CLGC’s first church camp (Part II)

Note: There's Part I & Part II so the blogs aren't too long, else readers might fall asleep :P
God is faithful. I can always count on Him to show up when I need Him. These were a couple of things I gathered from camp:
1) Authenticity of Church
There is a time and season when God will speak to us; times when his anointing is especially strong. For example, there are times when we experience trembling, express songs, words of encouragement or prophecies. Such times will pass and He will allow the idea to sink in as we are being molded. Do we continue to tremble/ continue to prophecy / continue to speak or sing words which are NOT from Him? Many times in Worship, we hype and create an “ambiance” which is not from Him. Imagine the Lord peering down from above, go “Huh?” and then leave saying, “Fine… seems that you don’t need me anyway…”. How authentic is our worship?

2) Authenticity of who we are
Since we were on the topic of authenticity, I began to think how authentic we are in church. Has our church matured enough to accept the authenticity of the people coming? If a girl dressed in a very short skirt and blouse enters the building, will she be rebuked or asked to cover up? How will our response be when a drug addict enters the building? Can we BE OURSELVES, dress however we want, not ashamed of whom we are and worship God together? Must a church-goer esthetically be an exact Photostat copy of the next to be truly accepted? Or can we embrace and be comfortable with people different from us?

3) A picture of Priesthood of Believers
Gosh! I’ve heard of it happen… but this is the first time I’ve experienced it first-hand. No worship agenda. Stripped off all worship instruments. No “Let’s choose love songs and build it up towards ‘Rededication’ as our theme”. Worship was opened to the floor. Songs of praise, songs of worship, prayer, words just came forth from people seated all across the sanctuary, right at their places. One person would start singing, and the people around him/her will join in and soon the whole congregation would catch on. The focus was not to the front (stage), but upwards to the Heavens. Tears swelled up as I felt the stirring within me. Our Papa must be gladly enjoying the simple yet sincere offering. No hyping… pure, authentic worship from the heart, just enjoying being in His presence.

4) What is means to be people of His presence
Books like Purpose Driven Life (one of my favorites), paints an idea that our time on Earth is short and we have to make every single second on Earth count for something. Then, we get little pangs of guilt as we take time off to enjoy doing stuff which are not considered “kingdom works”. Having a plate of Maggi goreng at Jelutong with friends instead of being at FNS. Cracking jokes with uncle Steve on a Sunday morning instead of being at a service. Taking a walk at Kiara Park or a swim at my condo on a Saturday morning instead of going to church for singing class.

Being people of His presence and Worship does not happen when we are DOING something for Him. I remember the scene in Kingdom of Heaven when the people was defending the fort from its enemies. And Orlando Bloom said, “It’s not these stones that we’re protecting. It’s the people. The Kingdom is not here (the place)… it’s in our minds and our hearts. They can never take THAT away from us” Whenever and wherever we are, we are able to live a life of Worship (I’m NOT in any way saying do not go to church). But if I’m enjoying a cup of limau ais with my friends but having Him in my heart (in turn, affecting my response and conversation topics), THAT in itself is an act of worship and being in His presence.

5) Retro night
Retro night on the ‘already-shortened’ time at camp? What? And miss an ‘oh-so-important’ session with guest speaker Malcolm Du Plesis? Gahahahhaha… what a revolution!!! It was so much fun having everyone dress up according to the 70’s theme. Big Alleycat hair, mini skirts, extra JANG-colored shirts , polka-dot dresses and gypsy robes. Not forgetting ‘Let’s do the twist!’ ‘Everybody loves Kungfu fighting!’, ‘Dancing Queen',and ‘Limbo Rock’. Gosh, some of those oldies can really shake their bon-bons! *grin!* What a sight! *darn. I really need to learn how to upload pics*

Lastly, the final message from Malcolm…

6) Our response to Offence
To take offence towards another is like taking offence towards God cause God had allowed the offence to happen in the first place. Wow! I never saw it like that *very deep ar...* Really, it struck a cord when Malcolm said, “If you allow the offence to take root, you will find that your negative response/events that follow is even worse than the incident that has caused it.” Such an offence was allowed to happen in order to shape and mold us. In the times of stress, we find out who we really are. How true… I remember the times when I get hurt and I just allowed the hurt turn to anger and self-righteousness instead of allowing forgiveness to flow forth. Sigh… it actually takes up more energy staying angry than letting go *am truly humbled*

Above all that has been spoken into my life during Camp; most importantly I had a fresh encounter with Him. I’m excited over the changes that are about to come to CLGC. Truly, these are exciting times. Well, till my next blog. Juan. Outttttt!