Fall means “back to school.” It’s a rhythm that children grow accustomed to as the years go by and, for career educators like me, it’s one we live by on into adulthood. Fourteen years ago, I was “back to school” for my sophomore year of college and I had just finished one of the best summers of my life. It had been my first summer at New Life fun games” at Morning Camp Party for another summer—and then another one after that. I didn’t know it at the time, but God was shaping my career path even as I felt like I was kicking the can down the road. So what do you do for a living when you graduate college with an Ranch since I was in middle school, and Fall means “back to school.” It’s a rhythm that children grow accustomed to as the years go by and, for career educators like me, it’s one we live by on into adulthood. Fourteen years ago, I was “back to school” for my sophomore year of college and I had just finished one of the best summers of my life. It had been my first summer at New Life Ranch since I was in middle school, and I loved being a counselor even more than I had enjoyed my time as a camper. What could be better than helping kids memorize Bible verses and dunking them in the pool, or taking them on creek hikes and spinning tall tales about the time your mom saw Hookman in the summer of 1973? But I was back at school, and it was time to grow up. As an economics major, I figured I would be one-and-done on the NLR summer staff. Next year I’d need to apply for something more serious—maybe an internship in a congressional office—and get ready for my career after college. That was my plan, at least, but the Lord had a different idea. My background is not charismatic in the slightest. There are only a handful of moments in my life when I feel like God was specifically, unambiguously calling me to something. And one of those few times was when He called me to return to New Life Ranch for a second summer. In obedience, I set aside whatever notions I had about an internship or a “real” job and went back to “sing silly songs and play economics degree and no relevant experience in that field? Teach middle school English, of course! As a counselor, camp had re-shaped my values and re-ordered the priorities that I came into college with. My summers at New Life Ranch had showed me just how much I loved working with kids, which led me to pursue a career in education. I now have the privilege to serve as the Principal of the Boys’ School at Crossover Preparatory Academy, an all-male and all-female middle and high school in north Tulsa. At Crossover Prep, the seeds that were planted in me as a camp counselor at New Life Ranch continue to bear fruit today. There are small examples of this sprinkled throughout the school day and school year, from our annual student vs. staff dodgeball match, to our intramural competitions that look suspiciously like Cabin Challenge to the name of our small group discussion time after Chapel each week (“Talkback”). But the biggest example is our most important tradition at the school— the Manhood Hike. This is a graduation requirement for us, a rite of passage that takes place at the end of 9th grade, where students go on a four-day backpacking trip in the Ouachita National Forest, completing the 27-mile Eagle Rock Loop. For most of our students, it is their f irst backpacking trip. Many of them have never pitched a tent before freshman year. Our staff trains them and hikes with them to keep them safe, but we don’t tell them when to turn right or left, or what time to wake up, or how much farther we have to hike that day. It’s meant to be a challenge, an experience of team bonding and mutual dependence, and an initiation into manhood. When they are f inished, they receive the designation of “Crossover Men” and are qualified for a lot of additional privileges. Many of our graduating seniors list completing the Manhood Hike as one of their proudest accomplishments in high school. My days as a counselor are behind me, but the lessons taught and the skills developed in camping ministry - challenge, survival, adventure, cooperation, fun - remain impactful and rewarding. Outdoor ministry requires us to put aside some of our pretensions, our seriousness, our self-importance. Jesus calls us to humble ourselves like little children, and it’s hard to stay prideful or stuckup when you’re losing a game of dodgeball, or sleeping in a tent, or wiping the sticky marshmallow of a s’more off of your face. If we never let ourselves become “too old” to embrace the camp side of life, that is at least one way we can follow what Jesus is saying to “become like children.” And all the more so when we are doing it not just to have a good time, not just to make memories, but toconnect with and reach kids for the gospel.
Dr. John Lepine Sr.
Principal of Crossover Preparatory Academy
