Why Camp?

I have to confess. I have never been a big fan of summer camp. I have been to many camps, multiple times throughout the years, as a camper and in leadership roles. The thing that I have witnessed and experienced over and over is the temporary excitement that is generated by the "camp" experience. The thing that always bothered me was the fact that it was... temporary. I have always been frustrated by spiritual breakthroughs and Godly motivation that quickly faded back into the mundane of daily life.
I always thought that if an experience was from God, it should be life changing and it should last. I used to think that maybe we were just subjecting ourselves to an emotional roller coaster generated by some cleverly guided, peer pressure induced, go-along-with-the-herd experience. I always feared that there was no substance to what we were doing at camp. How could it be if it faded away within days?

I have had to reconsider this position. Here are my new thoughts on the matter: 

(1) Nothing in this life lasts, no matter how spiritual. This is not news. We all know nothing lasts. Your nice new car that is so fun to drive will soon become an old grocery-getter that is just a means to get you back and forth to work. That chocolate chip cookie that melts in your mouth, within seconds the taste has faded. The only way to relive the experience is to have another. And another. Buyers remorse is such a common feeling because the emotions that draw us into a purchase are gone by the time we get that must-have item home. But somehow I expected spiritual experiences to be different. I expected a touch from God should instantly and forever change someone.

     This is not what we see even among the most notable people from the Bible. In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul reminds us of Moses and how he wore a veil to keep the Israelites from seeing that the radiance was fading from his face. After Moses spent time in God's presence his face glowed! I don't know if his face actually glowed like a light bulb or if he just was so excited that he wore one huge bright-eyed grin that just stood out from everyone else. (My guess is the former) Either way, the problem he seemed to face was that when he was out of God's presence and back among the griping, complaining people that he was leading, the glow faded. As he became reconnected to the mundane of his everyday life, the joy and glow waned until he could return to be filled back up with the presence of God. Then the light bulb would be turned back on. Because of this Moses wore a veil over his face so that the people he was leading would not see the glow fading from his countenance. Even Moses' joy after his one-on-one encounters did not last.
     Really I am coming to believe that above all, spiritual feelings should fade. Just as to relive that fresh-out-of-the-oven cookie experience, we have to go back for more, how much more should we draw back in to God for another touch from his hand. We want the students to be touched by God at camp. We want to touch their hearts and minds in a way that leaves them craving God and his Holy Spirit. We want the feelings to fade and then we want to show them how to pursue God for themselves. We want them to realize that they can experience God anytime and anywhere through a personal relationship with him. And just like the cookies we want to leave them with a hunger that keeps them coming back for more. The bottom line is that we want to give them a taste of something that leaves them hungering for more and then we want to show them the way to the buffet. If the great feelings of the first encounter lasted then we would not keep pursuing God for another taste of his presence.

(2) Camp for youth is similar to fasting for believers. One spiritual discipline that seems to be a great tool when a breakthrough is needed is fasting. I have seen, heard and experienced the power of fasting to bring about spiritual breakthroughs. Part of fasting is deliberately getting out of your routine in order to focus on God. Our everyday routine becomes a rut that our minds get stuck in. We are creatures of habit and if something is working we stick to it. A deviation from our routine causes us to snap out of our normal pattern of thinking and engage our minds and hearts to the new. Just as fasting gets your attention and helps you focus on God, camp causes our students to engage. Out of their everyday routine, the students cannot rely on mom and dad to think for them or to make their decisions for them. This dose of independence causes them to wake up and to pay attention. While they are shaken out or their rut and their brain is turned on camp directs them toward God and allows them the chance to experience God for themselves.

(3) Camp leaves a lasting impact. Even if it can't be seen on the surface on a daily basis, things experienced at camp are not quickly forgotten. These spiritual experiences show our students what is out there. It gives them a taste. If camp is a week of commitment and focus and they experience Jesus in a real way, they will always wonder what could be if they lived a life of commitment and focus. To give them a taste that will utterly ruin them is what I am all about. I want our students to know God. I want them to experience him in a way that makes every other thing in their lives pale in comparison. I want our students to always think back to the experiences they had and the truths they learned at church and during camp and feel that there is something more. Something more, some bit of the greatness of God that they can see, feel, taste and touch if they just reach out for it. To go back to what I said at the beginning, "I always felt that if an experience was from God, it should be life changing and it should last." This is where it lasts- not on the surface in their everyday experience but under the surface in the student's mind and heart- deep calling out to deep, calling them back to the presence of God.