I haven't yet seen the documentary "Jesus Camp". But reading about it has made me think about the Baptist camp I attended when I was a child. Family Camp at the Iowa Regular Baptist Camp was our family vacation every year. We'd go with other families from our church, and we'd stay in one of the cabins that had theological names like Salvation or Redemption. We swim in the lake, attend bible classes in the morning, be captivated by stories from missionaries who came from lands far, far away, listen to sermons in the chapel at night -- complete with hour-long Just-As-I-Am singing alter calls. Then we'd build campfires and eat popcorn and then curl up in our sleeping bags in our bunks and listen to the tree-frogs chirp and the wind blow through the large oak trees.
As I got older, I attended Junior Girls camp, then Junior High Camp, and then Senior High camp. My older sisters were on staff as lifeguards for awhile. They'd be gone all summer and I envied their friendships with other staff kids. Then they got fired. Yes...fired for skipping chapel and t-peeing one of the staff dorms. This happened during family camp, and I remember the stern look on my mother's face when she found out her older daughers had been dismissed. The shame! I couldn't figure out what the big deal was...it was just a teen-aged prank, right? And my sisters were being fired?
When I was 16 I was kissed for the first time at Senior High Camp by a lifeguard named Tom. He had sandy blonde hair and was an artist and one night he pulled me behind a tree, beyond the watchful eye of the camp director, and kissed me. It was a sweet, innocent kiss. But the director yelled out, "Tom, get back to the staff dorm, now!" He couldn't see us, but he suspected we were up to no good.
I have fond memories of camp. Of sitting on "Snake Hill" with my friends, of week-long camp romances, of the spiritual high that lasted about a week after camp was over, of skiing behind a speed boat, of the campfires. But looking back I also remember that it wasn't a place filled with grace. Instead, it was filled with rules and judgement. Purusing the website (complete with a tab titled "Eternal Life"), I noticed things haven't changed much. Girls are forbidden to wear shorts above the knee. While swimming, everyone (men and women) have to wear t-shirts over their swimsuits. External Rules. Just follow them and we'll all be okay. There's something safe and comfortable about just following rules. But at some point, you realize that life isn't black and white, and a simplistic view of God doesn't work any more. That life is messy, and that there's nothing wrong with kissing a boy behind a tree.
I'm thankful for my camp memories, of sitting around a campfire, tanned from a day at the lake, with my family and friends. Of being inspired by missionary stories and learning about the bible. But I'm also glad my faith has grown beyond just keeping the rules and feeling God's judgement.
2 comments:
hey, that was me!
We did such a good job t-p-ing the dorm...and mom and dad weren't mad at us, they were mad at the camp director for over-reacting. We really did have cool parents!
I'm thankful God healed us from that conservative garbage, but I still have great camp memories :)
Mom and Dad may not have been mad at Ann but they were definitely mad at ME. Sadly, that was the end of my lifeguarding days at Clear Lake. But it WAS fun while it lasted. Probably good thing we got caught with that one and not some of the other stuff we did... On another note Karen, Michael J. Fox's autobiography is well worth the read. Love you.
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