This week I had the privilege to attend a conference in my field – Christian Camping. I’ve been doing this for years. By my count, this was my 5th time at this regional event, and my 8th conference over all. Here’s the sad truth that lingered at the back of my mind (somewhere between my collar and my bald spot) as I hustled through vendor halls, workshops, and as many snack tables as my conscience would allow: Youth often goes along with arrogance, and the two make a dangerous pair.
As a young camp leader, I thought I was the stuff. I actually went to these conferences asking myself, “How can I teach this dying industry about my brilliant approach to camp ministry?” Once, at age 25 no less, a workshop instructor called in sick, and I rushed in at the last second and volunteered to teach his session. I got up in front of a group of camp leaders who were, on average, 15-20 years more experienced than I was, and tried to let them know what was wrong with all of our ministries. Why they didn’t walk out, I’ll never know. Maybe they did, and I was just too blinded by my own “creative vision” to notice.
At 22, I remember hearing an older presenter say something like, “Everything I know, I learned by making a mistake.” I thought it was a cute line. What a great way to parry away a compliment with humility.
I now know that it was a simple fact – completely devoid of sarcasm or exaggeration.
I am on pace to make every possible mistake in my field by the year 2020. That may seem like a long time, but let me remind you that I’m not even learning how to hang a photo properly without screwing it up a few times first, so in the grand scheme of things, I’m flying.
