I really should be sleeping somewhere, after surviving my 2nd West Side Kids Camp. I say survive because I go all out for three days and it takes a week to recover, while the kids could go another seven with no problem. This year I was kicked out of my guy’s cabin (for snoring), called “Old Man” (yet I recovered with a tremendous flurry in a game of hoops), over dosed on purple drink (only to discover that yes it is actually a juice), and was attacked by everyone in the pool in an overthrow attempt.
I think what I believe about West Side Jesus is this – He better be fun and he better be able to deliver. This won’t be just a gentle Jesus – this will be a rowdy God and one who will have to go the distance. These kids have alot of questions, and they have alot of energy. You won’t captivate them unless you allow them to go on your shoulders while they test you by making fun of every potential weakness. They are love testers to the extreme.
Every time I was challenged in the swimming pool, challenged to one more game of knock out on the basketball courts, or heard one more Spanish phrase thrown at me that somehow I knew was making fun of me – my body was saying escape but I knew God was saying, “Go for it!”
I asked our team of counselors, “What do we do next? What have we learned from camp this year that we can take home with us? What do the kids need now?” I think what came out of the discussion is yes, these kids will need the community which is the “church,” but they will need a Jesus that delivers on the ground where they live. That is why, in my mind, we have “The Village.” The Village apts are a safe haven, with interns who love the kids, the library, the community center, swimming hours, girls and guys nights – they need Jesus 24/7.
This also why we will be on the ground more in 2010-2011 with empowerment – the next stage. God Who Goes the Distance will inhabit a block of the lower West Side. It is a Jesus who mends hearts, souls, and spirits. It is a God who is concerned about broken windows, empty tables, lonely children.
I get into these facebook discussions about holistic Jesus – which is most important – the spiritual or everything of earth? I can’t separate them anymore. If you can’t let a West Side kid ride your shoulders, then how are you going to tell him or her about the Kingdom? I’m not sure you can read the gospels without seeing a holistic Jesus. I don’t think you can find a Jesus who isn’t as active now as in heaven.
The number of camps I have been on in life – probably getting close to a hundred. My camp theology has changed. I get made fun of because of my “decentralized leadership” strategy. My meetings start late and my kids break the rules. I think perhaps I have become too relational – I like hanging out. I am not sure what it is – but I love that the kids love the 2 hours in the pool as much as I love teaching them in words that Jesus loves them.
It hit me a few weeks back, when I witnessed the first two children from the Carrillo Apts discover the library at the Village. I was so excited they discovered all the books and that they were welcome to come. Is this not a bit like the discovery of heaven for children?
I was reading something at camp, about a theologian who says that Jesus cannot be understood outside of the table – who He dined with… He was scandalous in friendship and meal sharing. It was the purest form of His theology. The Kingdom would be open to the outsiders, and they would be welcome at His table.
Any Jesus follower who wants to travel to the West Side should heed this warning – you had better allow a child to ride on your shoulders, and you had better want to go the distance.
Thanks to everyone who made camp a great success!
I learned so much from this camp. It was such a great spiritual experience for me and for most of the kids that participated. Personally, I think you being relatable is what makes it so easy to feel God. You shift in line with people and make them open their eyes and make them see and understand that “hey if he can do it so can I.” I’ve never carried so many and held so many kids in my life. But the feeling of lifting up these kids is has become as much of a physical experience as a spiritual and mental one. I thought Kids Club alone was building me closer to Christ… but Kids Camp sure hit my heart just as hard. All I know is it changed me, even the relationships I have with my friends, for the better. End of story.