This summer I’m taking my youth group to World Changers in Franklin, North Carolina.? World Changers is basically a week-long mission trip.? I sign myself and my students up and we go put roofs, handicapped ramps or whatever is needed on homes in less-fortunate areas of the country.? It’s rather a large undertaking on my part and this being my first year participating in World Changers I decided it would benefit me to attend the pre-project meeting today.? We spent the better part of the day going to several of the work sites as well as seeing where we will be sleeping for the week.? We’ll be sleeping in the Macon County Middle School, eating all our meals there and even showering there in their locker rooms. I can tell already that this mission trip is going to be one interesting experience; let me tell you why.
The part of the trip that will probably be the most interesting is the shower situation.? The girls shower room is very nice.? Total privacy is the norm, each shower has it’s own stall and even has its own dressing/changing area.? The girls can enter the shower room fully clothed and leave fully clothed, never exposing themselves to anyone else.? Not so with the boys shower room.? There are two poles in the center of a room.? Each pole has about 8 or 9 shower heads sticking out from it in flower petal fashion.? This was obviously designed so the bathers have no choice but to face each other while completely naked.? The dressing/changing area is the same way, completely communal.? Needless to say, I’m not looking forward to shower time at World Changers.
It’s not that being naked in front of complete strangers is particularly embarrassing to me (though it rates 9 out of 10 on the uncomfortable scale) but being naked in front of my students that really bothers me.? I can take public nakedness in front of peers, but not in front of the guys in my youth group.? My question is why, in what world, would a person assume that boys are any less deserving of privacy in the shower than girls?? Whose bright idea was this?? Someone wasn’t thinking too clearly when those shower rooms were designed.
What about you guys?? Have you ever showered in a communal shower room?? Did it bother you or not?? As a teenager would it bother you to see your youth pastor naked?
