Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
As a child I went to church camp at Lake Okoboji in Northwest Iowa. Fun times were had at Concordia Cub Week, but in the midst of it all I didn’t realize the truth to what was happening. As a kid I thought I was being sent to camp to learn about God they way you would in Sunday School. While in the moment it seemed I did a lot more activities like swimming and basketball, what the camp was instilling was faith building in action. It was not until I went to confirmation camp with a confirmand of my own that I was able to take a step back and see the Kingdom building that can take place. For four and a half days a confirmand, Ashley, and I joined about 45 youth, a dozen camp counselors, and a handful of chaperones for Faith Works week at Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Camp (LOMC). We got in Sunday afternoon and left after lunch on Thursday. In between that time was adventure, nature, team building, and a lot of time learning and seeing God outside of the pages of the Bible. The theme for Faith Works week was ‘Salt and Light’. This theme was inspired by Matthew 5:13-16: 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. The lesson trying to be learned is what it means to be salt and light for the world as described in this passage. How does one be salt? How does one be a light that cannot be hidden? Through action! To be salt you must add flavor to this world. The flavor we add is the love of Jesus. Similarly, to be a light we must understand whose light we are really shining; the light of the love of Jesus. So what happened at church camp that enforced this lesson? Bible Study: The camp counselors had a different Bible story each day that they would read, reflect, and share about. Each reading had something to do with the ‘Salt and Light’ theme. This was a minor part of the day, but it allowed for the kids to reflect upon Scripture among peers rather than in a class setting where you may need to come up with the right answers. These Bible Studies commonly reflected nature and were down outside. This allowed for the kids to not just talk about God creating the world, but experience it as the wind moved through the leaves of the trees. Team Building: While Bible studies were a minor part of the week, team building was the most prominent part of the week. Throughout the week were physical and mental challenges. Here’s the thing though…they were always group and team challenges. All of the puzzles that needed solving couldn’t be done alone. Sometimes they needed to be done in silence. Groups sat together. They cleaned up after every meal together. What does this have to do with being 'Salt and Light' and to learn about God? Spreading the love of Jesus is not a solo mission. It is done with and to others with the help of the Holy Spirit. When we work together on behalf of Christ we can achieve so much more. We can model the early church and how God intends us to interact with one another. When people learn to work together to share the love of God they not only share a message of love, but they also show the message of love in action through community. We are all many parts of the Body of Christ and I believe this is the biggest learned (sometimes unknowingly) at church camp.
Ashley was put with five other kids that she did not know. By the end of the week she has their cell phone numbers, Snapchat accounts, and friendship. This reminded me of the many friends I also made during church camp. All the camaraderie seemed organic and outside of the purpose of church camp, but in the end it is the crux of learning how to help build the Kingdom of God on earth today. By learning how to work as a team the kids, counselors, and chaperones alike witnessed how greater work can be done together. A pinch of salt can add flavor, but a mound of salt can overtake the whole world. A flashlight can shine in the darkness, but 1,000 flashlights can shine brighter. Kingdoms aren’t built by one person. The Kingdom of God is no different. With the help of our Creator it is my hope that all of us can learn this lesson of being salty together and joining our lights with one another. Points to Ponder:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
|