesus ourselves.

Even as I write this, I'm forced to look back at a post that I wrote just a few weeks ago. Was I doing the same thing that I am now being critical of? I want to say that my post was more about communicating effectively with kids than style of preaching or worship. You be the judge...do I need to post an apology or write a letter that might benefit the camp in the future?

In any case, we, as believers, owe it to our Lord and Savior to be unified in our work to spread the Good News. The armor of a believer is to be used in the spiritual battles that we encounter with the evil one--not to beat up on one another!

John <><

BTW, are you sure of your eternal destination? If you have questions, please call or write.