We're All in This Together (1 Corinthians 1:4-17)

One night in 2005, I got a call from a parent whose teenage son had, once or twice, come to youth group at the church I was at. He and his family were not active in the church, although a few weeks earlier he had helped out at our Vacation Bible School.

His mom told me that, currently, her son wasn’t safe at home. Then she asked if he could come stay with us for awhile.

Well, sure, I said. We had had teenagers stay with us before; in fact, 3 years earlier, we had an exchange student from Brazil spend an entire school year with us.

I did let her know that there was one catch, one condition, on him staying with us. I explained it to her, and she was fine with it. He arrived within the hour.

I then explained to this teenager what I had told his mom. I told him that we were going on a trip, and, since he was now living with us, he was going on the trip with us. “So don’t unpack your bags,” I said. “We’re going to Portland, Oregon.”

The reason for this trip was the 2005 General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It took us all day to drive there, a long day. Imagine what must have been going through his head: trouble at home, being dropped off at our house, and then finding himself on a 500 mile car ride.

None of this was in his plans; none of it was anticipated or expected just a few hours before. Having not been active in our church, he knew absolutely nothing about what to expect in Portland, or what he’d be doing. In an instant, his whole life had changed, and he basically had no idea what was going on. And, to tell you the truth, as far as he was concerned, neither did we.

We arrived in Portland and checked into our hotel. That evening there was an opening worship service and some aftersessions, receptions in various rooms of the convention center, sponsored by different regions. I dragged this teenager along with me to two of the aftersessions, crowded rooms full of people he didn’t know.

Then I told him that the youth activities would be starting soon, and we made our way to them. The youth activities were headquartered in a huge ballroom of the convention center, and when we walked in, there were hundreds and hundreds of teenagers from all over North America, all running around, giving hugs to friends they hadn’t seen in a long time, and acting crazy in the way that teenagers often act.

We walked in, and I could tell that he wasn’t sure about this.

I found a couple of kids that I knew because I had counseled them at church camp. Most of them were members of regional youth leadership teams. I introduced “my” teenager to them, and I gave them a job, an assignment. I told them that they needed to take him and introduce him to people, since he didn’t know a single person, and was no doubt feeling overwhelmed. As they led him away, he didn’t say anything, but he gave me a look that said, “thanks a lot.”

But I knew what I was doing. And I knew those kids who led him away. I had gotten to know them at camp. They were a diverse group of kids, coming from all walks of life, but at camp, they had figured out how to develop and live in a Christian community that is guided by the love of Christ. Whereas many young people will exclude those who are different, hold grudges, gossip and talk behind one another’s backs, these kids had learned to embrace everyone who was a part of their community, and they had learned to keep that community open to any who wished to be a part of it. I had seen in them a maturity that was absent even in many adults, and I knew that who they were had been shaped by life in the church, and especially by time spent at church camp.

I went off to another aftersession in another part of the convention center, but it wasn’t long before I decided to check back in at the youth room and see how things were going. When I returned, I walked in, and of course kids were running around all over the place. At first it appeared to be disorganized chaos, but I quickly realized that it was actually some sort of game/activity that was going on.

I looked around the room for the teenager I had abandoned here just a short while ago. As my eyes scanned around that cavernous hall, I paid particular attention to the walls, those spots in the shadows, away from the action and excitement, where I thought he might be lurking. Suddenly, my view was blocked by a string of teenagers running past right in front of me, all in a line holding hands, laughing.

He was there, in the middle of the line, blending in with all the others so that I almost missed him. As he ran past me, I noticed that there was a huge smile on his face. He said to me, “Hey, Danny! It’s okay. You don’t have to worry about me anymore—I’m fine!” And off he went, disappearing back into the crowd as quickly as he had appeared.

Suddenly, the awareness of God’s spirit almost overwhelmed me. That a group of teenagers could welcome him, this outsider, and so completely include him in their group in such a short amount of time was nothing less than a miracle. In school, how long does it take for the “new kid” to truly fit in? Days? Weeks? Months?

Here, it had taken place in less than an hour; and it was just what he needed.

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At the 2009 General Assembly in Indianapolis, organizers hope to attract 2,009 youth. I hope they succeed, because the rest of the church can sure learn a lot by witnessing the Spirit at work among young people.

Can you see why it is so important for me to spend a week of my summer on staff at one of our church camps? The Spirit works in many mysterious and marvelous ways at camp and at events like General Assembly.

That doesn’t mean that conflicts never come up. When you live with a group of people 24 hours a day for a week, people are bound to get on each other’s nerves. There are bound to be words that offend and actions that provoke. And yet, there is, at the same time, a deep recognition that no matter how different we are, no matter how annoying someone may be, we are all part of one community—a community centered on Christ and Christ’s love. And so, forgiveness comes quickly. Reconciliation is achieved. Life in the family of God continues.

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Now, no time at camp is complete without crafts. One of my favorite crafts is the dreamcatcher. I like it because it is so simple. The materials needed are so basic. And yet, it is so beautiful when completed.

You start with a hoop. Sometimes metal hoops will be provided, or thick wire that can be bent around into a circle … but what I like to do is to go out among the trees and find a stick that is the right size, one that is flexible enough to bend all the way around in a circle. Willow branches work especially well, but almost any kind of twig will do, especially if it has been soaked in water first to make it even more flexible. The circle won’t be perfect; certain parts of the stick are more flexible than others, bend more easily, and so the circle won’t be perfectly round. To me, that just adds to its beauty.

Where the ends of the stick meet, they need to overlap a bit. Then you take some leather string or some yarn, and begin wrapping it around. This holds the ends of the stick together, so that it maintains its circle shape. (You’ve gotta wrap it tightly.) You keep wrapping and wrapping, moving past the meeting point of the two ends. You go a quarter of the way, halfway around the circle, and you keep going. You keep going until you get back to where you started.

Then you tie it off, and cut the string, but you leave a length of string hanging there. You might want to attach a bead or tie a feather on to it later.

Now, you’re ready to make the web. For this you need a thin but strong string, like embroidery floss or waxed nylon string. You tie it to a spot on the ring, then you go around the ring, making a series of knots to keep it in place….

Once you’ve made it all the way around the ring, you continue around again, this time tying it to the string itself, rather than the outer ring….

After going around a few times, you can add in a bead, to represent the spider in the web…
Eventually, you tie it off. You may add feathers to it, then hang it up to display.

Sometimes, when you’re all done, you’ll look at the dreamcatcher, and notice a knot that isn’t quite right. It’s not centered where it’s supposed to be, or it’s twisted around awkwardly, or it makes the whole dreamcatcher look uneven.

The more you look at that one knot, the more it starts to annoy you. Eventually, that knot becomes downright offensive to you. You find yourself really wanting to cut that knot out, because, in your eyes, it ruins what is otherwise a perfectly beautiful work of art.

But if you cut out that one knot, what happens? The whole dreamcatcher falls apart.

That knot was important. It was essential. It was part of the whole.

Each individual in Christ’s church—every single person—is like a knot on the dreamcatcher. Some knots may be twisted around awkwardly. Some may be annoying, or even offensive. But each one is essential.

It is a lesson that I am reminded of every time I spend a week at church camp, that though we are different, we are all knit together. We are all part of the same web. Whatever we do to any part of the web, we do to ourselves. If we try to cut out part of the web, we suffer. If we quarrel among ourselves, if we hold grudges or try to exclude anyone from fellowship, the gospel to which we bear witness loses its power.

But if we welcome one another; if we support one another, bear with one another; if we are quick to let go of anger and offer forgiveness; if we recognize that we are all part of the church, together—then we will be strong, and the gospel will shine brightly in our midst.