Hello my name is…
This week at Hopetown we had our all-boys camp. We enjoyed time on the lake, cooked meals together, played countless games of knockout, and made lasting memories.
We started camp off by watching the movie Wreck it Ralph. In the film, Ralph is labeled as a bad guy who desperately wants to be good. He leaves his own game on a quest to earn a medal so he could return with a new identity and be loved by those around him. In the end, he learns to accept himself for who he is and learns the true value of friendship and sacrifice.
The next morning, we talked about the names we give ourselves. Names that are untrue and based in lies we tell ourselves. Some included:
Unforgivable
Angry
Failure
Prideful
Not good enough
We wrote these names down on nametags that read, “Hello my name is…” and wore them around for the whole day.
That night, we gathered in the meeting room and worshiped together. We let the rich truth of “10,000 Reasons” and “Goodness of God” echo off the walls and into our hearts. Melissa came and sat in her chair and reminded us that these names we give ourselves are not who we truly are.
The next morning, Don Logan continued in Melissa’s teaching and brought the goodness of the gospel. We looked at Hebrews 10:19-25 and talked about how Jesus is our great high priest who offered himself on our behalf so that we might have confidence to draw near to God. Because we are sprinkled clean by His blood, we can come boldly into His presence at any point. The veil has been torn from top to bottom and there is no more dividing wall between us and God.
We then looked at 2 Corinthians 5:17 which says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” Don encouraged us that through Jesus, the false names that we try to stick on ourselves lose their stickiness. The only name that sticks is beloved child of God.
That afternoon, the boys made wooden plaques with a new name they wished to give to a man who had a significant impact on their life as our act of service for the week.
On the last night, the boys got to stand up around a fire and share about the name they chose and why they chose it. The staff then gave each boy a plaque of their own with a new name and a Bible verse relating to that name.
We ended camp reminding each other of our new names and encouraging one another to go back living in light of the new creation we are in Christ.
