The little girl's bunk was a mess. Her Bible was lying open in the middle of the crumpled sleeping bag and stuffed animals were scattered all over. It was easy for me, as dean, to decide who should get "Skunk Bunk" that day.

"Skunk Bunk" is the infamous award given to the worst looking bunk at camp. The dishonor takes points away from your team and subjects you to the humiliation of being recognized as a loser by the whole camp.

When I announced the award at lunch time, the girl ran from the room crying. Her dorm mom told me later she had spent a long time arranging her bed that morning. She had purposely opened her Bible to the verse of scripture for the day and had carefully set the animals in a circle on her bunk.

That was fifteen years ago and I have refused to approve or participate in giving "Skunk Bunk's" since. I am still embarrassed to think about my insensitivity and wonder, "What are we doing at church camp?"

Over the years, I have seen parts of church camp that not only take away from but is contrary to the whole purpose of Christian camping. So, before another summer begins, let us re-examine what we are doing and reclaim the camping experience as a little bit like heaven on earth.

Once upon a time we divided the campers into "teams". Now, we might refer to them as "families". But the semantics we use has not done much to lessen the competition and divisiveness these groupings cause.

Granted, part of the reason for teams/families is to help a faculty of twenty control one hundred kids. It also guarantees the "loner" a place to fit in and has a certain amount of accountability built in. But insistence on splitting up young people into arbitrary groups of ten to twenty encourages deception by the campers and can begin the week on a sour note.

Often I have seen campers lie or sneak over to the team their friends are on. Is that what we want to teach our young people?

Kids do not usually respond well in a group of strangers. For some first time campers, it can cause feelings of homesickness and ruin the whole week. I have found putting friends together can erase some feelings of loneliness and they will still make new friends.

As an alternative to the team/family concept, consider dividing the kids into small prayer cells (no more than ten to a group). The only time they meet is for morning devotions and evening prayer circles.

Classes can be determined by combining two or more prayer groups, on the year of school completed, or into boy's and girl's classes.

Christian camping is not a military academy so there is no need to force the kids to line up in a straight line by teams before meals. Unless the week is exceptionally large, one line works just as well (and encourages the kids to be on time or they eat last). There is actually less confusion and noise if the campers are allowed to sit with their friends. It cuts down on the silly and potentially embarrassing songs associated with meal time at camp, and after a day or two most campers generally sit in about the same place every meal.

Speaking of meal time, traditional mail call should be eliminated! Although a few campers like the attention, the idea of singing a song or telling a joke if you receive three letters or a package is unnatural and uncomfortable. There is nothing wrong with a responsible faculty member sorting through the mail and quietly distributing it to the campers.

A balance must also be struck between healthy exercise and building up of the camper's self-esteem. Part of the difficulty in this is the different stages of athletic ability and skills in our young people.

In the church camp setting, at least three factors need to be embraced when planning recreation. First, keep the games fairly non-competitive. Our primary purpose at camp is not winning a game but on love and concern for each person. Every faculty member should be instructed to encourage participation and fun, not beating team #2.

The second factor is variety. This requires a lot more work than simply bringing out the softball and saying, "Let's play a game". The goal should be finding games that the non-athletic type can participate in and enjoy right along with the star athlete.

Finally, do not force the kids to play everything. If you have four games planned in an afternoon, designate one or two as required participation and the rest as optional. During the optional games, non-participates must be at the playing field. You will be amazed at the increase in cooperation and participation when the campers are given a choice.

Remember, we are not at church camp to relive our childhood or make fun of others. We are there to encourage and build up our young people and most importantly, to tell them about Jesus.

And to that young lady I embarrassed so long ago, forgive me. I forgot for a moment why you were at camp. I hope that in spite of my ignorance, you remember church camp as being a little bit like heaven on earth.