Coming to Jesus

I just got back from a week of summer camp with our youth group.  It was great!  The thing I liked most was seeing our youth blossom under the care and guidance of their counselors.  Camp Living Stones is a decidedly Christian summer camp.  They do the typical camp activities -- zip lines, rafting, high and low ropes courses -- but there's also dedicated time for devotions every morning and worship every evening.  After worship the campers meet with their counselor/small group leader to talk about the day and pray together.  It's the best of Christian community.

I also like this camp because they don't do a hard sell on the gospel.  What I mean is there's no 'altar call.'  Even so, one of our campers dedicated her life to Christ last week!  Hallelujah!  What a wonderful and life-changing thing for her.

It got me thinking...what do we think about conversion?  Especially us Presbyterians who baptize infants into the faith of their parents and the promises made on their behalf.  There's a thing we call confirmation, but that's just a formalized second step to infant baptism.  It's the point at which, nowadays, we have middle & high school students attend class and earn their "I'm a Christian" merit badge.

I jest, of course, but really, shouldn't confirmation be more akin to what our student encountered at camp?  Shouldn't confirmation be the point at which God's promises in Christ become real and personal for me, and I dedicate my life to living as a disciple of Jesus Christ?

Maybe confirmation needs to be less about a program and more about allowing & encouraging young (and old?) folks to fall in love with Jesus.

"The issue is letting Christ in to change us. Having Christ dwell in our hearts is akin to having a new person move into your household. If they're just visiting, it is all rather easy; you simply offer hospitality and try to practice good manners. But if someone moves in to stay, everything changes. At first you might try to hold on to your familiar patterns and routines, and the new member may work hard to accomodate you and stay out of the way. But eventually they make their mark. Conversations change. Relationships realign. Household tasks increase and responsibilities shift. So it is when Christ moves into the hearts of Christians. This isn't merely tweaking old patterns; everything changes."

                      ~ Karen Chakoian, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Granville, OH.