When I was a young graduate student I was
blessed by a great job in the summers as the program director of The Salvation
Army’s Camp O’Wood in the mountains outside of Tucson, Arizona. The purpose of Salvation Army camps is to
help children from poor neighborhoods to 1) have a wholesome week at camp
learning new skills thereby strengthening their personal sense of competence
and self-esteem, and 2) grow in their character. By character is meant growing to know Jesus
Christ and be like him. The development
of children’s competence and character in Jesus’ name was the collective
aspiration of the entire camp staff from the cabin counselors to the kitchen
cooks.
Years later I found myself in another
great job as the president of an excellent Christian university devoted to the
further development of student’s competence and character. They were developing competence in their
chosen field preparing to enter the professional work world. They were also developing and deepening their
walk with Christ in their character after the Lord’s likeness. Much of what I had learned in the early days
at camp about child development of competence and character pertained years
later to the university setting. It
takes everyone in the enterprise to get the job done.
I remember having coffee one morning with
the university’s housekeeping staff.
These were mostly women none of whom had university education. They cleaned the residence halls beginning at
four o’clock in the morning. Over coffee
I sat and listened to story after story of how students would seek them out,
even at four o’clock in the morning, and engage them in conversations about
life. Often this happened because
students were still up. They hadn’t gone
to bed yet. In staff stories it became
clear that these dear women, doing the most mundane yet necessary work, were in
a privileged position of influence. They
were like the students’ moms away from mom. Together they had a salutary impact
on the character formation of students. They were accessible, willing to
listen, and wise in the perspectives they offered. They were an effective part of the whole
university for the whole person in the character development of students. The essence of the university was Jesus
Christ. They were special part of the overall
essence of the university.
When it comes to the serious pursuit of
competence and character in young people’s lives, it takes the human agency of
the entire enterprise (camp, university, sports program) to be passionate about
the whole person. By whole enterprise,
we mean everyone, not just the faculty, but every staff member from the cooks
in the kitchen to the resident hall directors, the administrative assistants in
the president’s office to the staff who keep the grounds and mow the
lawns. It takes the total milieu of the
entire team invested in the same outcome.
God is an “all in” God. He did not hold back his great gift of
salvation on the cross, nor his subsequent gift of himself as the Holy
Spirit. He is “all in” for the world. Why settle for something less. When Christ says, “Follow me,” it’s a call
for us to also be “all in.”
FOR MORE ABOUT "ALL IN" SEE THE JUNE 2014 ISSUE OF THE SALVATION ARMY MAGAZINE, THE WAR CRY . . .
http://www.warcrymag.com/issues/2014_June/
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