Jesus Camp

During the summer, our church has been offering movies on Wednesday night (yes we have a license to do so). This week, the movie was Jesus Camp.

I couldn't attend with the others in the church, but it still reminded me that I had wanted to watch this when it first became available on video. So I watched it last night.

Now I wish I had been there when other members of my congregation had attended. I would have liked to have heard some of the discussion.

There is no doubt that in some ways we should be horrified. My wife walked through during a scene in which a young Pentecostal girl was explaining how churches that are still and quiet are dead churches, and it infuriated her. And rightly so. This child had been told that there was only one way in which to worship.

But there is much to commend in how the people in this movie think. They really care about what their children are doing, how they are raised, what will influence them. The children speak Biblical, if not always graceful, language.

We are afraid to form anyone's mind. We want everyone to figure things out for themselves. This is not the Way of Christ. We pray that He will form us, and will guide us in forming others. It doesn't always have to be done with a hammer, as it is by many in this film, but we are being formed by something, and if it's not Christ, we should beware.