In a very real sense, my appreciation for camping ministry goes back to the fact that I do not know how to swim. More than sixty years ago, I went to one of the early camp settings sponsored by The Methodist Church. (It was before we had Camp Don Lee, so you know it was a long time ago!) The counselors announced that it was time to go swimming and the troupe of boys and girls rushed for the nearby river. I didn’t. I did not know how to swim.
“Belton,” one of the adults began, “don’t you want to go swimming?” I said “No.” “Are you sure?” “Yes,” I finally said with the embarrassment of a not-quite-teen who knew he did not measure up to his peers, “I do not know how.” “Do you want to learn?” she asked. After a pause, my humiliation overcame my real wish, and I replied, “No. Not now.”
What happened next was pivotal in my journey. The counselor said, “Okay. Would you like to help me plan the Bible study?” It was not planning a Bible study that shaped my life so much as it was to be accepted as an okay person who did not know how to swim. There is a joy in having “where I am” as the starting point for “who I shall be.” Of course, that is how Jesus met folks too!
