Random Thoughts on the 2014 Boy Scout Resolution on Membership Standards

 

Today, BSA announced that their resolution for a change in membership standards passed with 61% approval of the 1,400 voting members.

Officially, BSA “approved a resolution to remove the restriction denying membership to youth on the basis of sexual orientation alone. The resolution also reinforces that Scouting is a youth program, and any sexual conduct, whether heterosexual or homosexual, by youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting.”

In short, no child will be denied membership or participation in Scouting based on their admitted sexual preference.

Since this was announced, I have had at least 10 people ask me what I thought about this.  I think I surprised them with my answer.

“Great.  Nothing really changes for me.  I have never once asked a child his sexual orientation nor will I ever.  Sexuality has no place in Scouting.” 

By the same token, I do not ask families about their marital status, their religious preference, whether they smoke, drink, or even if they are gay/lesbian.  Frankly it is irrelevant to me.

Nothing changes for me.

I have children in our Scouting program that come from all kinds of backgrounds.  I have Scout parents that are single, divorced, living out of wedlock, etc.

I have friends, coworkers, and family members that are openly gay and lesbian.

Amazingly, I am able to work with people that may be different from me, teach Scouts that come from different family backgrounds than mine, and love my family members and friends that are gay/lesbian.

I don’t agree with each and every one of these individuals, their beliefs, and their lifestyles.  However, that doesn’t mean I am going to treat them any different than someone who shares my exact belief system and lifestyle.  

Will the new BSA ruling change anything I do as Scout leader?  No.  Nothing changes for me.

There is nothing in the Scouting curriculum regarding sexuality or sexual preference, and this will never be an issue in my group.  It wasn’t an issue before.  It isn’t now.

Will I try to be a strong Christian role model to all of my Scouts and their families?  Yes.

Will I hate or despise anyone who is different from me based on their faith, race, or sexuality?  No.  I never have, and I never will.  When Scouts and their families work with me and see me, they know the type of man I am.  They also know that as a Christian, I love others.  I don’t have time or room for hate.  I will continue to teach and model God's love.

Again, nothing changes for me.

I am glad that a decision on this resolution is over.  It’s time to move forward.

There were a few sentences in today’s official BSA statement that I feel truly represent my feelings about this issue. 

"While people have different opinions about this policy, we can all agree that kids are better off when they are in Scouting. Going forward, our Scouting family will continue to focus on reaching and serving youth in order to help them grow into good, strong citizens. America's youth need Scouting, and by focusing on the goals that unite us, we can continue to accomplish incredible things for young people and the communities we serve."

I am and will continue to be a Christian role model and Scout leader for the young men in our Scouting program. 

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

This is what I teach.  This is what I will continue to model for each of our Scouts.

Nothing changes for me.

Is Scouting Still Relevant?

Recently, I had an experience at work where someone found out for the first time that I was involved as an adult leader in our local Cub Scout program. 

The person was shocked and said, “Is scouting even relevant?  All I hear on the news is that scouting discriminates.”

For my answer, I could have quoted national scouting enrollment numbers, the amount of community service done by scouts across the country, discussed political and religious opinions, etc., but I really didn’t think that answered the question. 

Sadly, the number of scouts has decreased over time, even though there are still millions of scouts in this country.  In my opinion, it has nothing to do with the issues being discussed nationally about allowing gays and lesbians to participate in scouting.  Those are issues for the political groups within and outside of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) national office to debate and argue.  Scouting is not done by bureaucrats.  I have yet to see one on any campout or scouting activity for my group.  Scouting is done by parents at the local level.  If BSA changed its stance tonight on having openly gay/lesbian leaders or gay young men as scouts, do I think it will spur a massive movement of scouting enrollment?  No.  Some will openly proclaim they are gay scouts or leaders, maybe a few new members will join, some will even leave, but you will not see a massive change in the total number of scouts in this country.  I don’t believe these items answer the question of “relevancy” for scouting.  They are political topics that tend to dominate the news rather than stressing all of the wonderful things that scouts everywhere are doing as part of their scouting programs. 

In reality, there are too many distractions and other activities that pull away a young man’s time and interest away from scouting.  There are year round sports programs/sports camps, video games, and as a society, we are much “busier” than ever before.   Despite all of these things, I think the biggest issue is that there are too many children who do not have active parents in their lives.  I’ve seen more young men leave scouting because they didn’t have a parent who would bring them to meetings, take them camping, or support them in completing activities for their rank advancement.  Scouting is a family activity, and its success completely depends on active parents who are willing to spend time with their child and place them in programs that help them develop into good young men.  Scouting instills character development, citizenship training, personal fitness and more, but it all starts with parental involvement. 

Well back to the original question, and my answer.

“Is scouting even relevant? ”

A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.  These are timeless values that will never lose their relevance.  These were the values that were taught to me as a young man and the values I live by as an adult.  The bureaucrats and politicians in BSA will argue and make changes to scouting policies over time.  Whatever they do or don’t do will never change those timeless values that form the backbone of Boy Scouts.  These things need to be stressed and taught to young men everywhere.   Too many non-scouting programs and activities focus on competition rather than character development and citizenship.  The biggest issue isn’t the relevance of scouting, it’s the priority of scouting.  We need more parents to be involved with their children and help put programs like this as a higher priority in their child’s life.

I understand that not every person is going to agree with my thoughts on this issue.  The good news is that we live in a free nation where we can respectfully have differences in opinion.   Some out there feel that scouting is no longer relevant , and that BSA is an organization that is stuck in a time that has passed.  I’m one that recognizes that there are national issues and local issues with scouting.  This occurs with virtually every national organization or business chain.  We shouldn’t confuse the two.  Scouting is driven at the local level.  It is the parents and volunteers of these programs that are making a difference in helping young men develop into good citizens.   Each week, I get to see how scouting impacts our community locally.  We have raised thousands of pounds of food for the homeless, picked up trash in the parks and highways, visited nursing homes, and sorted clothes at the local care center.  I simply can’t believe that raising young men to be this type of citizen is a bad thing or something that is no longer relevant to society.   The world needs more scouts in their communities.   The world needs more young men who are trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the father of scouting, was quoted as saying, “When a boy finds someone who takes an interest in him, he responds and follows.”  Parents need to take that interest, and when they do, we see the question of relevance go away as scouting again becomes a priority in a boy’s life.