Allegany Boys Camp: The Author of Order
God has created humans to function best with a certain amount of structure. God himself is a God of order. 1 Corinthians 14:33a says, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace.” A little later in the same chapter, verse 40 says, “Let all things be done decently and in order.
God also exemplifies extreme order in the way He created the earth and the universe. The planets orbit the sun in very stable and predictable patterns. Eclipses can be predicted very accurately years in advance. Even in the middle of a long cold winter we all have a firm belief that spring will come again. Unfortunately, humans living in a sin-cursed world tend to live lives that are very busy and not nearly as organized as our Creator or even His creation around us.
In a group camp, we work very hard to establish a structured routine in which everyone knows what is coming next and what is expected of each member of the group. Many of the boys at camp have had a hard time being organized with their belongings or in the way that try to accomplish a given task. Often that lack of organization ultimately leads to failure which directly affects a boy’s sense of self-worth. When a boy comes to camp, much of his effort during the first two months is often spent on establishing the ABC’s of camp, which simply are: A. A clean camper, B. A clean campsite, and C. A clean tent.
For example, mornings at camp are very structured. The whole group gets up at the same time. Next they make their beds and sweep their tent floor. The it’s time for a short group devotional. Here they talk about what they have planned for the rest of the day. The whole day goes in a similar fashion and the group always knows what’s coming up next. This structure lends itself to a sense of security. A group that feels secure can solve problems very well as opposed to an insecure group. As we help boys learn to be neat and organized with the physical things in life we are also, by the grace of God, establishing a sense of peace and rest in thee emotional and spiritual parts of a boy also.
The structure at camp provides a great opportunity to teach the concept of right and wrong. As each boy learns to life life in an organized way he also learns that there is a right and wrong way to do any given task. Ultimately the result we seek through the structured lifestyle at camp is to bring each boy into a personal relationship with the Author of order.
Chief Leighton Martin, Supervisor
Source: a hard copy of camp newsletter, not available on the web