BSA Turmoil

Because I am a scoutmaster, I have been asked by a lot of folks about the recent change in the policy of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) concerning the inclusion of gay youth.  This change allows openly gay youth to join Scouting units, but still prevents openly gay adults from serving as Scout leaders. 

While some groups applaud the change, others say it doesn’t go far enough.  And others say it went too far.  I personally believe that BSA changed the policy because of losses of donors and financial support, and by making this change, hope to regain some of that support.  While I can understand why it happened, it appears to me that BSA caved to public pressure.  It’s hard to teach a Scout to do the right thing in spite of peer pressure when the national organization does the exact opposite.  But, that’s a subject for another post.

BSA has changed the policy; now, what will be the impact of this change?  Days after the policy change, my local newspaper carried the headline BE PREPARED FOR BOY SCOUTS IN TURMOIL.  A pastor of a church in Birmingham is quoted as predicting an exodus of “a significant number of participants and evangelical church-based organizations. “  That is a disturbing prediction given that approximately 70% of Cub Scout Packs and Boy Scout Troops are sponsored by churches.  Unfortunately, the exodus is already occurring.

At least three churches in the Birmingham area have already stated that they will no longer sponsor troops or packs after the end of this year.  Southern Baptist leaders, at its upcoming convention, will vote on a nonbinding resolution urging congregations to cut ties with BSA.  Southern Baptist churches sponsor nearly 4,000 Scout units, so cutting those ties will be a huge blow to Scouting. 

Not only will Scouting lose sponsors, it will also lose members.  Many parents are pulling their kids out of Scouting and enrolling them in other programs such as Royal Ambassadors, Christian Brigade, Pioneer Clubs, and AWANA.  Many of the churches that are breaking ties with BSA have stated that they will affiliate with and focus their efforts on these programs.

While these churches are free to cut their ties with BSA, I believe they are missing out on a great opportunity, an opportunity to make lemonade with the lemons dealt by the policy change.  The General Council on United Methodist Men estimates that in every troop sponsored by a United Methodist Church, 25% of the boys come from families that attend a United Methodist Church, 25% come from families that attend church of another denomination, and the rest come from families that do not attend church.  It is this last group where the churches can have a huge influence.

Jesus Christ gave Christians a great commission. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:   Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. “ (Mat 28:19-20).  If a church sponsors a Scout troop and selects men and women of good moral character with a belief in Christ, then they have an opportunity to draw families not otherwise associated with a church into a position where the family can hear the teachings of Christ.  Is that not what Christ wants us to do?  When a church refuses to sponsor a troop because of its position on gay youth, are we not reinforcing the stereotype of church hypocrisy?

Many churches don’t want to be viewed as endorsing the gay lifestyle and that is understandable.  But, by disassociating from BSA, churches will miss a great opportunity to provide positive moral adult role models to kids that may be lost, confused, or simply seeking attention and miss an opportunity to spread His teachings to those who may not otherwise hear them.

After Christ called Matthew to be one of his disciples, he ate a meal at Matthew’s house.  When the Pharisees complained about Christ eating with “publicans and sinners”, Christ responded, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."( Mat 9:12-13)

Christ did not commission us to spread His Word to only those with the same lifestyle, same skin color, or same language.  He commissioned us to spread His teachings to all nations.  Instead of cutting ties with BSA, churches should use the policy change to show that Christians truly love the sinner and hate the sin, that we are all sinners and fallen short of the glory of God, but through Christ we can all be redeemed.  Let’s not lose this opportunity to spread His word, to make Scouting available in our churches to provide Christ-like examples for kids that would otherwise have no positive role models