And if it IS broke?

Tonight we have a big meeting at Church Camp. This is the same camp I went to growing up and where I met my wife, Shannon. I've been teaching, preaching, and otherwise helping with this camp for 12 seasons now.

Born and raised in northeast Kansas, I know well the saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Well, what if it IS broke? This camp has been broken in several ways for years. Most of it was behind the scenes and was simply a matter of doing the best with what we had. But it has become urgent for us to do better. We have both individuals and entire congregations that have left because of the way this camp was run. And it's going to get worse. In spite of some great programming and a few remaining faithful volunteers, we are running out of time, out of people, and out of options.

To be blunt, we have a lot of work to do. With a few exceptions, almost every issue of management and organization is either unaddressed or outdated. The need for improvement and coordination is everywhere and that pressure is dumped on our deans to wing it and smooth things over.

I do NOT want to see heads roll tonight, instead I want to see each of the people involved in a position where they can be successful. As a minister, I want to see them get a second chance. So instead of changing 100 different details tonight, we're proposing a restructuring of the organization. Let's create a system with accountability and clearly define everyone's rolls. Let's build a simpler, more efficient system that actually makes sense.

Not having the wisdom to come up with this from scratch, we simply made a few phone calls and received the help of fellow church camps, which have already addressed the needs that we are facing. This has been invaluable. Not only does it show us that this is doable, but it has provided us working solutions that can be immediately applied to our situation.

In short, things can start getting better immediately. Camp will continue and we will have assurance for ourselves and others that this ministry is on track.

Remember this camp does not belong to us, it belongs to the Lord. It's not for us, it's for the churches.