This was a mind-blowing experience. If you don't believe God really works today in miraculous ways, reading on will do one of two things - open you up or harden your heart.
We had a great youth camp! I was ready to go to Heaven last night, after having seen every one of our 28 youth who went have a deep encounter (or several) with the Lord - from the purest, sweetest, loving kids to the hardest cases. I know, we can't see what the net change will be - but every one of the kids opened up enough at some point to really hear/see/something God. I'm in tears again just writing this!
And not just ours. I don't know about every one of the 700+ kids there, but I know there weren't many who didn't meet God at camp in some way. And the counselors/leaders/etc weren't left out!
This camp had the most balanced teaching I've ever run across in any kind of large setting. And the leaders, while confident in their relationship with God, and what He wants, were open to change, to wisdom, to ideas and guidance from others. Not the far too common "We have all truth" attitude. More than once I heard, "I can't explain it. I just know it happen{s,ed}, and that it doesn't contradict God's word," (or you can see this in the NT, etc).
We saw amazing things. The vast majority of 700 kids from most walks of Texan life (and several denominations, including Baptists!) dancing together (not all the same way) in worship. Praising quietly together. Ministering to one another. Being slain in the Spirit. We had prophesying. We had healings [1]. We had clear words of knowledge and wisdom. [2] We had deliverances. We had people drunk in the Spirit. We had a bunch saved, a bunch rededicate their lives. Baptisms. Water slides. Go karts. Sumo wrestling. And we only barely got not-quite-lost on the way there. Camp food (so so to good). Pillow fights. A bed wetter. No major injuries. A hassle getting them all to go to sleep (the guys because they were rowdy, the girls because they took the service back to their dorm with them. Wish the guys could have done the same!) [3]
And we had some fleshly imitations of the Real Thing. I can only concur with Mark (the leader, from Restoration Church in the DFW area) that these kids have to have room to grow, to make mistakes. That's why we have leaders (not bosses) - to guide and help them find the way. To explain why it's not a good idea for a girl to be moving her hands over a guy's chest as she prays for him (or a guy, for that matter). To explain that when God does something, don't resist, but when He's through doing that, don't try to keep it going. To help the kids understand that they aren't being left out just because they didn't "get" some manifestation someone else got, so they shouldn't feel they need to imitate it.
The girls who got the ``drunkest'' (in the Spirit) also manifested the most awesome stuff. Two of them started speaking to each other in other tongues. Vicki (our pastor's wife) told them she needed interpretations. So they started alternating, speaking in tongues and interpreting for each other. Deep, glorious, spiritual things, and things about what God was doing in the other one, or problems that needed to be dealt with in the other - and it was 100% right on.
Several times when one girl start laughing uncontrollably, some other girl who had been that way a while would suddenly drop down beside the other, or even on her, and start praying with her, and God would do something awesome.
Once when one girl was on top of another, hugging her tightly, a couple of people thought maybe it was a lesbian demon or something. They prayed, and nothing happened. They brought in the "big guns" (people whom God has clearly given gifts in the area), who watched, prayed - one even demanded that any demons identify themselves - who all concluded this was fine, nothing wrong, despite it looking a bit odd. A few minutes later, these two girls were key in helping identify problem areas in another girl's life. I couldn't help but think of Elisha stretched out on top of a dead boy in a bed - today we'd lock him up as a nasty pedophile - praying a boy back to life in this world.
[I think it's sad that any sort of same-sex affection is considered by so many today as meaning homosexuality, or, for that matter. that any sort of physical affection implies a problem.]
I saw such tender love between these kids. Not lust, not just affection, not romance (though we saw that, too!) but pure, holy, agape love and koinonia taking care of one another, praying, hugging, holy kisses, and just downright heaven on earth love.
God spoke very directly to me about some things, and did some stuff with me, in outward ways (the only two times I've ever been ``slain'' happened on Wednesday in two different services - I've neither sought nor avoided that experience), and inward. He showed me things I needed to know. He showed me an area where I needed prayer by others. He gave me knowledge of other people several times - knowledge that was verified in subsequent conversations or prayer. He also often didn't use me to do the effective prayer, I had to get someone else to do that. He confirmed through other people (through knowledge or wisdom gifts) things He had been telling me - which I had not told them, or anyone they knew! [6]
On top of all this, there was not one time when they tried to work people up, or force things in some direction. And the camp staff (many were "interns" from somewhere) were nothing short of incredible. They had such servant's hearts and wonderful spirits and attitudes!
It was, I think, the most awesome week of my life.
Copyright 1995 Miles O'Neal, Austin, TX. All rights reserved. Miles O'Neal <roadkills.r.us@XYZZY.gmail.com> [remove the "XYZZY." to make things work!] c/o RNN / 1705 Oak Forest Dr / Round Rock, TX / 78681-1514