Teen Week Ahead Of Time

Sooooo.....tomorrow I head to beautiful Camp Arcadia Michigan to do my annual week at teen camp. The Camp, against the advice of it's counsel allows me to come up there once a year and spend the week with 11 predominantly white, predominantly middle class, predominantly Lutheran, predominantly from two caring parent households to help.... help them do what exactly. They tend to be well adjusted, smart and have a healthier spiritual life then me.

But perhaps that is the point. because when you are a teen, Sophomore-Senior, your life is just starting to spin out of control and seem confusing. So you throw them in with a 48 year old man who has marginally successfully raised three children (almost) and you see if they can "get it". But what does "get it" mean? Does it mean that if their pathetic counselor can shamble through life without a major faux pas then perhaps they can muddle through on their own? that is not an inspiring message.

There are a lot of other "counselors" up there with me along with one Minister and one professional counselor to supervise us and make sure we do as little permanent damage as possible. Everyone brings something different to the table. Some of them are very spiritual people. Some of them are... much younger then me. A lot of them seem very smart. Some love teen agers. Some have very high energy. Some are just really good, solid people. I like to think they invite me because I am none of those things.

I always have group B, for Becker. My theme is always the same. Ministry through brokenness. If God can use me to serve other people, with all my well documented problems, prejudices, weaknesses and sins then certainly he can use them towards his plan. This year i have bought t-shirts for the little monsters in group B that say B-Attitude, Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". No one is poorer in spirit then the members of group B. I tell the kids from the start, "Remember, your in group B! When things get hard.... we quit." And we do. No one sits around like my group. I can take the most motivated kid in the world and by the end of the week they can sit and bite an apple and watch it turn brown It is a gift I have and I try not to abuse it.

Through the week we try and move the kids from wherever they are in their faith life and their personal life to somewhere a little better. Empower them with something, if nothing else with an odd adult who has taken a sudden, unnatural interest in their life. It seems to work. Arcadia in the summer is one of the most beautiful places in the world and they will spend 25% of their time on a big cement porch about 30 feet from Lake Michigan. they talk about God, school, their siblings, their parents, alcohol, sex, music, abuse, gossip, cliques, politics, violence, guns, free speech, curfews, television, masturbation, movies, make up, clothes, food, Church (which rarely comes up when discussing God), boys, girls, sex again and hopefully finishing with God and maybe even being a Lutheran. But maybe not too.

And everyone acts really nice, almost all the time.

So whether it works for them or not, it works for me. I probably is time more then anything else to let 11 poor, innocent kids heal me again. if your able, pray for them.