text: January | 2013 | Paradox In Motion
  Why Kids and Student Camps Aren't Enough
  You would think that a vocational Children's Pastor would do all he could to promote Kids Camp, not take away from it. That, however, is not my intention in this post. My goal is to speak the truth.
  Having said that, I must first admit that Kids and Student Camps have great value. The mountain top experience kids take way is priceless, not to mention their new and strengthened relationships. However, the real priceless time in a kid's journey with Christ comes through every day life-day in day out! We as parents and leaders of Kids can capitalize on these everyday life moments by daily investing in the lives of our kids or our students from a biblical worldview. We can also see significant movement of our kids along their spiritual growth journey by allowing other faithful Christ followers to invest in their lives. Yet, I believe the best way we can see our kids lives impacted is by partnering with Godly mentors in their lives for their spiritual formation. People like Children's Pastors, Student Pastors, Coaches, teachers, volunteers in their church (like Sunday School teachers), etc. By utilizing this strong partnership, especially joined with the work of the Holy Spirit in our kids lives, they will be well equipped to tackle real world issues, that they typically escape from on the mountain top experience at summer camp.
  Ecclesiastes 4:12 states: "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken." (NIV)
  The power in the three-fold partnership between parents, Godly mentors, and the work of the Holy Spirit in a kids life provides the three cords that that cannot be easily broken.
  Kids and Student Camps are fantastic and are a great part of building a lifetime of memories in kids lives and in their spiritual formation. However, it's in those intentional relationships, day in and day out, in mundane life, where real transformation abounds.
  "Live by the day – aye, by the hour. Put no trust in frames and feelings. Care more for a grain of faith than a ton of excitement. Trust in God alone….Be not surprised when friends fail you: it is a failing world." – Charles Haddon Spurgeon
  Psalm 63:8 exhorts us with the following words: "My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me."
  We too often, by human nature, place our feelings of self-worth and value in others and the accolades of our peers and friends, etc. I know for me, when those whom I lead and work with speak highly of me and my gifts and abilities, I quickly begin to believe things about me that aren't true. My head begins to swell and I think far more of myself than I should. Take a moment to digest this – Whenever we seek to find our significance in anything other than God himself, we will surely fail. King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:16-18: "I am better educated than any of the kings before me in Jerusalem. I have greater wisdom and knowledge. So I worked hard to be wise instead of foolish-but now I realize that even this was like chasing the wind. For the more wisdom, the more my grief; to increase knowledge only increases distress" (TLB). King Solomon also stated in Ecclesiastes 4:4: "I observed that the basic motive for success is the driving force of envy and jealousy." (TLB)
  The point I'm trying to make is if we commit our lives to seeking the approval others, the accolades of men, and the self-intoxicating praise for our work, we will surely find ourselves at the end of a frayed rope, starring at a vast chasm below. However, when we seek the approval of, and find our significance in God-when we live our life in order to be a sweet fragrance to Christ, we are upheld and lifted high. If we live our life in this manner, we are as Jeremiah wrote "like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT)