I see it all the time in the animal world; ma and pa goose teaches and emulates proper goose behavior and methods of survival; "Watch what I do and how and what I eat and you will survive to fly south someday," they seem to be saying to the gosling off-spring. Sometimes I wish it was that easy with young people.
I don't know if you have noticed, but young people think differently than we did as teenagers; we lived somewhat simple lives; there were very few outside influences on our lives; our parents, family, church, and our friends pretty much was our world; we were not connected to the outside world's culture. What was going on in California stayed in California; we were quite content to live the rural, bucolic life style of a farm family in Iowa.
Not so today; every kid is bombarded from loud voices from all ways of life; the school teaches multi-culturalism, and a form a rebellion from our parents ways. TV and the Internet brings with its entertainment, but also all kinds of compromises and filth. What we were taught as children as to be wrong or sinful, in today's world nearly everything goes and everything is acceptable.
Imprinting: I try to change the way our summer staff think about their summer ministry; sometimes they respond, other times, they fight me and call my thinking outdated and old. I do try to instill certain behaviors that I find necessary: i.e., no excessive hardware stuck in various parts of ones head; no hats on backwards; no sloppy look in dress; look people in the eye when you talk to them; watch what you watch at the movies and on TV; memorize entire chapters in the Bible; get into the Word every day; cool the secular music and don't get carried away with wild and crazy Christian music (if you can call it Christian!).
I have seen an institution go to pot when someone doesn't stand up and hold certain principles of action as a guiding force; when someone doesn't hold up acceptable behavior patterns, it becomes tyrannical; out of control; the late 1960's revisited. During the first week of camp, we instruct the counselors that they need to conform to our standards. What is acceptable back home may not be acceptable at camp; it isn't a matter of right and wrong... it is about what is acceptable behavior while at camp.
Why should we be so fussy about how a counselor looks like or how they act? We have nearly 2000 young campers who attend Hidden Acres. Each camper comes from different backgrounds, different family situations, different traditions. Many campers are home schooled; their families might have a more conservative flavor to their family; while other campers might not have any church background and find everything acceptable. Our motto is always error on the conservative side.
Most people forget that it has been the seniors of our district that has given the money to develop the camp. I always tell the staff, "Don't being doing something or acting a certain way that would offend your grandmother." I would like to think that any guest that pops into camp would find the actions of the staff as acceptable and positive. Hidden Acres is every ones camp; I don't want one particular generation over-running and controlling the flavor of Hidden Acres.
Besides, I too want the staff to be able to fly south someday; successfully and without any baggage in their lives that will drag them down. Keeping a tight reign on the camp is not about me and what I want; it is about helping young people think through behavior patterns and the affect of bad choices that will scar their lives for years to come.
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