Originally published January 5, 2011.
At a recent editorial meeting for InSite magazine, the topic of piercings and tattoos came up. We discussed the trends in youth ministry and youth culture with regard to these stylistic choices, and wondered where the majority of CCCA members have drawn lines, if any, regarding physical appearance in general, and piercings and tattoos specifically.
We went to a trusted source, Duffy Robbins, associate professor of youth ministry at Eastern University, to get his take on the issue and start the conversation on this blog. Following is an excerpt from Duffy that I hope you’ll find as balanced, clear-headed and enlightening as I did.
Question: When hiring summer staff for a camp, would you rule out someone based on their external appearance (i.e., tattoos, piercings, choice of clothing, hairstyle, etc.)? Why or why not? What do camps need to consider about today’s youth culture when making these types of decisions?
Answer from Duffy Robbins:
Suffice it to say that a question like this involves three perspectives, and depending on which perspective you use, you come up with a different take on the question.
The perspective of 1) the campers: Most of them would say, “no big deal,” and in fact, it might allow a counselor to better relate to certain kids than would a counselor who was less inclined to decorate themselves with tattoos, piercings and other assorted body armor. That’s important to note because we want to relate to those kids. 2) The counselor, who should not be judged by their appearance (1 Samuel 16:7), but by their character and commitment. After all, these are not (at least based on explicit biblical teaching) moral issues we’re talking about. 3) The parent (paying consumer who sends the child to camp) who isn’t crazy about this person who is wearing enough metal to be magnetic.
For group No. 1, I’d want to give careful thought. I want to reach those kids, so I would probably want to stretch as far as I can on this question. For No. 2, I would say, “Yes, you have the right to look any way you want to look, but rightly or wrongly, other people (i.e., parents, employers) have the right to draw conclusions about you based on your appearance, and that also must be taken seriously.
If the counselor were righteously indignant about this surrender of his “rights,” I would first ask him if this really is the hill he wants to die on. Is this really the fight you want to fight? And secondly, I would refer him to Paul’s insistence that Timothy be circumcised before doing ministry among the Jews (Acts 16:3), which to my mind, sort of puts a nose ring removal in perspective.
For group No. 3, I can’t bend to the taste of every parent, but nor will I have a camp if I don’t take their concerns seriously. Parents know that camp counselors are role models and what they do/look like/talk like will have an impact on their kids, and they have the right to care about what those influences are. I might ask the parent this question though: “What if I told you that this counselor helps us connect with kids that no one else seems to connect with? Would you still think the nose ring/tattoo is so important that either it or the counselor should be removed?”
In short, I can’t say a simple “yes” or “no.” It would depend on the nature of body art, heart of kid, age of campers, reasonableness of parental complaint (i.e., what do you do about a parent who doesn’t want their child’s counselor to be black, Pentecostal, Democrat, etc?) and how the various parties responded to the issues I’ve raised above. I don’t want to lose a good counselor, but a good counselor won’t do me much good if I don’t have tuition-paying parents, and what’s the good of having kids’ tuition paid if we’re not able to minister to them in what we feel is the most effective way? So I can’t say it’s a slam dunk answer one way or the other. Each incident would have to be weighed differently.
What do you think? Where has your camp or conference drawn the line—for staff/counselors and for guests? Have Duffy’s thoughts caused you to think differently? What policy/practice would you change right now regarding a personal appearance clause?