Finding God at Camp

In one of the last blog posts, "I have Seen Theophany," I mentioned that sometimes we try to find God where he has not promised to be.  Christian camps seem to be instigators of this problem too.  How often have you heard someone say something to the effect of "going into nature to find God," or, "at camp, you just feel God's presence"?  Sure, God is omnipresent (See Psalm 139), but is God more present at Camp or in the wilderness than He is say in your own home?  Of course not.

We do get (or I should say it is possible to get) an emotional lift at Camp because the works of God are great and glorious (Psalm 111), but that is not to say our faith is being strengthened because we are at camp or that we are getting closer to God because we are spending time in his creation.  Camp, and everything at camp, is a wonderful first-article gift; that is, something that God has made and given to us for our earthly benefit.
For our spiritual and eternal benefit, God works through means.  He works through His Word, through His Baptism and through His Body & Blood.  These are the tools God uses to increase our faith.

Finding God in nature, or equating an emotional lift with a stronger faith is potentially spiritually damaging - there is no promise that that feeling will last.  At the end of camp how sad are we to leave!? What happens then?  Do we need camp to actually be strengthened in our faith?  It may feel like it, but this is where the true comfort lies: God strengthens our faith in His Word and sacraments, whether we feel it or not.  God's doing it, stop worrying and believe.

So, the next time you are checking out other Christian Camps to attend or send your children to (Camp Lor-Ray only runs a few weeks in the summer after all :-), look at what that camp is saying.
Do they claim to get closer to God and let you feel His presence, or do they acknowledge that only through the Word and sacraments does God build and confirm faith?  That's the difference between relying on a camp and on men to strengthen faith and relying on God to strengthen faith.

Camp Lor-Ray relies on God. We just have a ton of fun doing it in the woods.  I know you will too.

Bath, Body, & Beyond

Baptism and the Lord's Supper.  Modern evangelicalism views them as simply outward signs, done according to the Lord's command.  Modern culture views them as rituals, and as evident by the incredibly off-the-mark viral YouTube video "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus", religious rituals as such distract from the true meaning of Jesus (For a true Lutheran response to that video, go here).

"But what does Jesus actually say they are?"  
First, they are not a few things:
They aren't simply signs that Christians profess that they are followers of Christ. Baptism isn't just a symbol of our commitment to Christ. The Lord's Supper isn't just some ritual that we do to simply remember Jesus.  The bread and the wine aren't just symbolic of Jesus' body and blood.  Both Baptism and the Lord's Supper are not done due to some ordinance or rule that the church has invented as a way to sustain itself, as modern culture would like us to believe.

"But God commanded us to do them."
Yes, He did.  But these aren't something that we do.  They're something God does.

Titus 3:5-7 "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Along with this section, our Lord makes it clear elsewhere in Scripture that Baptism is alone His work (see John 3:1-8) This is why "Baptism now saves you" as Peter declares (1 Peter 3:21).

Holy Communion also is God's work alone, as heard regularly in church: "Given for you...shed for you for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

Focusing on the doing of the act of either Baptism or Holy Communion defeats the purpose. It's God that does everything! Baptism saves because it joins us to the death of Jesus! "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (see Romans 6:3-11). Holy Communion forgives because it IS Christ's body and blood! The blood and water that flowed from Jesus side as He died on the cross cleanse us in Baptism and feed and nourish us in the Lord's Supper.

"How is this relevant as a summer camp theme?"

Good question! Here's another:
What isn't more relevant than Jesus Christ?!

Jesus really brings us into His family through Baptism. We're told frequently to "remember our Baptism", and "take comfort in our Baptism." These aren't just cozy sayings, but they literally mean to "remember Jesus," and "take comfort in Jesus!"  It's Jesus doing the saving, he's in, with, and under the elements!   It's the same with Holy Communion; when we partake of the Lord's Supper we are literally receiving Christ's body and blood shed for us.  Even for those who have yet to be confirmed, the saying holds true, "GIVEN FOR YOU."  Christ gave His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins; faith alone holds the promise that is offered.

Remembering our Baptism and reflecting on the Lord's Supper this summer at Camp Lor-Ray will help accomplish a few things:

1. It will add meaning to the already objectively meaning-full sacraments of Baptism & Holy Communion.
2. It will show us what living in our Baptism means.
3. It will show us why we need Christ's body and blood.
4. It will explain why these two things are important each and every day to Christians!  

Obviously "Bath, Body, & Beyond" is not our real theme, you can visit our real theme "I Have Seen Thy Salvation" at our website.  The post title, somewhat in jest, still accurately describes what's going on in Baptism and the Lord's Supper.  We are bathed in Christ in our Baptisms, we eat and drink His body and blood in the Lord's Supper.  God's gifts, GIVEN FOR YOU, as a result offer so much more, beyond any blessing, comfort, and hope we could imagine.

Bath, Body & Beyond.  Christ's Real Presence & Real Efficacy in the Sacraments.

In vocation,

Jeffrey Hendrix
Lor-Ray Camp Association Youth Committee Chair


Article written with help from "Handling the Word of Truth" by John T. Pless and "The Spirituality of the Cross" by Gene Edward Veith, jr.