Jesus Camp

So, I saw the movie everyone was talking about more than a year ago--Jesus Camp-- this weekend with my friend Kesha. We suffered through the A&E commercials that came with it, which sorta sucked, but it showed our commitment to watching good television.

I have to say the film made me think a lot. At first I was quite overwhelmed by it. The kids (probably 5 to 12 years old) at the camp were being told to be 'warriors of god', to open their mouths and pray in tongues, (almost as if they were eating breakfast or something), and many as young as 8 or 9 were "manifesting all over the place" (a phrase taught to me by my sister--it means speaking in tongues, convulsing in the spirit, falling on the floor, etc.)

I don't need to give you an entire synopsis of the movie because many have already seen it--its not new. The interesting thing I would like to point out, however, is that the experience of these kids wasn't very far off from what I remember being part of in my early teen years... and it all sorta messed me up. I went to lots of church retreats and/or camps where I remember being told to speak in tongues (nothing came out), or watching my friends fall on the floor in the spirit (me still standing there). I wondered why I wasn't "getting" it while everyone else around me was. At 12 or 14, or however old I was, I couldn't understand that God has different gifts for different people, and that some preachers and leaders believe and say things that are bunk--- its taken me years (and some therapy) to understand that my connection to God doesn't HAVE to fit a certain mold. Not that I don't believe that speaking in tongues or prophesying isn't real--b/c I do--- It just doesn't happen to me, and that's OK.

and that's all I have to say about that.