On The Shores of Lake Clearwater …
As I write this little blog I’m out on the dock of a friend’s cottage across from Ontario Pioneer Boys’ Camp with Girls’ Camp to north and Adventure camp to the south. The Boys Camp Band is doing an amazing job of leading a couple of hundred young men in worship as a part of their time of Bible study. I love the fact that I can clearly make out all the words and hear the passionate singing right across the lake. It’s stirring. It’s nostalgic. It evokes some very deep and raw emotions … the guys are singing, Mighty to Save: “Saviour, He can move the mountains, He is mighty to save, mighty to save!” And it’s echoing with power across the lake. Wow!
Yesterday I tweeted a few of my thoughts, as I enjoyed this cottage across from Pioneer. The response I got back spanned the decades from recent campers to those who haven’t really been a part of camp for decades. And their comments were every bit as emotional as I was feeling right here at the cottage.
Comments included, “Truly a magical place;” “Oh, I wish I were there;” “So jealous. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy;” “Man I miss that place;” “If I could get a cottage on that lake, I probably would!” My daughter Meagan reflected on writing her application for Med School at the Girls’ camp site, crediting the location with the writing of an application that got her in!
There’s an old Camp Song that we used to sing with passion, yes all three verses, that today occasionally they sing the first verse. I get it, the tune and words are a bit geeky for today’s sophisticated youth, but hey, it says a lot:
On the shores of Lake Clearwater
Stands the camp I love
Where in sparkling water glistens
Blue of skies above
Chorus:
Hail to thee, Camp Pioneer
Camp of camps the best
Where in fellowship united
Every heart is blessed
Far from burning heat of city
Here the woodland dreams
Darkling pines and silver birches
Shelter cooling streams
Chorus …
Hear the glories of the Northland
Praise the Lord of all
Here we too can learn to love Him
And obey His call
Chorus …
Geeky or not, the Pioneer Camp song captures the ethos of what’s been happening at Christian camps like Pioneer for the multiple decades of the Christian camping movement. For so many camp is or has been a place where deep life long friendships have been forged, where personal growth has catapulted forward and self worth has been bolstered. And most of all it’s been a place of spiritual encounter and life transformation, discovering that the God of all creation is irrationally in love with me, wants to walk with me personally and has a mission, a purpose beyond my wildest imagination for me to pursue.
For me it’s been camps like Pioneer and Mini-Yo-We in Muskoka where I have been a camper, served as staff member in my formative high school and college days, and later had the privilege to serve full time, being the Director of Mini-Yo-We for two years and the Administrative Director of Ontario Pioneer Camps for almost five years. For many in the Thunder Bay area where I now serve, it’s camps like Dorion, Round Lake and Manitoba Pioneer that evoke that same deeply raw and wonderful emotion.
I really like the Celtic concept of “thin places.” In the days of Patrick of Ireland and the Celtic spirituality that he spawned, the Celts had a deep appreciation for special places of spiritual encounter, where the line between this world and things of God are indeed very thin, an environment that invites us to experience spiritual transformation. Camps are truly “thin places.” So much so that I’m convinced that one week at camp can have a far deeper and more profound impact on a life than a couple of years in church – and hey I believe in church!!
As I wrap up writing this little blog, the boys are singing, “Oh happy day, happy day … I’ll never be the same, forever I am changed.” That’s my story. Because of my experiences at camps like Mini-Yo-We and Pioneer, my life took on a whole new trajectory and I was forever changed. My calling to and passion for full time ministry came from camp. Even how I approach ministry is profoundly shaped by camp.
Thank you Barb and Jim for letting me use your cottage, it’s truly been a “thin place” for me. And all of you on staff at and leading various Christian camps, know that as a part of my study time away form Thunder Bay, I’m praying for you and the great work you do!
The Bible: One Big Story
Since it came out in the fall of 2008, I’ve been passionately getting people to read Scott McKnight’s “Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read The Bible.” From my perspective it could be by far, one the best and easiest to digest books out there to help readers of the Bible truly make sense of the Bible as a whole and better help us navigate those sticky hard to figure out passages.
McKnight has helped me to better articulate that the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is one consistent story: It’s the story of God who is crazy in love with the people he created, and how he has made a way for us to be at one with Him, and at one with each other, at one with creation, even as God is at one with himself.
There really is an overriding story to the whole of the Bible. It’s all about a restored relationship we can have with God, restored relationships we can have with each other, and ultimately it’s about a resorted relationship we are to have with creation.
McKnight tells us that the Bible is a book with a beginning, that’s Genesis chapters 1 to 11, and a long, long middle, that’s Genesis 12 to Malachi 4 and then Matthew through Revelation, and there’s an end, that shows up in a few places, like Matthew 25, Romans 8 and Revelation 21 and 22. The climax is the death and resurrection of Jesus that makes this oneness, this restoration possible.
Within the Bible there are a bunch of smaller stories that each contribute to the overall story. Again, what unites them altogether is this story of oneness or restoration, where are all things are ultimately destined to be made right, that all of creation and all the people of this world who chose God’s offer of restoration, despite the hurt and mess you find, will ultimately be made right. The Bible calls us to look forward to the coming new heaven and new earth where our God… “will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4, TNIV)
So when you read the Bible, you start with an understanding that it’s a bunch of little stories that are all related, that are all part of the big story, the story that God is crazy in love with his creation including you and me, that he wants us to be at one with him, and each other. And when you read with that understanding, it really does begin to make sense, even some of those tough passages become easier to grasp or at least don’t need to be the red herrings we so often make them to be. It actually all fits as part of the big story.
And while we believe that the canon of the Bible is complete, God’s story continues. And you and I fit right into God’s Genesis to Revelation story. Our part of the story, our mission is to serve as agents of this restoration, this oneness project of God. We lead people to experience oneness with God and then through oneness with God, oneness with each other. Further in anticipation of the promised new heaven and new earth, we work towards that ultimate restoration even now, seeking even as Jesus taught us to pray, to see more and more of God’s kingdom come, God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven. Quite simply we work to make the invisible kingdom which is not far off, visible now.
It’s the greatest story ever, “For God so loved the world …” And you and I get to be a part of this story. We might not be part of the canon on Scripture, but we’re still very much a critical part of “his story”! God wants each of us to play our role, to take all of our talents, resources and gifts and leverage them in the power of His Spirit for the sake of His oneness project, seeing God’s kingdom come, God’s will done in individual lives and our world at large, in anticipation of the return of Jesus when it all will be made right.
Perhaps St. Guinness?
As we approach St. Patrick’s Day and celebrate the passionate Christ follower God used to lead so much of Ireland into the Christian faith, it got me pondering another interesting character in Irish history, Arthur Guinness. Both Patrick in the 400’s and Guinness in the 1700’s used beer within the context of Christian mission and ministry. Patrick employed a brewer in his household and often brought beer as a gift to village leaders he was seeking to evangelize. (And try not to read into that any motivation other than beer was truly an appreciated gift!)
I first got a hint about what an amazing individual Arthur Guinness is when the Doyle family in a vacation last spring checking out our ancestral heritage, toured the amazing Guinness Brewery in Dublin. But I never really knew the full Guinness story until Darryl Buckle, our new Pastor of Adult Ministries bought me a gift, a newly published book by USA Today columnist, Stephen Mansfield. It’s titled, “The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World?” It was written to celebrate the Guinness Company’s 250th anniversary.
Who would have thought that a book about an iconic Irish stout and the family that had made it famous would actually be a riveting and inspiring read, challenging us how to live and do business for the glory of God. While it might sound strange to some from more traditional evangelical settings, Arthur Guinness was motivated by his deep personal commitment to God to develop a product that would contribute to the good of society through a company devoted to the well being of its employees.
Here are some interesting thoughts that have come from reading Mansfield’s book:
• Arthur Guinness was deeply impacted by John Wesley’s preaching in Dublin. With Wesley he accepted the idea from Psalm 104 that alcohol in moderation was a gift from God “to gladden the heart”. However Wesley deplored the use of distilled beverages such as gin, brandy and whiskey because they led so quickly to the sin of drunkenness. Guinness came to see the brewing of beer as a way to promote the God honouring moderate use of alcohol, while leading people away from the “Gin Houses” that were such a blight in Irish and British society. Brewing beer was part of his mission to make a positive difference in Irish society.
• Guinness founded the first Sunday Schools in Ireland. He fought against dueling. And he chaired the board of a hospital for the poor. He had a huge Christ centred social conscience. As a Protestant he fought for the rights of the oppressed Roman Catholic majority in Ireland.
• The generations that followed Guinness produced not only some very God honouring businessmen, but some passionate pastors as well. In the 1890’s, Rupert Guinness, future head of the brewery, received five million pounds from his father on his wedding day. Shortly after, he moved into a house in the slums and launched a series of programs that served the poor.
• The Guinness brewery routinely paid wages that were 10 to 20 percent higher than average and had a reputation for being the best place to work in Ireland. Guinness paid for all of his employees’ ages 14 to 30 to attend technical schools if they wanted and more advanced school if they qualified. He provided medical and dental health care to the whole family, with doctors and nurses on site; subsidized meals; provided a company funded pension, sports facilities, free concerts … And the list of way over the top generous employee benefits goes on and on. Guinness believed, “You cannot make money from people unless you are wiling for people to make money from you.”
• And then in 2003, scientists at the University of Wisconsin reported that a pint a day of Guinness is good for the human heart, confirming that call to drink a little wine in 1 Timothy 5:23, is relevant today and can be extended to beer!
It’s only been in recent years that major evangelical denominational families like Christian & Missionary Alliance that Redwood Park is a part of, have been officially willing to go back to a balanced biblically grounded understanding regarding the consumption of alcohol. The latest edition of the Manual of the Christian & Missionary Alliance in Canada states:
“The Bible contains guidelines regarding the moderate use of alcohol and warnings regarding its misuse. The misuse of alcohol is damaging to individuals, families and society. The C&MA expects its credentialed workers to exercise their Christian freedom responsibly within the framework of God’s Word.”
Guinness, Wesley and St. Patrick would all have approved.
But what’s most fascinating about the life and legacy of Arthur Guinness is not the novelty of seeing beer as a tool in Christian mission, as much as it’s simply to see how a Christian businessman worked out his faith so holistically through his business. We truly need to see God raise up a few more Arthur Guinness’ in the world!! Oh and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
About
Doug Doyle is the lead pastor of Redwood Park Church, a multi-site missional community that is passionate to see the message and life of Jesus impact Thunder Bay, Barrie and beyond to Northwestern Ontario, Canada and the world. LIFE, PASSION and ADVENTURE are three words that Redwood uses to describe the nature of Christian spirituality.
Doug is married to Jane, who possesses an amazing gift of hospitality and the ability to cook for hundreds! They have three young-adult children: Meagan, Susan and Graeme – all who in their distinct ways have a yearning to be difference makers in this world. Additionally there’s Sabu a black lab, who has the family very well trained. Within the Doyle home you’ll also find a few boarders from local postsecondary schools or Redwoods’ apprenticeship or internship programs hanging around adding to the action.
Meal times at the Doyle household tend to be a bit of a party, but you might want to ask what it is you’re eating – as sometimes Doug enjoys a hike with a good friend and a gun in the beauty of the Northwestern Ontario bush, or maybe a paddle in a remote lake with rod in hand.
