What does it mean to be a Christian?- Camp Report

A BRIEF REPORT ON THE NORTH DELHI ICEU REVIVAL CAMP,
HELD FROM 31ST OCT – 2ND NOV 2009
AT ST. MARY’S SCHOOL, SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE, NEW DELHI UNDER THE THEME “WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CHRISTIAN?”
31st October 2009 Saturday

Report prepared by: Ungshungmi

Campers started arriving at the camp site by around 5pm, from different regions around Delhi: particularly from North Delhi and South Delhi. Wearied from the journey of more than an hour’s travel, the campers were exhausted. Yet, their spirits lifted when they got to know each other better, and everyone got ready for a more hectic schedule and looked forward to being a part of the camp and participate it to the full.

26 campers reported for the camp on the first day: some undergraduates, some post graduates, and 3 EGF members. Altogether, 35 members attended the camp; including some who visited now and then to attend the sessions. There were 4 EGFs and 1 staff members to guide and teach the campers.

Having heard a word of introduction from the camp coordinator, the camp commenced with a word of prayer and invocation from Samuel (Associate Staff). An interesting icebreaker followed where campers took turns to introduce each other. Having familiarized with one another, the campers were in a mood to move ahead and explore the beauty that lies ahead of them.

The first session of the camp was taken up by John Samuel. He made an exegesis of the theme and pointed out the problem with the Christians today, who, having rejected the Father, wanted to live a life of independence. He made known the fact that getting independence from the Father is not real independence; rather it leads to slavery for the very reason that we misuse our independence. He made everyone reflect on the fact that “we are free to do whatever we want at our Father’s house, and that’s our real independence.” Moreover, he made note of those who are lost at the moment and addressed the crowd to reflect and finally reconcile with the Father, letting them understand and realize that God desires to have an intimate relationship with each one of us, and it depends on our part to make that right choice in our lives.

Dinner followed with an introduction of Quiet Time (QT) from Dr. Kevi (EGF), who explained the need of QT in each one of our lives, and how as a Christian it is essential to have QT in our daily routine to stay connected with God and build a closer and intimate relationship with Him. He taught the need to remain in God’s grace daily and the need to meditate upon His word every moment of our lives.

The crowd retired for the night exhausted yet still hungry to hear more of the Word of God that is in store.

1st Nov, 2009 Sunday:
The morning session started with a Quiet Time led by Dr. Kevi from the passage Ephesians 2:1-10. The campers shared their thoughts on what they learned from the passage and how they would personally apply the Word of God in their lives.

Breakfast was followed by the first session of the day. CB Samuel spoke on what it means to be a Christian, and where we derive our identity from. He made it clear that we don’t become a Christian by being born into a Christian family and on how we often tend to “define” Christians by certain things and activities that we do or don’t. He explained further that our identity is a spiritual identity and is not defined by the things we do. That we derive our identity from what we believe and how we behave, and to whom we give our loyalty to. He explained how a Christian life begins and what privilege we gain:
1. We are chosen by God.
2. We are adopted into God’s family.
3. We enjoy God’s redemption
4. He makes known to us the mystery
5. We receive the Holy Spirit
6. We were raised up from the dead
7. We are incorporated into the family of God.

During the two sessions that followed, Akshay Rajkumar taught on what it takes to be an authentic Christian. He made the crowd reflect with thought provoking questions, telling them how often we Christians ask only limited things to God, thinking God was not interested in doing great things for us. He also addressed the problem of the Church by pointing out the subtle ways by which the Church makes our faith dormant through various activities that doesn’t help the spiritual growth of a person. He makes it clear that the Church is not institutional but relational.
He taught that it takes three things to be an authentic Christian: that an authentic Christian life is a life of
i. Scripture
ii. Prayer
iii. Community
- and how it is not possible to please God without being an authentic Christian.

He addressed on the problem of how Christians get carried away by temptations and how Christians don’t usually reflect on what they hear or believe in but simply leap into them without really understanding what they hear. He made a hilarious yet serious comment on how Christians are the only group of people who claim that every word of the Bible is true without having to read it.

After attending three pensive sessions, the campers were ready to lighten off their thoughts by having rounds of laughter during the games session. It was beautiful to behold them laughing and cheering as they participated in different games.

Later during the day, another session followed. This time Matthew Varghese spoke on what God’s greater purpose is – and how each one of us can become a transforming agent in fulfilling that greater purpose. He taught us how we are often self centered and fail to understand the greater purpose of creation. He made it a point that everyone understands that the greater purpose of God and His mission is to bring back all things to Himself and be reconciled to Him. On the lighter side, he said that people may be “imaging” God at different levels – and that our task is to reconcile them to God so that their real image may be restored. He, therefore, said that, our task is to (i) first have a purpose, (ii) understand God’s purpose for each individual, (iii) and then to know what God’s greater purpose for the universe is, and how our aim and purpose helps in fulfilling God’s purpose and mission.

Dinner was followed by an interesting session of Questions & Answers where the EGF members cleared the doubts of many thought provoking questions by applying the Word of God to them. From this session, it was visible that the campers had a different view of the world and that their spiritual maturity was not child-like; not just hearing the Word of God, but also by reflecting upon it and applying it into their lives.

The extended discussions in the boys dormitory was indeed exhilarating! We discussed and shared a range of important and exciting discussions; from about the Bible to dreams and jokes etc. However, the time came for the lights to go off, no matter how exciting the discussion was.

2nd Nov, 2009 Monday:
The third and final day of the camp.

The morning session started with a Quiet Time led by Samuel (Associate Staff). The passage for the QT was Hebrews 12:1-11. It talks about how God disciplines His sons (children), and how we are called to endure hardships in life.

In the first session of the day, CB Samuel made an exegesis of the theme and began with a short narrative on who Jesus is, and what He is to each one of us. He taught that
i. Christianity is not about knowledge but obedience.
ii. At the end of the day, it is not how much you read the Word of God, but how much you reflected on it.

He also made a mention of how people read the Bible for their convenience and calls that kind of reading as “reading Bible with bifocal lens”. He spoke on the purpose of the Bible that the Scripture was given for obedience and that Christianity is about gratitude to God, and not about rules and regulations (laws). He spoke on how we are asked to (i) hear the Gospel, (ii) learn the Gospel, (iii) understand the Gospel, (iv) receive Christ, and (v) continue to live in Christ.
He made it clear that, as Christians we must
i. Offer our bodies as living sacrifice to God
ii. Renew our mind by being transformed in the Holy Spirit.
The next session followed with the continuation that, as Christians we must
iii. Have the right attitude and judgment (opinion) about ourselves and not to exaggerate anything, quoting it from Romans 12:3.

He said that we must realize that we are just sinners saved by the grace of God, and therefore, we have nothing to boast about ourselves. That each one of us must be happy with our unique callings and not to boast around with the talents that have been given us through the grace of God.

He concluded with a very strong message to love one another, to love those people who do bad to us and to learn to love them genuinely and sincerely. Pretentious love is no love at all and therefore, we are asked to overcome evil by doing good. We are asked not to retaliate with the same weapon that the enemy uses against us; however, our task is to win them with the goodness of God, and that love is our weapon of transformation. He left it to us to think that a Christian life is visible, and that there are no invisible Christians.

In the short yet delightful last session of the camp, Samuel Suantak re-emphasized on the fact that the three things that make a Christian authentic are that a Christian life is a life of Prayer, Bible and Community. He also re-emphasized on the fact that the greater purpose and mission of God is to bring back everything and reconcile everything to Himself – and that all of God’s creation is awaiting redemption from evil. He concluded with words of encouragement, and to understand and apply the Word of God in our everyday activities, that someday we may become perfect and mature in God.

The camp concluded with a word of prayer from Jeremiah Duomai (UESI Delhi Staff Worker).

Camp co-coordinators: Ungshungmi Rungsung & Anna Jacob (Sneha)