Camp conflict

Have you ever noticed that situations that are uncomfortable or challenging tend to yield the most results in terms of growth? I know that is certainly the case with me. And counseling my first church camp was no different.

Growing up, I spent a week of my summer at Bedford Christian Church Camp. It was a highlight of my summer, to grow and be in a place of retreat to focus on my relationship with God and Jesus Christ. The camps I attended lined up with my beliefs and theological interpretations that my home church and my parents taught me. The counselors I had further nourished and encouraged me to grow in Christ, through love in action and without discrimination. It was a more "liberal" view of Christianity, one that doesn't take the Bible literally and one that uses inclusive language. My experiences at Church Camp impacted me so deeply that, when I graduated from high school, I was determined to return as a counselor.

It took a few years, but I finally did. I was contacted by a director of the Young Disciples (campers who have completed 4th and 5th grade) to help counsel, and I gladly volunteered. When I arrived and met the staff, I immediately felt out of place. I was the youngest "full" counselor (but most everyone thought I was a senior in high school, not a senior in college) and the only one that was a complete stranger to the rest of the counseling staff. The differences became fairly apparent to me right away. My world consists of attending operas and going to art museums. The other counselors worlds' consisted of showing hogs and Future Farmers of America (FFA). My world consists of highly educated, overly ambitious adcademics. They had "McCain/Palin 2008" stickers on their American made trucks. I drove up in my little Honda Civic, proudly wearing Occidental gear knowing exactly which room Barack Obama stayed his freshman year. They were from the country, and I, apparently, was not.

It was a rough first couple of days. I kept telling myself that I appreciated the diversity and being so immersed in a more conservative view was definitely a different experience. I found it incredibly difficult, though, when I felt that all of the other counselor's assumed everyone had the same viewpoint and had no qualms about letting their conservative viewpoints be heard loudly and clearly. I was completely out of my comfort zone and had never felt so marginalized or in the minority. This was not the church camp experience (or church in general) that I knew, and really I just wanted to call my mom to come bail me out!

Through the week, though, things slowly began to change. While focusing on the I saw a genuine love and passion for Jesus Christ and God--something that can get away from the culturally sensitive and politically correct. They saw that, even though I didn't necessarily agree with their political or theological ideas, we had the same faith. That central faith, perhaps seen through different lenses, was what unified us as Christians, specifically Disciples of Christ. It was that diversity that strengthened my faith and helped me grow. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, but everyone focused on the biggest picture of all, sharing our faiths with our campers and helping nurture their faiths.