From “My dad’s the boss of you” to “I don’t want anyone to know you’re my dad”
Mitch back in the "my dad's the boss of you" days Funny thing happened when we brought our son Mitch to camp this past Sunday. He and his buddy Gabe (whose mom also works at SpringHill) told us not to visit their cabin because they didn’t want anyone to know who their parents were.
What’s so funny about this request? Well it’s a long way from Mitch’s first years as a camper when he’d be sure to tell his counselors early in the week that “my Dad’s the boss of you” even though we told him numerous times never to say such things.
Growing up with a dad whose work includes being a public figure has its ups and downs. Think of people you know who grew up as politicians’ kids or the famous “PK’s – preacher’s kids” and how their parent’s notoriety impacted their childhood. It can be a tremendous blessing but also be a painful experience.
My job, in some ways, is a combination of a politician’s and a preacher’s. So Denise and I have worked hard to make sure our kids didn’t carry around unrealistic or burdensome expectations because of their dad’s work. We wanted our kids to have the blessing of a dad who works at a camp without all the extra baggage that could come along with it.
And based on Mitch’s desire for what he wants his camp experience to be like we’ve accomplished our goal.
So if you see Mitch in the next two weeks act as if you don’t know who his parents are, let him have his first SpringHill Experience that doesn’t include being the President’s son.
Onward – How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul
If you’re a coffee aficionado, student of leadership or intrigued by the workings of large corporations then I recommend the book Onward by Howard Schultz the Chairman, President and CEO of Starbucks.My interest falls primarily into the first two categories – coffee and leadership – though I’m not a true aficionado I do enjoy a good cup of coffee. But the second category – leadership – is what put the book on top of my summer reading list.
In particular I wanted to understand how Schultz led Starbucks through difficult economic times and organizational change while maintaining and even strengthened their values, culture and brand.
Because Schultz is an articulate and passionate leader the book turned out to be practical. It’s full of quotable statements about business, leadership and of course coffee, making it a great case study and enjoyable read.
In reality Starbucks represents a number of the qualities we envision for SpringHill including having passionate & loyal fans, strong organizational culture built on their values and industry changing innovation that makes a difference in the world.
So reading a firsthand account of Starbuck’s transformation provided some helpful lessons for both SpringHill and my leadership as we continue to reach more kids, more effectively for Christ in a changing world.
By the end of the book I filled four pages with concepts I could adapt to my leadership as well as ideas that we can possibly try at SpringHill – a number of which I’ve already applied to myself and introduced to the organization.
There’s one other change I made as a result of reading Onward – inspired I found our old French press at the back of our cupboard and now use it to brew my morning coffee.
There’s Just No Solo Climbing in This Life
This summer one of our Day Camp teams faced the challenge of assuring a young camper with Cerebral Palsy could participate in all the activities (a goal we have for all our campers).The biggest of these activity challenges turned out to be our climbing wall.
You see because of this camper’s condition he had no use of his legs and little strength in his arms, both of which are essential to successfully scaling a wall.
Our staff knew the situation demanded a creative solution if this camper would have the thrill of climbing the wall and ringing the bell at the top.
The team didn’t dismiss the problem with an “it just can’t be done” or “we guess God didn’t intend this camper to have this experience” kind of response. No, our team stayed with it until they found a way – a way which turns out, in hindsight, to being an obvious solution to the problem.
So they put harnesses on the camper and two of our staff, one staff member on the left side of the camper and one on his right. Then as the camper placed his hands on the rock holds our staff carried him up to the top.
When the bell rang out for everyone to hear our team knew a couple of special things just happened. First this camper experienced the thrill and satisfaction of reaching the top of the wall and ringing the bell. Second, everyone learned an important lesson – that we all need help from God and others if we’re to succeed in the life God’s given us.
The truth is there’s just no solo climbing in this life if we’re to reach the place God’s created for us and become the people He’s created us to be.
Reflection and Never Running with Scissors
As a child my mom would tell us kids not to run with scissors because it’s risky running around with something that sharp in your hands. You might fall and land on those scissors and hurt yourself.That’s how I feel when I’ve left no time in my life for reflection. It’s as though I’m running through life with scissors.
You see reflection’s the ability to think, review, pray and process specific situations and events occurring in our lives and in the world. Because of the way God’s create me, I need reflective time to respond appropriately, that is to be able to say right words and take the necessary action, in any given situation.
Reflection requires time, even if it’s just a few minutes a day, to create the space needed to reflect. We create space though solitude, mental and if possible physical solitude. Solitude then allows for a break from external distractions and encourages us to focus on Christ as we reflect on our life.
Finally, after creating the right space, reflection requires an understanding of ourselves, the world we live in, the people we relate to and the God who’s created it all. This understanding’s the context in which reflection does its work.
But when it’s busy, as it has been for me over the past three months, I find it extremely challenging to create the quality space needed for reflection. So here’s what I do when life’s causing me to run with scissors.
I pray for God’s protection so I won’t fall and land on those scissors and then, at almost any cost, I stop running. I remind myself that reflection’s as essential to my life as eating and breathing. Then I make the time and create the space so I can reflect on my life running with scissors and how not to let it happen again.
Summer Staff – Giving on Top of Giving
Can you imagine a person who’s willing to work almost all their waking hours 6 out of every 7 days for less than a couple hundred dollars a week plus room and board? Now take it another step and picture 700 people making this kind of commitment.Go one final step and imagine that these 700 individuals believe so much in their work that they’ll give some of their pay back so that others can benefit from the jobs they do.
If you’ve created this mental picture then what you’re looking at is the SpringHill summer staff team.
Our summer staff, like camp staff all over the world, work incredibly hard for very little money. But what makes our team unique is this – they’ve also given over $14,000 out of their paychecks so that kids from economically challenged situations can attend SpringHill.
Think about it, people who are going to college, starting careers and working for very little keep giving on top of giving by contributing over $14,000 to further help those they’ve already committed to serving.
So what’s the secret to having a team that’ll keep giving on top of giving? It’s a simple combination.
First it starts with great people (and our summer staff are great people).
Second it requires an organization that’s mission and values aligns with and inspires its staff.
Finally leadership’s needed that creates a vision of the impact giving can make in the life of another person.
Combine these three factors and you have a team, like our summer staff team, who’ll keep giving on top of giving resulting in transformed lives – both the campers and their own.
By the way if you’d like to join our staff in helping kids attend SpringHill click here. Thanks!
What’s Required to Live a Life that Matters?
Over the course of my life the one fear I’ve consistently carried has been that somehow, at the end of it all, I’ll have lived a life that didn’t matter, that didn’t make a difference in others and in our world. So I’ve continually ask myself “what must I do to live such a life?”Now I’ll admit there’s no single answer or silver bullet, but instead many factors working in concert with that allows one’s life to matter.
Yet I’ve become convinced that there are two inseparable qualities, a glue that holds all other factors together, that we must possess if we’re to live such a life.
The first’s a singular focus on purpose, a vision of what difference we can make. Singular focus combines our giftedness with opportunity bringing them into laser focus in a way that matters. This singular focus is on others, on a cause, on something bigger than our selves. The apostle Paul says in Acts 20:24 “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me…” That’s singular focus.
The second quality’s a lot less appealing than singular focus but without it our focus blurs. It’s simple tenacity. It’s the ability to commit to a destination then set a course towards it and doggedly follow that course, making corrections as necessary, but to follow it to the very end.
My dad always told me anything worthwhile (singular focus) comes at a price and the price I’ve learned is tenacity, the dogged pursuit of a singular focus no matter the cost.
Any life that matters, that makes a difference, has these two inseparable qualities – the glue that binds everything else together – singular focus and tenacity both of which I pray are in abundance in my life.
Thank You Bill and JoAnn Dinsmore
Today was Bill Dinsmore’s last day with SpringHill. Bill’s been VP of our Indiana overnight camp for the past 6 ½ years and has answered the call to become the Executive Pastor at College Park Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.I, and the whole SpringHill community, will miss Bill and his wife JoAnn being a part of our staff team. During Bill’s tenure there’s been significant growth in the ministry of our Indiana overnight camp. Bill’s lead initiatives that focused on the quality of the experiences we provide campers and their parents, improved the camp property in significant ways and built key partnerships with supporters and other organizations. Each of these initiatives has not only improved our Indiana overnight camp they’ve had a positive impact throughout the rest of SpringHill.
But what I’ll miss most will be working with Bill in an effort to reach more kids more effectively with the SpringHill Experience. Part of the joy I have in my job’s the opportunity to work side by side with quality people like Bill and JoAnn to make a difference in kids’ lives.
When one of those friends, such as Bill, leaves SpringHill it’s like a family member moving out of the house. It’s both a sad day and a day of expectation. The expectation comes because we trust in God’s sovereignty and in doing so we look forward with anticipation to the days ahead as we witness what God will do in and through Bill and JoAnn and what He’ll do in and through SpringHill.
So thank you Bill and Jo Ann for your faithful service to SpringHill on behalf of kids and Christ. May God continue to increase your fruitfulness for His Kingdom in the days ahead.
Be Prepared!
As a Boy Scout the motto Be Prepare was drilled into my psyche. It became a part of who I am and there’s not a thing I can do about, not that I really want to.When I pack for a trip I tend to over pack. Why? There’s this still small be prepared voice in my head that’s saying “you might need that.”
On my annual Canadian fishing trips I carry a “survival kit” when I go back into the bush. Why? It’s that be prepared voice asking me “what if you get lost or someone gets hurt or you just can’t get back and have to spend the night out there?”
And each time I hear that voice I respond, as any good Boy Scout would do, by saying “on my honor I will do my best to do my duty… to be prepared for anything that might happen.”
It’s the same voice that has pushed SpringHill day by day, week by week and year by year to continually be prepared by improving our emergency planning and safety efforts. Emergency Preparedness Plans (EPP’s), Safety Councils, near miss reports, etc. aren’t the sexiest, most exciting parts of camp but they, accompanied by a well prepared and committed staff, are absolutely essential to providing an outstanding SpringHill Experience.
You see we consider the care of a child the highest trust given to us by any parent and caregiver. It’s our commitment to provide children with a physically, emotional and spiritually safe camp experience.
And, like my obsessive packing, we can do nothing less than live up to this trust and listen to that still small voice that tells us to always be prepared.
Sometimes the Questions are More Telling than the Answers
“Which SpringHill camp’s your favorite?” asked of one of our mischievous Indiana overnight summer staffers.The question was part of an informal Q&A I’m having with each of our summer staff teams. The goal’s to get to know them better and for them to get to know both me and SpringHill better. It’s the first time I’ve done this in training and my first session was with our Indiana staff.
It’s amazing what you can learn about people by the questions they ask – and the questions they don’t ask. Questions reflect the circumstances people are in, their values, their perspectives and their observations. Questions are revealing, sometimes more so than the answers.
In addition to the question above here are some of the other questions that came my way. See what they tell you about our Indiana summer staff team:
“How did you come to SpringHill?”
“Did you feel called to SpringHill and how did you know?”
“What’s the vision for SpringHill?”
“How do you feel about the fact that people stop going to church after graduating from high school? What can SpringHill do about it?”
“How can I combine my business degree with my interest in overseas missions?”
“How do I know I’m called to a particular work or field?”
The most personal question of the night was…
“How did you propose to your wife?” My answer spurred on a whole litany of follow-up questions.
And finally the most challenging question was…
“Will you do ‘Brown Squirrel’ for us?” This was the hardest question because it took the most courage for me to answer. If you know the camp song “Brown Squirrel” and its accompanying motions you understand my trepidation in answering yes.
And of course I did answer “yes” and concluded our evening together, with the help of Carey Edgren, performing a little song and dance.
The Significant Difference Between Critique and Criticism
Over the last year I’ve attempted through trial and error to improve my photography. I’ve been using a Canon Rebel mostly on auto focus because I didn’t know a thing about the camera nor very little about shooting a quality photograph.I’ve read the camera’s manual as well as a photography book in an attempt to improve. As a result I knew just enough to be dangerous but not enough to be better.
What’s worse the reading and practice had given me a false sense of confidence in what I thought I knew and could do. So in hopes of making some improvement I decided to sit in on a training session for our summer photographers and videographers facilitated by Chris duMond from our marketing firm DesignVox.
The key learning element required us to shoot photos of people at camp, picking our best ones and sharing them with the group. The group then critiqued our photos by having each person provide something they liked and something to improve.
As the team reviewed my photo (the one above) I realized critique was the missing piece in my attempts to become a better photographer. If I was going to improve I needed input and perspective from others, especially those experienced in photography.
I also thought about the positive impact critique can have in other areas of my work and personal life. Critique, as Chris pointed out, is different from criticism. Critique builds up where criticism tears down. Criticism comes from people who’ve never done the work (think film critic) while critique comes from people who’ve been in the same place doing the same kind of work. Critique’s helpful criticism’s judgmental.
So if your desire’s to improve some aspect of your work or personal life, find others who’ve accomplished what you’re attempting to accomplish and ask them to provide you some critique. It may be just what you need to become better. Click here to see some of the other photos I shot.
