(In front of the selection panel on our ICE CREAM TRUCK!)
Jesus called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. -Jesus (Matthew 18:2ff)
"This is the most fun I have had since I was 5 or 7!" These were the words spoken by a high school student last week at a summer camp. What's the big deal? He was serious.
It appears that scholars (Elkind, Clark, Hirsch, and others) are right. The world in which we live is squeezing the life out of our students. Much of what they do is judged, critiqued and then shipped back to them for improvement. Everything (their words not mine) is a competition. Last week, at a magical place called Pine Springs Summer Camp, we stopped the competition, critique and shipping and replaced them with play, creativity and worship.
The result?
Our students (and adults) discovered or rediscovered what it looks like to have a child like faith in Jesus. It was awesome and life changing!
Why spend a week exploring child like faith? Read these words from Robert Capon:
We are in a war between dullness and astonishment. The most critical issue facing Christianity is not abortion, pornography, the disintegration of the family, moral absolutes, MTV, Drugs, racism, sexuality, or school prayer. The critical issue today is dullness. We have lost our astonishment. The Good News is no longer good news, it is okay news. Christianity is no longer life changing, it is life enhancing. Jesus doesn’t change people into wild-eyed radicals anymore, He changes them into “nice people.” (Episcopal priest Robert Capon used by Yaconelli in Dangerous Wonder)
This past week, dullness was attacked and wonder pursued and nice people challenged to be radicals for the Kingdom of God!
It was a Seriously Playful Week of Camp
Check out all the fun!
