Whose Side Are You On?
Ken Bontrager with Kevin Smith
June 26, 2020
First of Four / 2020 Essays on Race and Diversity
With the fire blazing and counselors organizing their campers, Talibah calls out in a loud clear voice, “What time is it?” The reply is even louder but less committed, “Worship time.” “What time is it?” Now in full unison, “Worship Time!” Talibah leads the first song in a similar question and response.
Whose side are you leaning on? I’m leaning on the Lord’s side.
Whose side are you leaning on? I’m leaning on the Lord’s side.
I lean, I lean, I lean, I lean.
I’m leaning on the Lord’s side.
I lean, I lean, I lean, I lean.
I’m leaning on the Lord’s side.
Over the past few weeks companies, institutions, organizations, and individuals have been asked, “Whose side are you on?” Kevin and I have spent much time since the death of George Floyd talking about a statement from Camp Deerpark. We want to assure the children, parents, youth, and young adults of color in our camp family that we care deeply about them. We also want to encourage our white brothers and sisters to push into the beauty of racial diversity. If you know Camp Deerpark you know that from the beginning in 1969 this has been a place where people of all cultures have come together to break down barriers. We, of course, have not always done it right. Our board and administration has had to repent and change course many times. Always at the heart of this ministry has been the desire to treat every person in the truth that we are loved by and created in the image of God. We are leaning on the Lord’s side.
I have been honored and blessed to have been invited into many conversations and experiences over the past 37 years which have shaped and enriched my life. Ms. Mary Joseph told me, “Laws are good, but until our hearts change we will not experience racial harmony.” Dr. Drew Hart challenged me to push into knowing the other side. Jesus called both a tax collector and a zealot to be his disciples. David Miller stressed Imago Dei, the importance of seeing every person as made in the image of God.
Kevin and I had a plan to write a statement together. I was trying to squeeze the above four points into one page and this morning opted to expand on the ideas over the next few weeks. I am honored to call Kevin a colleague and friend to work beside here at Camp Deerpark. Below are his thoughts.
As program director I must keep in mind people (race relations), summer camp as a department of our organization and Camp Deerpark as an organization.
Having all three thoughts in mind, I believe this scripture illustrates the great correlation of them all, “For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45) The heart of Camp Deerpark is the ministry of our summer camp program; it’s what we were created to do, and the heart of the summer camp program is “Empowering youth to serve Christ in the city”. I would take it a step further and say it’s “Empowering youth to serve Christ wherever they live” because not all of our youth are from the city and that’s the cross-cultural beauty of Camp Deerpark.
In context, this is a tense time of racial division in our society but the heart of Camp Deerpark was founded to create and empower our youth to learn how to live and serve Christ through our summer camp program core values. Our mission leans on our Christian values to structure our program with intent. Our activities are created and facilitated to equip our youth to serve Christ together even with our differences. We emphasize that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. So when our campers, staff and parents see each other, we must see God’s beauty in each other first before we see our differences.
Now as program director and an African-American male I have lived long enough to understand the importance of diversity and equality and its representation in our leadership. I challenge my summer camp leadership to lean on the scripture “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed…” (Isaiah 1:17) Demonstrating that on whatever platform or space we are in, we must actively prompt learning to do right, seeking justice and defending the oppressed. This scripture also teaches me that racial division in society has been going on long before Camp Deerpark was created, but I am encouraged because the cries of the oppressed people are being heard once again. Camp Deerpark will continue to walk with our brothers and sisters of color and engage our white brothers and sisters to join us in this walk. In doing so the heart of Camp Deerpark continues to fulfill our mission to empower our youth to serve Christ as we collectively learn to do right, seek justice, defend the oppressed and, most importantly, love one another. We’ll continue to embody this to everyone we encounter.
Blessings.
Kevin Smith
This is not a problem that began in the past month and it will not be solved easily or quickly. Please know that as director of Camp Deerpark I am committed to continue to be a space where authentic relationships are formed and strengthened across cultural barriers. We will continue to lean on the Lord’s side.
Next Essay: The Other Side