The Power of Hearing a Fresh Voice
I remember a conversation with the youth pastor from our church in Grand Rapids the day after he had taken a group of students to a big Christian concert. He said something to this effect, “whatever this musician said on stage the kids would go crazy. He would say ‘you should read your Bible everyday’ and my kids would scream and jump up and down. I don’t understand it, I’ve been telling my kids they need to be reading their Bibles, but whenever I bring it up, I just get blank stares. Why can this guy, from stage and in such a short period of time, have such a powerful voice in my students’ life?”
The answer to this amazed youth pastor is simple – there is transformational power a person experiences when they hear an often repeated message in a fresh voice, spoken in a different context.
This is why going to camp, having a camp experience, is so powerful, so life changing. At camp kids hear the same message they’ve heard repeated at home, at church or in school. But the voice is different; it’s a different person, at a different age, and many times from a different place in life speaking the same message in a totally different environment – camp.
And it breaks my heart to say this, but it’s an experience that happens so rarely in a young person’s life outside a camp experience. Why? Because there are so few experiences for kids that offer this combination of fresh voice spoken in an exciting and adventuresome context that also aligns with the voices of parents, church and school.
It’s why at SpringHill, we believe so strongly that all Kids Need Camp.
Have you experienced the Power of Camp? If so please share your story, it might encourage others to help a child have the same transformational experience this summer.
The Power of Camp
When I was in Indianapolis last week I stayed at the Marriott SpringHill Suites (what other hotel would a SpringHill staffer stay at?).
Upon arrival two Marriott staff greeted me at the front desk. I happen to be wearing a SpringHill fleece and the staff looked at me inquisitively and asked “are you with SpringHill Suites?” Of course this provided an opportunity to share about the “other” SpringHill. After a brief description, one of the staff had this dreamy look in her eyes which caused me to ask “have you been to camp?”
She answered “I went to camp when I was young and it was one of the best times in my entire life.” So, of course, I asked “which camp did you go to?” She thought about it for a moment and said “you know I don’t remember, I just remember I loved it.”
As I went to my room I thought about this woman’s camp experience. It was so powerful that being reminded of it put her in a state of reliving the experience right there in the hotel lobby. It was obvious her camp experience was even more important than the camp itself.
Later I went back to the lobby so I could ask her a follow-up question. I wanted to know what made an experience so memorable that a person would even forget the name of the place it occurred. When I found her I asked “what made camp one of the best times in your life?”
She quickly answered “I loved sitting around the camp fire singing, being with people who have become some of my closest friends, and the spiritual impact it had on me and others.”
This woman experienced the Power of Camp – memorable experiences, lifelong relationships and transformational spiritual moments. It’s these stories that fuel the passion of SpringHill Camp staff and the staff of 100’s of other Christian camps around the country to, every summer, provide “one of the best experiences in life” for literally 100,000’s of kids and families.
To learn more about the Power of Camp click here.
The End of Summer Camp – I’m Sad but Satisfied
Today’s the last day of the SpringHill 2011 summer camp season and there are two words that describe how I feel – “sad” and “satisfied”.I’m sad because we had an incredible summer of creating life changing experiences for 1000’s of young people but if feels like we’re ending too soon.
Sad because of the many new friends I’ve made with summer and resident staff, parents and even a few campers knowing our daily and weekly interaction has ended. Facebook’s good but it’s not the same as being together at camp.
Sad because I know the regular interaction I’ve had with our year around staff and their families has come to an end. We’ve spent the summer eating meals together and watching our kids catch fish and play six square with each other and with our summer staff.
But I’m satisfied because I watched our team deliver the SpringHill Experience to the largest number of campers in our history – 17,470 and do it in a passionate and professional way.
I’m satisfied because we had an incredibly safe summer for our campers and staff. Nothing keeps me awake at night more than the safety of those God’s entrusted to us.
Finally and most importantly, I’m deeply satisfied and humbled because it’s clear from camper and parent feedback that we fulfilled our mission of creating life changing experiences for young people where they can know and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. This is why we exist so to know we been used to this end leaves me exhausted but satisfied.
So I’m both sad and yet satisfied. But the great news there’s only 283 days left before the first 2012 summer staff arrive and summer camp officially begins once again (not that I’m counting or anything).
One More Thought About Being Pretty in Pink
As I’ve reflected on yesterday’s pretty in pink celebration (click to see my post on 8/09/11) there’s one other part of the story that’s continued to encourage me. It’s simply witnessing the great enthusiasm of a team who could have found reasons for not being excited about achieving this particular goal.It would have been easy for our Michigan Site and Operations team to bemoan having significantly more campers than planned. Having 10% additional campers, most of who registered later in the process, creates enormous challenges for departments like Site and Operations. But they, as did the rest of our Michigan team, not only rose to the occasion of serving more campers, they strove to beat our stretch goal and then celebrated wholeheartedly when we did.
When every part of a team not only embraces shared goals but more importantly works diligently to achieve them, even at great personal and professional cost, winning becomes reality and for our Site Team a reason to go pink.
So at the end of a great day not only did I love the celebration I’m even more proud of the team who led it.
Pretty In Pink Because We Made Our “A” Plan
Even though my wife Denise’s a breast cancer survivor I typically don’t wear pink. And for the record I wouldn’t dye what little hair I have left any color – especially pink.We also have a policy that asks staff not to significantly alter their appearance during summer camp by adding such things as tattoos or God forbid, dyeing one’s hair an unnatural color.
But when our Michigan Site team asked me at the beginning of the summer to join them in coloring their hair pink if we reach our “A” plan (“A” plan’s our stretch goal) what could I say? To celebrate 7600+ kids attending our Michigan overnight camp would be a great reason to be “pretty in pink”.
Also, frankly, at the beginning of the summer, I wasn’t so sure we’d hit our “A” plan so committing to go pink didn’t seem like such huge risk.
But as we grew closer to the goal and it was apparent we’d reach 7600 campers the Site team made sure I didn’t forget my commitment to join them in being “pretty in pink”.
So today I, along with my wife Denise, joined the Site team in celebrating, in pink, the privilege of serving nearly 7700 campers this summer.
Our t-shirts say “God always has “A” plan. Jeremiah 29:11″.
It’s not just a fitting quote for our Michigan overnight camp but it also applies to what’s turned out to be the largest summer in SpringHill’s history. We’ll provide 17,500 campers a SpringHill Experience – a reason for which I’d have dyed my hair any color.
Hydrate or Die
“Hydrate or Die” are simple, direct and memorable words we told our staff this past Sunday in our morning staff meetings. They reminded us all of the importance of assuring that both staff and campers had plenty of water during the incredible heat wave we just experienced.All summer long we remind our staff of the importance of rehydrating themselves and their campers as they go through their active days. But when the temperatures and humidity reach “heat alert” levels then our language becomes stronger and more insistent – we tell our staff “hydrate or die”.
We know it’s a little hyperbole but there’s truth in these words. If you’re exposed to high temperatures for long periods of time without taking in enough water there’s a risk of serious health issues.
So we give our staff a phrase that will stick with them, reminding them of the important job of taking care of themselves and their campers during a heat wave as the one we just had.
Of course there’s more to taking care of staff and campers in a heat wave than just pithy sayings. We made adjustments to the camp schedule to assure campers were in the water as much as possible. Also we made sure drinking water’s available at activity and housing areas so that campers and staff were never far from something to drink. Also small groups met in the shade and in our Indiana overnight camp we made sure campers slept in air conditioning.
But it’s the power of strong and memorable words that stick with us which provide the guidance and motivation to do the right things in any situation. It’s why leaders create, borrow and use such statements while leading others.
So remember “hydrate or die” as you enjoy your summer season.
Wednesday Night Live and Great Staff
Last night I had the opportunity to enjoy our Copper Country leadership staff’s program called “Wednesday Night Live”. The team did an incredible job planning, rehearsing and then providing a fun, purposeful and engaging program for our 4th thru 6th grade Michigan campers.Wednesday Night Live is a series of funny skits and songs perform in our outdoor Copper Country amphitheater – a setting which is just incredibly beautiful and so classic camp like.
The show’s kicked off by singing led by the band performing at our middle school camp and ends with a drama that depicts Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross with the humor sandwiched in between.
As I stood in the back watching and laughing with some of our staff and volunteers I couldn’t help but reflect on the truth that the most important ingredient to any successful team, be it a summer camp, church or business is the quality of people on that team.
We had an incredible show and evening and frankly we’re having an incredible summer in Copper Country and throughout all of SpringHill because of our quality summer staff.
There’s no more significant and important part of a SpringHill Experience than these great people, working for the right reasons, creating and delivering these great experiences that Christ uses to transform the lives of kids.
They make summer camp a SpringHill Experience.
Click here to see other photo’s from Wednesday Night Live.
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.
“The Island” and “Island Burgers”
SpringHill has an island (actually more like a peninsula) called by traditionalists “The Island” and by more progressive folks “Burger Island.”The debate between the names results from the incredible burgers grilled on “The Island” since the early days of SpringHill. “The Island”, against some people’s wishes, has slowly become “Burger Island” in recognition of these famous sandwiches affectionately known as “Island Burgers”.
One of the earliest Island Burger chiefs (maybe the first) was J.C. Johnson, a Texas size Texan with a Texas size heart that set the standard for Texas quality grilled burgers that have become part of “The Island” legend and experience.
Since those days JC’s high standards passed down through a line of chief’s who continue to provide generations of campers and staff with an outstanding Island Burger with all the fixings. This tradition of great burgers has only continued to feed the great debate of whether it’s “The Island” or “Burger Island”.
Sunday evenings “The Island’s” reserved for staff and volunteers who’ve worked the opening day of camp. These folks gather together at the end of each opening day to enjoy incredible burgers and talk about the week ahead. It’s a fun and festive time where the excitement and anticipation of what God’s going to do at camp’s felt and shared.
Lee and Robert our Island Burger Chiefs So if you’re ever at our Michigan camp on opening day and want to enjoy an “Island Burger” and experience “The Island”, or as some would call it “Burger Island”, ask anyone in a blue SpringHill staff shirt and they’ll make sure there’s a seat at one of the picnic tables reserved for you.
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.
