The Power Of Responsibility by Guest Blogger Steve Pearce

Steve Pearce--HoneyRock Executive Council and HoneyRock Student from 1991-1995

“Responsibility is the great developer
of people.”  That is one of the quotes that defines HoneyRock
for me.  As a college student in SLS in the early 1990s, I heard
this often quoted by people like Glenn Town, Rob Ribbe, and Bill Long. 
I am not a student of HoneyRock lore, but I believe this statement
is attributed to Coachy Gale.  His words rang true for me as a
young college student and they still ring true for me today as an adult. 
At the heart of all of the facets of HoneyRock’s ministry is the development
of the people involved, making them
“whole and effective Christians”.  One huge way that this is
developed at HoneyRock is by giving people responsibility.   

It is my observation that in today’s
world, we have a hard time helping people develop by giving them responsibility.
Whatever the reason may be for this societal trend, it hurts the development
of young people and leaders in our world today. That is why HoneyRock
is so important.  Whether you are an adolescent, a college student,
or an adult, HoneyRock will give you a multitude of opportunities to
develop through responsibility.  Through various jobs around camp,
adventure challenge opportunities, wilderness trips, and the way HoneyRock
“does camp”, one has no choice but to experience responsibility
on a daily basis. 

Responsibility allows one to fail. 
It also allows one to succeed.  More importantly, the lessons learned
through failing or succeeding are the lessons that impact a person’s
life.  I can honestly say that I would not be the person, parent,
leader, and follower of Christ that I am today without my experiences
at HoneyRock.  To this day, I am grateful to the multitude of people
at HoneyRock who gave me responsibility opportunities.  Without
them, I wouldn’t have failed and succeeded…and worse yet, no learning
for development would have happened.