Can You Relate to this Camper’s Dilemma?
“When I came to camp I had a problem. My heart believed in God but my head didn’t believe in Him” explained one of our campers from Copper Country (4th thru 6th grade camp) at our week ending rally.He shared that he struggled with this nagging doubt (my words) during the first few days of camp. But it was at Wednesday evening’s campfire where the opportunity to work out this tension opened up for him.
You see, during the campfire time, this young camper’s Area Director clearly presented the Good News of Christ and asked campers who had questions or wanted to make a faith decision to stay back after the campfire. And of course this young man did.
And as he put it “I went straight up to my Area Director and said ‘I have a problem and I need your help in solving it.'” So the he and his Area Director sat down on a log where he proceeded to share how his heart had faith in God but his head didn’t.
After much discussion, prayer and through the wise leading of his Area Director, this young man was able to announce on Friday to the crowd of 2000 people “Thanks to my Area Director, I now believe in God, not just in my heart but also with my head.”
Then in a final question, when asked what this new faith will mean to his life when he goes home, he answered “I will read my Bible every day because I want to get to know this God I now fully believe in.”
Talking with someone whose walked before you and then reading God’s Word is the perfect combination of assistance one needs when navigating and overcoming nagging doubt as this young camper demonstrated.
How the Mighty Fall
In Jim Collins’ helpful book “How the Mighty Fall” he describes the following tell-tale signs of an organization in the first stage of decline from “greatness.”- “Success, entitlement, arrogance: Success is viewed as ‘deserved,’ rather than fortuitous, fleeting, or even hard-earned in the face of daunting odds; people begin to believe that success will continue almost no matter what the organization decides to do, or not to do.
- Neglect of the primary flywheel: Distracted by extraneous threats, adventures, and opportunities, leaders neglect a primary flywheel, failing to renew it with the same creative intensity that made it great in the first place.
- ‘What’ replaces ‘why’: The rhetoric of success (‘We’re successful because we do these specific things’) replaces understanding and insight (‘We’re successful because we understand why we do these specific things and under what conditions they would no longer work’).
- Decline in learning orientation: Leaders lose the inquisitiveness and learning orientation that mark those truly great individuals who, no matter how successful they become, maintain a learning curve as steep as when they first began their careers.”
I consider making a regular and honest assessment of SpringHill (and myself) against these markers one of my top priorities. I have no doubt the moment I stop the self assessment, both I and SpringHill, have taken the first step towards decline.
A Camper Shares Her SpringHill Story
One of our campers, Anne, wrote out her SpringHill story and this is what she said –“I learned a lot at my first week of SpringHill. I learned how to zipeline, blob, twist on the water slide, but most importantly, I learned about God. Our theme this week was God has a plan for us! The Bible stories we read were about Moses from when he was born to when he saved the Israelites. I learned a lot from those stories. We learned about sin, God’s plan, forgiveness, and trusting in God. God is always with us, keeping us safe. I also took a lot from Moses’ story. Like how Moses killed an Egyptian, yet God still forgave him! I also learned about God’s love and forgiveness is always there, you just have to accept it. He is always there. In bad situations he is there crying with you. When we sin and then accept his forgiveness, he wraps you up and you start over and he fills you with his love.
I think all that I learned here at SpringHill will carry with me for the rest of my life. When I get home I think I will be more enthusiastic about God and praying and church. I think I have definitely had a positive change this week. All I can say is I can’t wait to come back next year.”
Now our prayer is that God will use Anne’s week at SpringHill as a foundational step in her becoming, every single day, more and more the person Christ created her to be so she can do all He created and planned for her to do now and throughout the rest of her life.
April Gann – Loving Kids, Loving Staff, Loving Christ!
April with some of her campers and staff This past Friday was April Gann’s last day as a SpringHill staff member (I know she’ll always be an ambassador, volunteer and advocate for SpringHill for as long as she and SpringHill are both around). It was a bittersweet day as staff and campers took the opportunity to celebrate her 12 years of ministry (in two different stints) with SpringHill.
One of things I have always appreciated about April is her love for children, and in particular children from urban areas, and her love for our summer staff. These two loves, combined with her love of Christ, have led April to be a part of two significant startup teams during her tenure at SpringHill. First, April was on the start-up team, then the second director, for Storybrook, our 1 thru 3rd grade camp in Michigan. April helped cement the culture, program and focus of Storybrook that still exists today.
Secondly, April has been instrumental in the startup and growth of our Day Camps ministry. Once again her love of kids and staff has helped this program grow to become a significant ministry of SpringHill. It’s become significant not just because of its reach to children but also because it’s become a desirable summer ministry opportunity for 100’s college students.
Now April’s moving to inner city Detroit where she and her soon to be husband Josh will be taking up residence. Their goal is to continue, as April stated in her blog, “loving and serving the kids in our neighborhood” which, of course, is no surprise knowing April and the things she loves.
Carrying a Backpack Full of Rocks
Tuesday’s during summer camp is what we call “Sin Day”. It’s the day we help our campers understand the brokenness of the world and the sin found in their lives. We believe we have to share the “bad news” about our relationship with God before we share the “Good News” of Jesus Christ.
In an attempt to help their campers grasp this difficult concept, two of our staff from Storybrook (our 1rst through 3rd grade camp) shared with me this story from this past week. On Tuesday night during campfire they talked about sin and illustrated it by Gina, the area director, wearing a backpack full of heavy rocks. Gina explained that sin in our lives is like the rocks in this backpack, it weighs you down, hurts your back, gets in the way of truly living, and the worst part – there’s nothing you can do about it.
Then she went onto say that Jesus came into the world to take our sins away, to take our backpack of rocks off our backs. (On Wednesday, Jesus Day, the girls heard the Good News of exactly how Jesus does this incredible work).
The next morning, as the girls got their backpacks on and started walking towards their next activity, a camper with special needs started to walk behind one of her cabin mates and began holding up the cabin mate’s backpack. When someone asked “what are you doing?” she answered with complete sincerity “I’m helping her carry her sins”.
A tangible lesson about a difficult subject stuck with this young camper, making such a strong impression that she felt compelled to do what she could to help her friend carry her burden. It’s also an example of why I believe so strongly in the life-transforming power of camp in the lives of kids.
Being SpringHill Pioneers
The Pioneering Chicago Team of Laura, Zach, Sara and Chelsey Pioneers combine the best qualities of explorers and leaders. Like explorers, they blaze new trails and go to places others have never gone before. But what makes them leaders, and different from explorers, is that they also open up the world so others can follow in their footsteps. Pioneer’s not only do what seems impossible but, by doing so, they make it possible, and even desirable, for others to do so as well.
I know this to be true about pioneers because I just spent two days with a team of them this week.
You see, under the leadership of Day Camp Director Sara Van Winkle, we’re having our first summer of SpringHill Experiences in Chicago. And it’s a full summer. We’re expecting to serve around a 1000 kids at 9 different locations.
And this past week Todd Leinberger and I spent two days with Sara and her team where we watched them effectively work with our local church partner, The Orchard in Arlington Heights, to provide a SpringHill Experience to nearly 170 kids.
It was a blast to witness a church, parents, and kids experiencing SpringHill for the first time. Camp has been so good that parents have already asked about other weeks this summer and registering for camp next year, while the staff at The Orchard has already expressed their desire to double or triple the number of kids attending next year.
So as good pioneers, Sara and her team have opened up a new trail where, as a result, we expect to have a second SpringHill Day Camp team allying with local churches and parents to assure, next summer, even more children in Chicago can hear, see, and experience Jesus Christ in a life – transforming way.
Help a Kid go to Camp this Summer without Writing SpringHill a Check
Yes, you can help send a financially challenged child to SpringHill this summer without writing us a check. Let me explain how.
You may have noticed the note below the “Books I’m currently Reading” section of my blog (right side of the main page). It’s there because my friend and one of SpringHill’s regional Vice Presidents, Craig Soderdahl, recommended in March I apply to become an Amazon Sales Associate.
Craig, being the great entrepreneur that he is, told me that I should be receiving commissions for any books sold through Amazon that I recommend or review. So, with his help, I’ve become an official Amazon Sales Associate.
Now, please understand, I write my blog for a number of reasons, but making money isn’t one of them. Instead, after talking it over with Craig, I realized that I’m actually, in some small way, helping Amazon make money. So, in fairness, Amazon should compensate me for promoting their products.
So here’s my idea – use all of my blog’s commissions to send a needy child to SpringHill this summer. So far without mentioning it at all, my blog’s earned nearly $100 in commissions, part way to sending a kid to camp.
And here’s the best part of this whole deal, my blog receives a commission on every sale of any item that started with a click on my blog, not just the books I’m highlighting. And, even better, it costs the buyer exactly nothing more buying through my blog than going directly to the Amazon website.
Now you see how you can help send a kid to camp (and keep my reasons for blogging pure)?
Any time you buy from Amazon, just access their website through my blog by clicking on one of the books on the right. All the accounting happens automatically and confidentially (I have no access on who makes purchases) and the sales commission will go to our Camper Scholarship Fund.
And, the best part, at the end of the summer, I’ll be able to share with you the story of the child we help send to SpringHill.
What Lies Underneath
You never know what you’ll find when you remodel an old building. For example, at our Michigan overnight camp, we’re in the process of remodeling and expanding our New Frontiers infirmary and as our team peeled off the siding from above the front of the building this is what they found (see photo above).
It’s a strategic location for all our arriving guest and staff to see over the next few weeks. And there’s no doubt it was a painted in that spot, by some daring volunteers and staff 40 years ago, because of its visibility, and the laughs it would bring, to those who arrived at camp during the infirmary construction.
And these same daring staff and volunteers have now given our current guests and staff, especially those who appreciate the cultural significance of the television show M.A.S.H. was in the 1970’s, another reason to smile as they arrive at camp.
But time does moves on, and as it does, cultural icons end up buried under old siding, only to resurface again one day, giving us a glimmer of where we’ve come from as well as reminding us of the people who’ve helped bring us to the place we are today.
Celebration and Dedication
Jim and Kris Mestdagh, John and Marlene Boll This week we held a celebration and dedication for the recently renovated indoor pool at our Michigan camp. We invited everyone involved with the project, including staff, donors and the general contractors. It was a fun and inspiring afternoon.
In the past we haven’t done a lot of these kinds of events and I’m not sure why. But over the last couple of years we’ve acknowledged, as an organization, the important role celebration plays in the life of an organization. So we’re trying to do a better job of finding reasons to celebrate, including celebrating and dedicating new or renovated buildings and activities at our camps.
This effort to create a “culture of celebration” has led to my reflection on the question “what makes a great celebration?” Here’s my current answer:
First, I believe, a celebration should be Christ centered, acknowledging the good things God has done or provided.
Jenny Waugh and Ken Bailey from Rockford Construction Second, it should affirm those people God used to help these good things become realities.
Finally, a celebration should inspire others to take part in God’s good work.
But there was a second and equally important part of our afternoon and it was the dedication of the pool to God’s glory. An act of dedication reminds us that we’re stewards of something we don’t own. So in dedicating the pool to God, we symbolically gave back to Him what He’s entrust to our care, as if returning the master’s five talents with five more.
So we all prayed, with hands joined together, that this pool building would be a useful tool in our work of helping young people see, hear and experience Jesus Christ in a life transforming way, and then celebrated His goodness which allows us the privilege to serve in such a way.Photography by Caitlin Crowley
What Has Eternal Value? By Mark Olson
Lisa and Mark Olson, 1984 In remembrance of Mark Olson, past President of SpringHill on what today, May 20, would have been his 54th birthday, below is one of his last published letters.
“Smiles are the outer representation of the long-term impact camping has on kids.”
I will never forget hearing the doctor tell me “this [disease] goes quickly. If you do not get treated soon, you could die within the next four months.” Over the next few weeks, while determining the best course of treatment and emotionally preparing for the road ahead, I also reflected upon how I have spent the time given to me. Inevitably, the question arises, “what of my life has eternal value?”
My initial response was to create two mental columns, one with the heading “eternal” and the other “temporal.” I then tried to distinguish those parts of my life that had eternal value and those which did not. This proved to be a difficult and basically unhelpful exercise.
Upon later reflection, I also found this approach contrary to what Scripture teaches. At the core, creating columns to dichotomize our existence is rooted in the type of thinking that John addresses in the first chapter of his first epistle. “The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life.” (I John 1:1). John was addressing dualistic thinking in which people persisted in dividing the components of their lives into that which is spiritual and that which is not.
In our vernacular we use the term “spiritual” to refer to that which is most important. We often attach great eternal value to activities such as leading a bible study, preaching a message, working at a Christian organization for “God’s purposes,” etc.
From my present vantage point (that is, struggling with a life threatening disease), I have come to believe that the faithful execution of the most menial duties of life will, in the end, have the greatest eternal value. Washing dishes with my wife will have a value that extends into eternity. Going fishing with my sons while listening and chatting about the realities of being a first and fourth grader will have a value that extends into eternity. Going to my daughter’s dance recital has a value that extends into eternity. Going to breakfast with a group of guys on a regular basis, getting to know them while they learn to know me, has a value that will extend into eternity.
Eternal value can never be defined by simply listing those things that are perceived as spiritual and those that are not. The “Word of Life” was something handled, touched, and seen. So, that which has eternal value is anything that is done in a spirit of faithfulness and service to our God. We demonstrate our faithfulness, gratitude, and love to Him by being faithful, grateful, and loving to Him as a husband is to be toward his wife by following through in the seemingly mundane and “earthly” aspects of our life. I believe this is what Jesus meant when he so closely links love with obedience – “If you love me, obey my commandments.” (John 14:15)
It is within this context that I have come to believe that everything we do to bring glory to ourselves has temporary value. This brings us back to the very first commandment, “Do not worship any other gods beside me.” Anything we do with the purpose of bring glory to ourselves (whether it be a basketball game, a business deal, a makeover, or academic excellence) is simply a form of idolatry. Everything we do with the purpose of bringing glory to God is worship of the only true God. As a friend once told me, there is a god someplace in everyone’s life.
Furthermore, this journey has confirmed for me the value and the importance of camp experiences like SpringHill and InPursuit in the life of a child. At camp a child goes through the day with a counselor, a friend, a role model. This counselor is reminded constantly that they are here to serve and to be “Jesus” for a child who may never have the opportunity to see Him again. They go to the archery range, climb a tower, go to the craft shop, eat a meal, ride a zipline, canoe in the lake, have a campfire, go to ‘club,’ sleep in a teepee, while the counselor bears testimony to who Jesus is by serving and loving the child in the midst of daily activity.
Because of this relationship, the counselor has a “voice” in which they can share in word and action the “good news.” As a result, the child experiences the love of Jesus and may respond by placing their trust in Him to remove their sin so that they can know their Creator who loves them dearly. A life is changed for eternity.
It is because of this I have very few regrets. I would not have changed my involvement at SpringHill and InPursuit, which continues to be a very rewarding way to serve my Savior. When I walk away from this disease, though, I will aspire to do less of that which is seemingly spiritual, and do more of that which is seemingly temporal but in the end has great eternal value. I will spend more time fishing with my sons and friends, take the girls to the golf course, and listen more carefully to the person with whom I am sharing a conversation.
Also in honor of Mark we have a limited number of copies of Brennan Manning’s book Ruthless Trust – A Ragamuffin’s Path to God (one of Mark’s favorite authors) I’ll send a copy to anyone who subscribes to my blog while the supply lasts. If you’re already a subscriber and would also like a copy let me know and I’ll send you one as well.
