I have just spent a week at Camp Hickory Hill (Varysburg, NY) as the Camp Shepherd. It has been a great week, and though I have been here a lot of times over the past 12 years, this experience seems unique to me.
There is no doubt that I have reached an age when I think about ministry differently. My shifting focus is on what I am leaving behind. It is no longer a matter of using the gifts and skills I have been given, but rather, investing in young people in such a way that they can use theirs. I don't know if I am late in getting into this mindset, but I have found it profoundly fulfilling.
Much of the mystique that surrounds Camp Hickory Hill is about legacy. It is about training boys to be men. It is about training young men to be men of God.
This week, I have been observing young men serve as leaders that I once had as campers. As campers, they were consistent headaches. They stepped over the boundaries. They frequently wandered from the group. They were fidgety. At times, I was tempted to see them as hopeless.
But now, as leaders, they are remarkably different. They are focused. They are servants. They are on a mission to lead campers into a relationship with Jesus. They have stepped forward into a glorious adventure.
It is an adventure that has continued through the ages, beginning when twelve men followed Jesus around the Galilean countryside. I find being a part of that legacy extremely satisfying.
I like this one Dad. I appreciate your "They have stepped forward into a glorious adventure" though they were headaches. And I appreciate your indirect reminder for me to continue to work towards being a man of God. Thanks.
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