On Going to Camp

I will be on staff at Pioneer's L.I.T. program this summer. Please dig the the ideas behind L.I.T.:

a)"To promote the personal growth and leadership development of Christian teens."

b)"To train young people to serve as Christian leaders in Pioneer's camping programs and their broader home, school, and church communities. "

-also-

"Community is a vital component of the program, and L.I.T.s spend a great deal of the time in various groups. Activity groups, small groups, and room groups are all facilitated by carefully selected staff who model the servant lifestyle that L.I.T.s will seek to emulate. Through all of this community interaction, relationships are built which flourish into amazing and lasting friendships."

Looking foward...

-C.D. Clements.

On the Probable Case

Here is a theory: People who attest to make decisions based on facts are probably,* not actually making decisions/actions based solely on facts.

1. Everybody has emotions and reasoning capabilities.
2. Emotions affect decisions/actions, on a ‘below the surface’ sort of level.
3. This is part of being a whole person.

It can be an interesting puzzle trying to discern the ‘underlying issues’ which are affecting the facts of a decision/behavior.

*Note: ‘Probably’ excludes things like buying the less expensive chicken to save money. This is an example where there is not a significant emotive component to behavior.

On Two Pictures with Captions

This is my Hebrew (biblical language) class. We were all ‘in it together’ which made for a unique sort of classroom community bond.

Myself and Storm on the Play Fort. A swing jumping competition ensued.

-C.D. Clements

On the End of the World

I went to see N.T. Wright at U. of T. He suggests there will be no rapture (as understood traditionally ) , and that the age to come will be a union of the heaven and the ‘new’ earth, where we will exist in ‘spiritual’ bodies.

He said many more things, but I was thinking about this one particularly. There is a prevailing theology (which is a sort of Gnosticism) whereby Christians get to flee the world as it self-destructs. But consider the following:

1. The New Jerusalem is going to be ‘let down’ from heaven. Who is going to live in it?
2. Why is God has God established his kingdom on earth if at the return of Christ (an the fulfillment of all things) there is not going to be any one to be in the kingdom?
3. The crated order is ‘groaning’ in anticipation of the right ordering of the cosmos. (Romans 8) The creation is groaning for man to rule and serve it the way God intended. (N.T. Wright)
4. The Bible asserts a new heaven and a new earth.
5. Inheritance as sons (and daughters) of God. This inheritance is also ‘the nations.’

This means that Christians are to anticipate a renewed (or new) earth in their actions, and avoid (among other things) attempts to preserve God’s kingdom by dropping bombs on evil.

-C.D. Clements