Boy Scouts of America & the SBC: My Adolescent Pillars

The annual Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) finished up last night in Houston, TX and one of the major news stories coming out of the convention is the resolution passed regarding the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) [read full resolution and press release by Baptist Press here]. Essentially, the resolution expresses the disappointment by the denomination in both the leadership and decision made by the national Scouting board in regards to allowing all boys to participate in the organization despite their sexual orientation. What it does not do is tell churches to dissolve their relationships with BSA troops/packs (because then they would cease to be Baptist, you know the whole local church autonomy thing is KIND of a big part of the Baptist denomination), but instead encourages them to funnel support into the Royal Ambassadors (the SBC equivalent of an organization to the BSA).

For those of you who may not know, I am an Eagle Scout, and a proud one at that. My family and I were a part of Scouting from the time I began in the first grade with Tiger Scouts, up until my senior year of high school. Scouting was where I formed some of the closest connections with friends, trusted adult mentors, and where I developed leadership skills among many other areas that I continue to use today. As an Eagle and Scouting alum, I participated in the survey that was conducted by the BSA, where I was able to share my thoughts with the organization about what they should do prior to formally approving the lifting of the ban for homosexual boys. This entry is not intended to debate the BSA's decision, but to express my concern with the message the SBC is sending to those both inside and outside of the Church.

Just as the BSA was a vital part of my adolescent years, so was my connection to my church, a SBC aligned church. Growing up I did not know fully what it meant to be a member of an SBC church, but I was proud to call myself Baptist, and as I grew in my knowledge of both my faith and the denomination, I grew in my love for the Baptist denomination across its variations. It was in my SBC church that my faith was instructed, developed, and cultivated into the calling God has placed on my life today. I am proud of both my associations to the BSA and the Baptist denomination. And it is is with those connections that I have these concerns to voice.

1) A Message of "You're Not Welcome Here"
With this resolution being passed, SBC churches are effectively saying, we do not want you to be a part of our churches. Though that is not what they are saying directly, by encouraging your churches to end any connections with an organization based on the issue of homosexuality, you are saying you do not want homosexual individuals in your churches. Let me say this... Churches should be the safest places for individuals who are struggling with their sexual identity. In fact, churches should be the safest place for any person who is wrestling with any issue. A place to seek support and love free of judgement or condemnation. I hope that all SBC churches will pray and think considerably about the message they are sending individuals in their communities about whether or not all people are welcome.

2) BSA Still Is Against Any Sexual Activity
Part of being a Scout means to be "morally straight." Scouting as an organization is against sexual activity of any kind, whether that by heterosexual or homosexual. With that said, Scouting's stance on moral living is the place where an individual struggling with their identity needs to be, so that they can be surrounded by adults who model the lifestyle influences they need. When that association is paired with a church who can add the Biblical model of appropriate living, then we have a strong example for the young people in our communities.  During the convention discussion, Charlie Dale, a representative from Indian Springs First Baptist Church in Alabama said: (quote taken from article in Houston Chronicle newspaper)

"I don't think we'd kick such a boy out of our Sunday schools," Dale said. "I don't think we should hold the Boy Scouts to a standard we would not put on our churches. Such a boy needs our love. Let's show them what real Biblical manhood is about and love them."

Again,I am deeply concerned about the message we are sending out students when we tell them that "their kind" are people we no longer what to associate ourselves with. 

3) Understand what the BSA's Resolution Says
Further clarification on what the BSA's resolution says is also needed by churches. For this issue, I am going to refer to A.J. Smith, the President of the Association of Baptists for Scouting, to offer a full explanation. One of the key points of this is that the resolution does not require that a church-chartered unit affirm the moral acceptability of same-sex attraction. A church's involvement with a local Scout troop is not a public declaration of your approval of homosexuality, but rather that you are intentional about being involved with organizations that influence the students of our communities. 

4) Baptist Are Not the Largest Chartering Church for Scouting
This point may come as a shocker to most people with the recent media attention the SBC is garnering with their opinions about BSA. One would think that SBC churches by far have the largest association with BSA charters... not so. In fact, the largest religious affiliated chartering organization is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) with an impressive 37,856 units, followed by the Methodist denomination with a distant 10,868 units. Baptist churches (and this includes all Baptist variations, not just SBC) comes in sixth on the list with 3,981 units. (For the full list, see the BSA website) With the suggestion for Baptist churches to pull out, the Methodist denomination has announced its willingness to step in and fill the void as this recent release by the Commission on United Methodist Men, who oversees the Scouting Ministry as well as other youth-civic organizations, announced yesterday. Maybe if our Baptist churches were more intentionally involved with our communities, namely the students and those which influence them, the issue wouldn't be what it is today for the BSA and SBC. 

I've wanted to stay out of this conversation for a long time, as I care deeply about both sides of the issue. But again, I am reminded of my higher calling by Jesus Christ, to love ALL people no matter what differences we have, because when I do that, then and only then am I showing the true love of God to all people. That is my prayer for each of us today. God Bless!