Jesus Camp

Some people find the Jesus Camp movie trailer frightening. I can see that. 1) If you've never seen a church service where people get emotional, this is a VERY intense introduction to it. 2) These guys are NOT playin'. Unfortunately, I missed the film when it screened in Nashville last week so I can't say too much on the details.

On the other hand, from what I've been reading online, a lot of people have commented on the little boy--no, I don't know why his hair is like that--Travis' statement that he got "saved" when he was five years old like there's no way that could be true. Well, I guess me, my roommate and my friend Rebecca are the other weirdos who were aware of their own mortality at so early an age (me--age 4). Do I think the kids they featured are very unusual? Of course they are! Otherwise, no one would've wanted to make a documentary about them. Do I think that children should be taught the faith at an early age? Absolutely! Some children will absorb very early, others will not. Do I think all of those kids featured are going to walk the straight and narrow for the rest of their lives? Based on statistics alone, I can confidently answer, "No." At the same time, most of them will return to faith even if it doesn't quite look like this movie.

Now the real question is, would I send my own children (that I don't have yet--applications for husbands ARE being accepted) to this particular camp? Not unless they asked to go. Having grown up in church, I know for a fact that forcing someone to participate in a spiritual experience is a quick way to "turn off" mode. [I use the word experience because this camp is quite different than a regular church service.]

With that in mind, I present the trailer for Jesus Camp.

[SIDE NOTE: In the trailer I noticed Lou Engle of Justice House of Prayer (JHOP) and The Cause USA. Lou is like on a whole different level. He and some of the JHOPers came down when we were doing the media fast here in Nashville. ALL these guys do is pray. They pray, they fast, they read the Bible and pray more. Some of them write songs and that's what they sing for worship wherever they are. They're basically monks. They sometimes call themselves American Nazarites. I bring that up because all of the JHOPers are 18 & up and nobody makes them do what they do. They just do it. There are plenty of less intense organizations around but for some reason they stay. I totally appreciate what they're doing. Someone from JHOP is praying for America every hour of every day, 24-7! That's a good thing. I think what suprised me the most about them was how mild-mannered they all are in contrast to the way that crew worships which is really loud, really intense and kind of tribal sounding. I thoroughly enjoyed it and didn't want to leave but it's hard to hang with people who don't believe church services have an end...]