West Cocoa Chat

(This is a 2 part series on my association with Bible Camp. Today’s post will be somewhat sad and disappointing but please come back for Part 2 if you really want to be encouraged by seeing the mighty hand of God move through all of this.)

“I’ve been doing Bible Camp for so long that I used to capture the flag myself.” I once told this to someone who asked me how long I had been coming to the Central Florida Bible Camp. My “career” at CFBC started as a Cabin Counselor in the early, early 80’s where I participated in all of the recreational activities including my favorite game, “Capture the Flag.”

After a few years I was asked to be one of the Coordinators for our week along with my good friends Greg England and Steve Puckett. For a few years we were known as “The 3 Amigos,” a moniker hung on us by the long time Camp Director, John Grinnell. After a few years Greg moved to Long Beach (cue the theme from the Beverly Hillbillies – “Cali-forny is the place you ought to be…”) and our week became known as the “Puckett / Walker Week.” The standing joke between Steve and I was who the “Senior” Coordinator was and who was the “Junior?”

For a few years, each Camp Picture featured Steve and me lying in front of our campers, proudly displaying our children who were babies and toddlers at the time. I remember Steven’s first act of independence at Camp like it was yesterday. We were cleaning up the Mess Hall following breakfast. Steven was two or three at the time. In the hustle and bustle of all that activity I felt a little finger tap me on the back. I whirled around to see my young son holding hands with one of our older campers. I said, “Yes, baby?” He answered in his little boy voice, “Dad, I want to play with the (pointing towards the outside and the playground) kids.” I think I said something like, “Wait for me or your mother and we’ll take you outside” but he insisted he would be O.K. by sternly telling me, “Dad, I want to play with the kids!” After getting assurances from the young lady he was with that she would watch him, I watched my toddler age son make his first foray into independence from his Mother and Father and all this occurred at CFBC.

This would have been Steven’s 18th year at the Bible Camp even though he will only be 17. Steven’s first trip to camp was at the age of 3 weeks and he had not missed a year that is until this coming year. Apparently due to our possible merger with Discovery Christian Church (DCC) in January 08, we were un-invited to Camp this year. This all occurred just a few days before the Pepperdine Bible Lectures and after we had come up with a theme (His Space) and staff. Our “un-invitation” is the second such incident to have occurred to us in as many years. Last year we were forced to “un-invite” Pat Pugh as a speaker to our week of Camp because a number of “legalistic terrorists” pressured the Camp

Winston Churchill once said of communism’s take over of Eastern Europe during the beginning of the Cold War, “An “Iron Curtain” has fallen over Eastern Europe." In this case a dark, dark “Legalistic Curtain” (LC) has fallen over the Central Florida Bible Camp. One of the sad aspects of this “LC” is that it doesn’t care. The end justifies the means. In the name of keeping the camp “pure” the Legalist will stop at nothing and yet by operating in the dark instead of the light of Christ (I John 1:7) his goal is already sabotage by his own Satanic actions. The legalist doesn’t care about the hurt that has been done to me, my wife, my son, or the countless other kids and adults who would have attended our week.

Just yesterday we were talking about Camp when I realized how hurt my son was. He said, “Dad, there won’t be anymore Highlands Cabin, walks uphill to the Mess Hall, standing on the basketball court watching others play Capture the Flag, and bonfires by the lake.” I had to answer him with an affirmative. There are times when change is good and there are times when change isn’t wanted. We did not want to leave CFBC but it left us.

For the record, I hold no grudges against CFBC’s Director or any of the Board Members. CFBC has been a vital part of our lives and it has played a vital role in my development as well as my family’s. I baptized my son into Christ at CFBC. There are many great weeks of camp at CFBC that I would whole-heartedly endorse as being good for kids.

When the first week of June rolls around I will miss being at CFBC. Part of my heart will be on the grounds while my body will be else where. It was my dream to live long enough to see my son come back as a Cabin Counselor for our week. He would have done that next year. He was prepared to do one of our evening devotionals this year at CFBC. And like the time that Greg, Steve, and I took over for Paul Breakfield and Don Hall, I was looking forward to the time when we could have turned our week over to someone younger and ready to make their mark on this most special place for kids. That won’t happen now but I do trust in the Lord.

I’ve said this before so I will say it again. Since all of this transpired the words of Job in verse 1:21 have given me the strength to carry on as well as the song (Blessed Be Your Name) that uses these verses –

And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Stay tuned for part 2 to be encouraged and to see the mighty Hand of God move through all of this.