*culture is not optional

^camping provides practical community experience

by Grant Elgersma

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Corinthians 5:1-5)

^camping is not optional could be considered the first official *cino function. It was there in the beginning, and it still stands like an especially sturdy tent grounded in solid soil and pitched in such a way that rainwater is directed away from it and down the hill so that the occupants don't wake up soaking wet in the middle of the night. Okay, I get carried away with metaphors; but the tent really does serve as an image for the way God dwells among His people.

One way of thinking about the incarnation of Jesus Christ is as God coming to dwell in a tent of flimsy flesh only to peel away that skin as a resurrected body. Now, as God's own body, the community of believers build upon Christ, the foundation of a much more stable building. And since we are busy being (or trying to be) that secure structure where God dwells, we sometimes forget to examine ourselves in order to see the frailty of our own tent. We also forget to go camping.

The first ^camping is not optional event, which took place at Ohiopyle State Park in southwestern Pennsylvania two years ago, was definitely a meeting of people who had forgotten how to camp. Some of us had never even done it before! But camping seemed a good way to bring people together who hadn't seen each other in awhile—as well as some who had never met before. Since gatherings like this usually only happen at weddings or funerals, we thought camping would make for a great (and more informal) substitute.

Despite the brevity of the time together, those who did not know each other had common goals, which proved to be a very strong linking point. Though the website itself was not a major topic of conversation around the campfire, it became a topic of importance as everyone went their separate ways. With so many like-minded people living so far away, it became necessary to establish something that could keep people connected like this, something like *culture is not optional.

Now that the cino website has become more than just an abstract notion, the original ^camping is not optional participants have not forgotten the importance of getting together at least once a year to endure, perhaps even enjoy, the elements. In fact, ^camping is not optional plays a large role in meeting cino's goal of uniting the community of believers.

As a mode of cino, ^camping is not optional aims to reinforce and build personal relationships through a temporary experience of practical community and to provide a common meeting place for people on diverse paths. cino is committed to making ^camping is not optional an annual event sponsored in various parts of the country, allowing *cino participants to meet face to face. Camping together provides opportunities for leisurely discussion, collaborative meals, structured and unstructured sharing of personal journeys, and enjoyment of creation.

While *cino's online opportunities feed some of our hunger for community, there is also a need for personal interaction. ^camping is not optional gives people the opportunity to develop relationships with one another and come back year after year to renew old friendships and meet new people who have a similar vision for living out faith. Participants come together pretty quickly when they're forced to eat together and sleep in close proximity in a sometimes unpredictable natural environment. ^camping is not optional demonstrates, in a very physical way, our interconnectedness and our desire to share with one another.

^camping is not optional also gives participants an opportunity to bring a tangible representation of their work or journey over the past year for an informal gallery and to share what their successes and struggles have been. This is the time for people to show and tell, to boast in the Lord, rejoicing in what God has done for His people. ^camping is not optional is the time for seeing what return our fellow believers have received for their investment in God's Kingdom as well as the place to enjoy God's Spirit in the flesh. Even if it comes in the form of some fellow-believer's smelly feet pointed directly at your nose from the other side of the tent.

If you'd like more information about the next ^camping is not optional, please contact us.