During the late summer for the last 23 years of my life, I have gone to Salem Camp Meeting.  Some of you may not be familiar with camp meeting (learn more here, here, and here), but the short description is that it is an annual gathering of Christians for one week a year where families and friends worship, sleep, eat, and play in close community.  The camp meeting near my house, Salem Camp Meeting, began in 1828 and has taken place each year in the same place except for a pause during the civil war.

I first sat in the Georgia heat as a baby. Over the years, in this heat,  I’ve learned Gospel songs and embraced the Gospel message.  And along the way I’ve made lifelong friends and been mentored by countless individuals.  People often say “you have to experience camp meeting to fully understand it,” and while this may seem like a cop out, when you try to capture it in words — they fail.

Nevertheless, this summer is the first time in 24 years that I have not attended. It has been tough being in Central America thinking about what everyone was doing there each day this week (the schedule rarely changes), and I’ve made phone calls home checking in to see whether the Baptist or Methodist preacher was better.

Earlier this week I received an email from a Methodist minister friend who has been attending for years as well.  His words were simple, yet they relay a profound message for all Christians who are seeking to follow God into the specific ministry and place He has called them in life.  And they resonate deeply with me as I look towards ordination in a church where itinerant ministry is the norm.

Jonathan,

Sure miss you and the others this week at Salem. Just not the same. Don’t want to share too much and add to whatever feelings you’re already having about being away from this place.

However you are learning a lesson that only life can teach you.  Sometimes ministry can keep you from the place and people you really want to be with. It does stink to miss parties and gatherings and connections you have already celebrated because ministry demands you to be elsewhere.

But this is part of Gods calling. We go where sent when we are sent.

Learn to treasure the moment. But also look to find glimpses of what is good about Salem elsewhere.

For many years I have missed family reunions and weekly Sunday lunches with my folks, but it is a blessing to go to other reunions and dine at other tables and see Gods grace working there too.

God bless and be good.

Bubba

During these past few weeks in El Salvador I’ve noticed that here there is rarely AC, it is common for multiple generations sleep under the same roof, seats are always available for unrushed visitors, kids like to run in and out of neighbor’s houses, hammocks abound, I can find a worship service every night, and How Great Thou Art is still being sung.  Just like at camp meeting.  It is a special gift to be able to see God’s love and grace at work through similar things in a completely different culture.

All Duke Divinity students are required to participate in regular discussion and reflection during their Field Education placements.  Below is a theological reflection I recently shared with the school and my friends on the trip:

The night I arrived in Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala, it was dark and raining, and I was scared.  As I stood in the rain, Robert, who had traveled with me from Atlanta, departed with his host family, and I was left alone with the director of the Spanish school to wait for my host family.  The only Spanish words and phrases I knew were the handful that I had learned from Rosetta Stone and a book I studied on the plane.  Naturally, there was a great deal of silence as we stood waiting.

During these moments of silence, I looked up into the stormy night and prayed, “God, if there were ever times when I felt like I could make it on my own, this is not one of them.  I desperately need you right now to give me strength, courage, and patience.  Your Word says that in our weakness your power is made perfect.  Let that promise become real to me this day and throughout this trip.”  Directly after saying this prayer I noticed an illuminated cross on the skyline — it was the cross from the Cathedral of the Sacred Spirit in the heart of the city.  The cross reminded me that in the midst of my fear, cultural isolation, and feelings of inadequacy, God would be faithful and work all things for his glory – even when I was not able to see beyond the darkness, the rain, and the language barrier.

I spent my first few weeks in Xela with this knowledge and feeling of my utter dependence on God.  In the mornings, I regularly prayed for strength and wisdom before I set off for class.  In the afternoons, I prayed with a heart of thanksgiving for the beauty of the country, the people, and everything I was experiencing.  In the evenings, I prayed with joy for the faithfulness of God in my new situation.  Yet, as I grew more comfortable in the city and more confident in my budding Spanish abilities, my feelings of dependence on God began to fade.  And so did my prayers.

The shift from dependence to independence is a recurring theme in my life.  When times are difficult, it is easy for me to feel incapable and to feel the need to rest in the strength of God.  And when times are easy, I am tempted to think that I can make it on my own, and that I am capable of all things.

The shift from dependence to independence is also a recurring theme throughout the Bible.  A desire for independence is what causes Adam and Eve to disobey God’s commands and to sin against God.  Independence is the root of Peter’s fear when he is walking on the water looking towards Jesus.  Feelings of independence are what cause a group of people who need a savior to spit, mock, and crucify him.

However, a theme that is more powerful and more constant than my and humanity’s desire for independence is the holy love of God.  This love is stronger than my illusions and ill-directed desires.  And by God’s grace it constantly calls me, as it does the other characters in scripture, back into relationship with God in the midst of failure.  After Adam and Eve hid from God because of their sin, God went searching for them.  Each time the Israelites doubted, God proved his faithfulness.  After Peter began to sink, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. After a few weeks of now feeling like I can hold my own in a country with a foreign language and culture, God’s grace is calling me back.  It is a call that reminds me that even as God’s power is made perfect in our weaknesses, God’s grace is the source of all of our abilities and gifts.  Therefore, his power must also be the basis for our confidence, joy, and strength.

"Christ is Coming" - A sign that sits atop Monte Sinai overlooking the city