The Presbyterian Way

As the daughter of two Presbyterian ministers, I became enraged and aggravated at the attitudes of the children and leaders in Jesus Camp. It was not the style of worship and practice that irritated me. I was angry at the message the children received and their attitudes toward other styles of worship and non-Evangelists.

I have participated in Christian conferences and “Jesus camps.” One of those camps was the Montreat Youth Conference (Montreat) that occurred every summer in Black Mountain, NC. This conference is for high school students. There were two different worship services everyday. The morning worship, or keynote, was contemporary with movie clips, videos, skits, and fun dancers. The evening worship was more traditional with singing, praying, and a sermon. I enjoy this diversity of worship styles. It is nice to attend contemporary services after weeks of traditional services. (The church I attended has traditional worship services.)

Keynote Ending from 2012 Montreat Conference

In Jesus Camp, Rachel Grady, one of the children the film follows, says that God “does not visit” churches that sing “three hymns and then have a sermon.” According to her, my church, where my dad preaches, is a “dead” church. I am not okay with this accusation. God loves all of His children. He is not going to picky over how we worship Him. I know that God is present during all types of worship because, during a traditional service at Montreat, I heard and felt His presence.

Rachel Grady

During the final hymn of a worship service at Montreat, I heard a voice in my head, that I had never heard before, say “You are loved, my precious child.” I cannot tell you whether that voice was old or young or male or female. This was during a very conflicted time of my life. I was actually thinking about leaving the Presbyterian Church. After I heard this voice, I started to hear voices of friends, family, and people I knew. Everything I heard had had some impact on my life. I was in tears because of this powerful experience. God is present everywhere even with nonbelievers.

I strongly disagree with the views the people in Jesus Camp held about different styles of worship and non-Evangelists. This blog post became a testimonial because of the strong emotions I felt after watching the documentary. People are losing interest in Christianity because of the close mindedness some Christians possess. Being open and accepting like Jesus Christ was will gain more admiration than shunning different lifestyles and beliefs. People just need to be open minded and accepting of others. 

Pictures:

http://www.thedocumentaryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/JesusCamp%20still4.jpg
http://randomthoughtsonlifeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/acceptance.jpg

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTzOUJsA3ic