Christian Counseling Boarding School
Jan 25th, 2010 by Trace
Some have called Shepherd’s Hill Farm a Christian counseling boarding school. It’s actually a cross between a therapeutic wilderness program and a Christian counseling boarding school. There is an incredible advantage to these kids building, maintaining, and living in their own self-made communities in the woods. Troubled teens are often troubled teens because they have never been required to accomplish much at home. Therefore, they don’t feel part of the “team”, so to speak. When you’re a struggling teen, it’s hard to feel good about yourself when nothing is required of you. Life in the woods allows a troubled teen to be part of a problem-solving effort that goes beyond his own personal issues. He becomes part of a team that works to create a living atmosphere palatable for the entire group. This challenge helps give him the tools, through practical experience, to begin solving his own personal issues. The critical, constructive, and creative part of the brain comes alive again.
But, perhaps the greatest benefit to life in the woods for troubled teens is the fact that it is a reprieve from the Sodom and Gomorrah world they’ve come from. It is a time of innocent pleasures and a time to reflect on the really important issues of life such as origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. Though Shepherd’s Hill Farm could be called a Christian counseling boarding school, it is actually more of a camp atmosphere where a Christian school resides. Shepherd’s Hill Academy is a tremendous bonus that most Christian Wilderness programs do not offer troubled teens. So, while a resident is working on his behavioral issues, he doesn’t have to sacrifice academics in the process.
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Teenagers in today’s society are not challenged enough. In today’s culture many young people are rewarded for merely existing. For example, in my little league baseball career, I was on a team that was good at one thing… losing. Shortly after the last game of the season, we gathered as a team for an end of the season team party. At this party each player on the team was awarded a trophy. For what? losing!? I assure you this was not the only trophy in my trophy cabinet. No, there were dozens of trophies aligned on my shelves. What do these trophies represent to me? Nothing, other than the number of seasons I was involved in my little league community. Why would I want to aspire to succeed in little league when the losers got an identical trophy as the winners? There was no challenge.
Young people must be challenged and pushed to succeed in life. In doing so young people will be confident in themselves and their successes. I am encouraged by Shepherd’s Hill Farm, in the way they encourage young people to engage in the challenges of life. Through this year-long process these young men and women develop strong work ethics, Godly character and integrity, and appropriate respect for all authority.