GPBC Blog

For most of my life, this has been my definition of “camping”:

To forget to bring something really important, so that I can remember all the things I can live without, so that I can be eternally grateful for the things I have. To be in complete nature, alone, away from as many reminders of civilization (people included) as possible, and, when there is talking, it is about deep things, spoken in thoughtful, quiet, sober tones.

At least that has been my rough definition of camping until recently.

I’ve had to modify that definition a bit because, over the past few years, I’ve had the pleasure of spending the first weekend of August “camping” with my church family. 

At the GPBC all-church campout, for me, there seems to be less contemplation and more laughing, more games than stories, and far more cooking and eating than the grazing that I am usually accustomed to while camping. There is more comfort—more baggage and technology—than I have while camping. Yet, I began to realize that camping might be less about how I camp than what I do while camping.

Firstly, I had to expand the idea of a camping community. See, camping for me is getting away into the woods with as few people as possible, and to leave everyone else alone. Yet, our church’s campout was about bringing as many people as possible with us! It was about letting the Lord affect more people, not fewer.

During the four days at this year’s campout, I watched as my church family blessed others, maybe not consciously, maybe not intentionally, maybe quite imperfectly. I saw my church in action. I saw a reflection of Jesus modeled in conspicuous displays of acceptance, in healing touches, and encouraging words. I saw Jesus in relationships within our body and without. It was clear to me that people outside our group were watching us with a sense of longing for belonging. 

Each GPBC person displayed their gifts, their vastly different gifts. Some were given patience where I had little. Some showed mercy, offering a healing touch. Others served. Some built others up with a simple, cheerful word.

“Camping” is indeed about being uncomfortable for a short time—in the presence of situations and people that might make us uncomfortable—so that we can be comforted, in turn, by Heaven’s mercy. Camping is forgetting all of those important things we have worked so hard to remember—our stuff, our politics, our philosophies, our personalities and experiences, our most sacred authenticities—so that we can be eternally grateful for the lasting things God has given us. Camping, for me, has become more about serving and including others in an open invitation to a deeper relationship with the Lord, Giver of Good Gifts.

Romans 12:3-8 (NIV)

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.