Southern Baptists consider resolution on scouting

HOUSTON (AP) - Southern Baptist Convention leaders have proposed a resolution expressing their opposition to the Boy Scouts of America's new policy allowing gay Scouts.

The resolution also calls on the Boy Scouts to remove from executive and board leadership the individuals who earlier sought to allow gays as both members and leaders without consulting the many religious groups that sponsor Scout troops.

While the resolution does not recommend that Southern Baptists drop ties with the Scouts, it expresses support for those churches and families that decide to do so.

It also encourages churches and families who choose to remain with the Scouts to work toward the reversal of the new membership policy.

Delegates to the annual meeting of the nation's largest Protestant denomination will vote on the resolution on Wednesday in Houston.

“So the “main church” can say “no scouts” but the individual churches may still have them if they choose. I don’t understand because I am not Southern Baptist...”

What you do not understand is that Baptist congregations are totally autonomous. There is no “main church”. The individual congregations, fully autonomous, contribute whatever amount they choose to support joint seminaries and support missionary work. That is it.

There is no “main church” to say anything. It doesn’t exist. It is the Southern Baptist CONVENTION, not the Southern Baptist CHURCH.

“Autonomy

We affirm the autonomy of the local church. Each church is free to determine its own membership and to set its own course under the headship of Jesus. It may enter into alliance with other churches as it chooses, so long as those other churches are willing.

The same is true for other Baptist bodies – local associations; state conventions; national conventions. They, too, may determine their membership and set their own course.

If, in its autonomy, a Baptist body expels a church from its fellowship, it does not negate that church’s autonomy. The church is perfectly free to go on with its business – but not as a member of that larger Baptist body.”

http://sbc.net/aboutus/psautonomy.asp

http://www.baptistpress.org/BPnews.asp?ID=40499
Boy Scout resolution adopted by SBC

Long article explaining the debate at the link above. The resolution is presented below.

RESOLUTION 6
ON THE CHANGE OF MEMBERSHIP POLICY OF THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA

WHEREAS, For more than a century, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has been a values-based boys organization designed to "prepare young people for a lifetime of character and leadership," equipping them "to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law"; and

WHEREAS, The Scout Oath contains language that is consistent with belief in God and biblical precepts that serve as the basis for Christian faith: "On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight"; and

WHEREAS, The leadership of the Boy Scouts throughout its history has restricted from membership and leadership those persons who would affect the group's ability to advocate its viewpoints in regard to belief in God and His moral precepts; and

WHEREAS, In 1992, and again in 2000, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted resolutions affirming the Boy Scouts in their stand that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations of the Scout Oath, encouraging the BSA "to maintain its historic commitments" (1992) and "to hold fast to its traditional ideals" (2000); and

WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the constitutional right to freedom of association allows a private organization, as part of its "expressive message," to exclude a person from membership when "the presence of that person affects in a significant way the group's ability to advocate public or private viewpoints" and that allowing homosexuals as adult leaders would interfere with that message (Boy Scouts of America et al. v. Dale); and

WHEREAS, In 2004, the Boy Scouts adopted a policy statement that said, in part, "Boy Scouts of America believes that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations in the Scout Oath and Scout Law to be morally straight and clean in thought, word, and deed"; and

WHEREAS, In 2012, an eleven-person committee appointed by the National Council of the Boy Scouts completed a two-year study and reported its unanimous decision that the Boy Scouts retain the current policy as outlined above; and

WHEREAS, NBC News reported in breaking news on January 28, 2013, that the BSA executive leadership, in concert with certain members of the BSA board of directors, was poised to change the Scouts' historic policy at its February 4–5 board meeting the following week to allow avowed homosexuals into membership and leadership positions within the Boy Scouts of America; and

WHEREAS, During the week between when news broke of this proposed policy change and the February board meeting, the Boy Scouts received an outpouring of feedback from Scouts, Scouting families, sponsoring organizations, and the American public; and

WHEREAS, On February 6, 2013, the BSA board determined that, "due to the complexity of this issue, the organization needs time for a deliberate review of its membership policy"; and

WHEREAS, The National Council of the Boy Scouts voted on May 23, 2013, to approve new membership guidelines that state, "no youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone"; and basic understandings of male friendships, needlessly politicize human sexuality, and heighten sexual tensions within the Boy Scouts; and

WHEREAS, Many Southern Baptist churches sponsor Boy Scout troops and many Southern Baptists are involved in Scouting; and

WHEREAS, The Baptist Faith and Message states that "Christians should oppose ... all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography," and Southern Baptists consistently have expressed their opposition to the normalization of homosexual behavior in American culture through more than a dozen resolutions over the past thirty years;

now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Houston, Texas, June 11–12, 2013, express our continued opposition to and disappointment in the decision of the Boy Scouts of America to change its membership policy;

and be it further RESOLVED, That we express our gratitude for the thousands of individuals within the Scouting family and the culture at large who expressed their opposition to the BSA executive leadership's intent to change its membership and leadership policies in regard to homosexuality, leading to the compromise recommendation it presented to the BSA National Council;

and be it further RESOLVED, That we express our gratitude to each voting member of the National Council who voted in opposition to the policy change for membership;

and be it further RESOLVED, That we express our well-founded concern that the current executive leadership of the BSA, along with certain board members, may utilize this membership policy change as merely the first step toward future approval of homosexual leaders in the Scouts;

and be it further RESOLVED, That we call on the Boy Scouts to remove from executive and board leadership those individuals who, earlier this year, sought to change both the membership and leadership policy of the Scouts without seeking input from the full range of the Scouting family;

and be it further RESOLVED, That we affirm the right of all families and churches prayerfully to assess their continued relationship with the BSA, expressing our support for those churches and families that as a matter of conscience can no longer be part of the Scouting family;

and be it further RESOLVED, That we encourage churches and families that remain in the Boy Scouts to seek to impact as many boys as possible with the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ, to work toward the reversal of this new membership policy, and to advocate against any future change in leadership and membership policy that normalizes sexual conduct opposed to the biblical standard;

RESOLVED, That we encourage churches that choose to sever ties with the Boy Scouts not to abandon their ministry to boys but consider expanding their Royal Ambassadors ministry, a distinctively Southern Baptist missions organization to develop godly young men;

and be it finally RESOLVED, That we declare our love in Christ for all young people regardless of their perceived sexual orientation, praying that God will bring all youth into a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“So what is the point of this “convention”? Just to meet and party and look good for the press?”

I already answered your question.

The convention itself is a chance for member churches to discuss how to evangelize. For example:

“Challenging days, both in the culture and in the church, call for an unprecedented faithfulness in prayer, Executive Committee President Frank Page told messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Houston June 11.

“Most everyone knows of my most recent efforts in these past months to persuade Scouting leaders to maintain a policy which I believe upholds a commitment to morality. That battle was lost. It broke my heart,” Page said.

“Most of us know that in a few days we can expect the Supreme Court to issue a ruling about the constitutionality of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act,” he said. “We need to pray like never before. We are under attack. The worldview of God and our Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit is under attack.”

Instead of advancing as it ought, the Southern Baptist Convention in some ways is guilty of sliding backwards, Page said, adding that the world is winning too many battles and “the evil one has splintered God’s people into so many directions that unity is at best an elusive goal.”

Or:

“”Jesus called us to care for the suffering, to care for the least of these. We often overlook them. At times their lives are so disrupted and severe they require intervention. These people and their families are isolated, stigmatized and rejected,” Floyd said.

Floyd cited statistics that 58 million Americans and 450 million persons worldwide suffer from mental disorders and 1 million die from suicide annually. He said churches and communities are filled with people who need Southern Baptists to minister to them and their families.

“It’s time for the SBC to be on the front lines of mental health challenges,” he said.”

If you wish to learn more, try here:

http://www.sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc13/default.asp

Meanwhile...what church are YOU a member of, and what is YOUR agenda here?

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