Paul Thorn Blasts MS Youth Camp and COGOP

[rev rick]

I question his motive, and purpose (perhaps personal gain). I would believe He is using this event out of context (if in fact it occured) as stated. The venue he choose is not one for corrective action. He said His daughter was there , could it be that bad? I am very sorry for what ever took place while this young man was at camp. This is the 1st time I have ever heard of this event, altho I was active about the time Paul was there. I don't remember Him personally. I do feel very sorry for Him. It is so sad sad sad for this young man.

[dawgs10]

for someone to blast something like that years later there has to be more to this guy than just a bad camp experience. camp changed my life for the good and i think a lot of people would join me in saying that.

[free]

We did the "catacomb" thing at camp when I was in high school but we were given some what of a head's up about it...It wasn't all that frightening, but more of a learning experience.

Does Paul's dad still pastor in CoGoP? Is he possibly upset with the church for how his family has been treated, etc. etc.? I feel saddended for him and will pray for him.

[SBW]

I attended Kamp Kumbaya from 1977 until 1990; age 7 to 20. My kids now attend camp every summer there. Nothing but good times to remember. In the early 80's we did have one of those catacomb services, but nothing to the extent of what Thorn is claiming.

Wonder why this slamming of the church and camp? Must be some personal gain attached to it. I agree with Rev Rick.

[Penny]

If it happened this way my kids would not go back to that camp

I would not let my kids ever go back if I got word this happen. This is sad. That these people thought it was ok to lie to the kids at this camp. A lie is a lie even if you are making a point it is still a lie and it still wrong.

[darylscook]

That is just what we need..... I had read the article. I wanted to make a couple of points.

1. I did not have the pleasure of being the in the camp that Paul Thorne is talking about, but I did hear about a "Catacomb" thing happening. I think it was a mistake but I also know that that was a long time ago, I was 12 in 1982 and Paul Thorn is probaby a few years older than me; it was probably in the 1970s. A lot of stupid things were done in the 70s out of good motives but NTL stupid.

2. I know that the more dramatic he remembers it, the more attention it brings to him which would equate to more sales of his songs/stories. It may not be on purpose, but a good storyteller telling a story that is over 30 years old may embellish a little or a lot!

3. As camp directors, we need to keep this in mind!!!!!!! I don't think even our Senior Camps would do anthing like this, but we need to remember this and make sure our camps our not hurting kids even with good motives.

4. From 2000 to 2006 I Directed our Subteen camp (10-11) and nothing like this ever happened.

5. Starting in 2007, I became the Director of PeeWee camp and this doesn't happen. We force the kids to eat Pizza for Breakfast on Backwards day

6. I think some mistakes have been made .... even fairly recently thinking campers have demons and trying to cast them out. We really need to rethink how we approach this especially considering the blog written! Our Directors need to really know "Mosaics" way of thinking, dispositions, and reactions and be really sensitive to the Holy Spirit!



God Bless You
Daryl

[RamboPreacher]

That is just what we need..... I had read the article. I wanted to make a couple of points.

1. I did not have the pleasure of being the in the camp that Paul Thorne is talking about, but I did hear about a "Catacomb" thing happening. I think it was a mistake but I also know that that was a long time ago, I was 12 in 1982 and Paul Thorn is probaby a few years older than me; it was probably in the 1970s. A lot of stupid things were done in the 70s out of good motives but NTL stupid.

2. I know that the more dramatic he remembers it, the more attention it brings to him which would equate to more sales of his songs/stories. Mike Warnke comes to mind right now.

3. As camp directors, we need to keep this in mind!!!!!!! I don't think even our Senior Camps would do anthing like this, but we need to remember this and make sure our camps our not hurting kids even with good motives.

4. From 2000 to 2006 I Directed our Subteen camp (10-11) and nothing like this ever happened.

5. Starting in 2007, I became the Director of PeeWee camp and this doesn't happen. We force the kids to eat Pizza for Breakfast on Backwards day

6. I think some mistakes have been made .... even fairly recently thinking campers have demons and trying to cast them out. We really need to rethink how we approach this especially considering the blog written! Our Directors need to really know "Mosaics" way of thinking, dispositions, and reactions and be really sensitive to the Holy Spirit!



God Bless You
Daryl

excellent post Daryl. thank you!

[Dr. Ron]

Sadly, this type of thing occured more often that we wish it had.

It was the pre-cursor to TBN type stuff. There were movies out about the coming of the persecution of the church.....Hal Lindsey( the greates heretic of my day) was writing junk like "The Late Great Planet Earth". People were buying into the immediate "second coming". I was even told not to go to college because the Lord would return before I got finished.

There were many stupid things done by well meaning people who thought shock and awe were acceptable methods of sharing the gospel. A lot of "Zeal without wisdom".

And yes, I know Paul Thorne. If he said this happened, I assure you it did and just the way he said it did. He does not hate COGOP and his parents are still members (in good standing) as far as I know. He just recounts things they way they were and comments on that.....I have a son who does the same.

A true mark of maturity is to look at the mistakes of the past and admit they were that .....make proper adjustments and move on.

Pray for Paul....pray for all those who may have been affected by a comment, misplaced zeal, or just plain stupidity.

[Jennifer Smith]

for someone to blast something like that years later there has to be more to this guy than just a bad camp experience. camp changed my life for the good and i think a lot of people would join me in saying that.

EXACTLY.

When the Conan O'Brien thread was posted I checked Thorn's blog out a little bit and he isn't serving the Lord right now, as far as I can tell. (Based on comments he made in response to someone who asked him about Jesus.)

I don't agree with what he says happened, and I don't like fear tactics. But I wonder if he blew it out of proportion.

I will say, the Lord worked through the "Thief in the Night" movies in my life. The Bible says that some will be saved "through fear." But I'm not condoning what he says happened, if that is the way it happened. That would be a horrible thing to do to children.

BUT, if it happened that way for him, why did he send his own daughter to the same camp? And, he says she came home scared without giving any details of why.. might've just been homesick.

Don't take anything this guy says too seriously, he appears to be a Jonah, running from God and not afraid to take others with him.

[Dr. Ron]

Jennifer....please re-read my post. If he is anything....it is brutally honest.

Yes ....he is running from the Lord in our spiritual mentality.....no doubt about it....

But the "Thief In THe Night" movies and all the books that were written in that era were all theologically wrong. Maybe you got scared into salvation, but it doesn't work well for everyone.

[jdavis]

This must have happened in the late seventies or early eighties. I was a pastor in Mississippi(80-84). I do recall hearing about the service and that some of the staff were upset that it took place but don't have any first hand knowledge. I don't know Paul Thorn, but I do know his father and mother. I helped preach his grandmother's funeral a few years ago. They are wonderful dedicated Christians and members of the COGOP in MS.

If it happened as described by Thorn, then I would hesitate calling it a Catacomb service. I participated in Catacomb services as a teen and young adult. They were role play experiences in which all of the participants including the kids were aware of their roles and script which began "Imagine you were a Christian in Rome during the persecution........." In this Russian invasion scenario the campers were not aware that this was fantasy. The staff took a real fear (remember Red Dawn with Patrick Swazey and the miniseries Amerika) and played it upon the emotions of 12 year old kids. This was (no matter the good intentions) a cruel hoax that the courts, media, lawyers would have a field day with if it happened now. There isn't anything we can do about it now except as Daryl said be careful how we conduct camps in the future and learn from our mistakes.

I would be more concerned to find out what happened when his daughter had a negative experience and try to rectify that instead of what I'm hearing which is gather the troops, circle the wagons, and then question the motives and intentions of Paul Thorn.

[dolfan]

The only thing I find curious about it is this -- Why did he choose now to say this in particular?

I don't know if he posted it to Huffington's blog or if they picked it up off his own website and his blog there. That, to me, would answer some of this. I gave him credit for being a little smarter than to pick a fight with someone unnecessarily, and going to Huffington's site with this tiny, obscure account of something deeply personal yet broadly irrelevant to the world around him seems weird to me. Weird in terms of perceived character, weird in terms of timing with all the publicity around his new CD (he'll be on Jimmy Kimmel's show in April, fyi). This kind of thing doesn't endear you to people so much. It just seems cheesy to me for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. BUT, if it was picked up from his own blog, then that makes more sense.

Here's why I say that. The way he phrased his reasons for saying this, his nieces and nephews' experiences or whatever, is not clear. He just says similar things go on now. If he had written something for national broadcast on a very popular blog site, and given his own knack for spinning yarns and making observations, it just seems especially poorly done and poorly thought out. OTOH, if it was a post to his own blog, it would make more sense, a rawer, less refined thought process without any inner need to make it make perfectly clear sense to everyone factually -- hence, the lack of detail as to what the camp's current scare tactics are (assuming he's accurate, that is). If it was a pickup by Huffington's site and he permitted it, that's a bit less disconcerting to me about the guy's thought processes than it would be otherwise.

If that kind of stuff goes on, I wouldn't let my kid within 100 yards of the place and I'd put on some rear-end kickin' boots and use them well on anyone who did it to my kid. If I send my kid to your camp (not you, Mississippi, in particular --- I mean anybody's anywhere) and you pull some kind of trick like this, I might hunt you down and do a little scaring straight of my own.

[jinjer]

First, let me say that I attended and worked in camp all of my life. My mother was director for many years, and both of my parents worked in camp all their lives. This was in Kentucky. I had a great experience with the camping ministry in my state. However, my husband's experience was different.

My husband is 46YO and is from MS. He attended many camps, but never had an enjoyable experience. He has never really been specific and those things he has talked about I don't feel comfortable writing for fear that I would not get the facts straight.

As far as Paul Thorn's description of this event. If it were a catacomb service, everyone should have been made aware that it was occuring. Especially, when dealing with children and teens. I'm not saying the story is true or not, just giving my opinion on how I see it should have happend. As for him bringing it up this many years later, I don't know the motive for that. It's possible that this is his most memorable camp, sadly, and it outweighs all the other memories it has. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, provided the event occured.

Just my .02. I will ask my husband if he was at this camp or not, and remembers this event.

Jinjer

[blessedmom]

You know this is weird how all of this is coming about.
I have been reading a book The Invisible War- It's on spiritual warfare. So often before a HUGE move of God, Satan attacks with things to trip us up, or throw things at us to blur our vision. Ex. Last year I was pee-wee camp evangelist. I was getting everything together and right in the middle of preparing for this HUGE time, my grandad got really sick and after some time passed away. I spent so much time at the hospital. Camp was great but looking back I see how the devil "tried" to get our focus somewhere else. Anyway, prayers were answered and kids were saved, sanctified, and filled with the holy ghost! To God be the glory!!!!!!
In saying that,
I think that it's time Mississippi (and whoever else for that matter) stop focusing on all this negative and look beyond this into what God has in store for our kids!!! If we spend all our efforts looking into the whys and hows and whatever then it's taking up time we use focusing on praying that God (despite Satan's attacks) will make this camping season the best ever.
God's already given us the victory. So, we aren't fighting for victory, we are fighting from victory. He's already won! I'm so excited and I can't wait to see what God is going to do!
I am sad to see that some experienced a not so good time at camp. I truely am! But if we stress about that so much then we are not giving this generation the time and prayer they DESERVE!!
Terri

[jessicacook]

You know this is weird how all of this is coming about.
I have been reading a book The Invisible War- It's on spiritual warfare. So often before a HUGE move of God, Satan attacks with things to trip us up, or throw things at us to blur our vision. Ex. Last year I was pee-wee camp evangelist. I was getting everything together and right in the middle of preparing for this HUGE time, my grandad got really sick and after some time passed away. I spent so much time at the hospital. Camp was great but looking back I see how the devil "tried" to get our focus somewhere else. Anyway, prayers were answered and kids were saved, sanctified, and filled with the holy ghost! To God be the glory!!!!!!
In saying that,
I think that it's time Mississippi (and whoever else for that matter) stop focusing on all this negative and look beyond this into what God has in store for our kids!!! If we spend all our efforts looking into the whys and hows and whatever then it's taking up time we use focusing on praying that God (despite Satan's attacks) will make this camping season the best ever.
God's already given us the victory. So, we aren't fighting for victory, we are fighting from victory. He's already won! I'm so excited and I can't wait to see what God is going to do!
I am sad to see that some experienced a not so good time at camp. I truely am! But if we stress about that so much then we are not giving this generation the time and prayer they DESERVE!!
Terri

You are right, Terri.