Posted on 07/10/2013 12:33:57 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A national coalition, which includes people formerly associated with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) as well as several other partners, announced Tuesday the formation of a new youth organization for boys that is founded on Christian values and principles.
"Our vision is to be the premier national character development organization for young men which produces godly and responsible husbands, fathers, and citizens," said Rob Green, the organization's interim executive director, during a press conference call Tuesday.
He added, "The new program will be an exciting and motivating outdoor-based program focused on leadership and character development for boys, and founded on principles and values that reflect a Christian worldview."
Green said during a press conference call that a group of nearly 50 leaders met on June 29 in Louisville, Ky., and agreed to start the new organization, which currently has no name. Among those who participated in the meeting were experienced scout leaders, as well as representatives from major church denominations and organizations who are concerned with families and youth.
The new organization is being modeled after the American Heritage Girls, an 18-year-old organization that is "Christ-centered" and is "seen as an alternative to Girl Scouts," according to the group's website.
"Our mission is simple and clear: to guide generations of courageous young men to honor God, lead with integrity, serve others, and experience outdoor adventure," said Green.
Boys will not be excluded from the organization based on race, religion, national origin or ethnicity, he said, though adult leaders will be required to adhere to a statement of Christian faith and values.
"In addition, the organization's membership policy will focus on sexual purity rather than sexual orientation," said Green. "The policy will read, in part: 'the proper context for sexual relations is only between a man and a woman in the covenant of marriage.'"
Young men who have same-sex attractions will be permitted into the organization, though they will not be allowed to push a gay agenda or flaunt their sexual orientation.
"I think that there's a real difference between someone who has a same-sex attraction and someone who identifies with the gay political movement," said John Stemberger, founder of OnMyHonor.net. "That's a very different thing, and so we wouldn't tolerate any kind of open sex or politics in the program, or gay activism."
Several groups are working together to form the new organization, including OnMyHonor.net, Faith Based Boys, TrailHead USA and Frontier Service Corps. Stemberger says tens of thousands of people contacted OnMyHonor.net after the BSA announced its decision to allow openly gay members in May.
The new organization's first national convention, where its name and logo will be revealed, is scheduled for Sept. 6 and 7. The organization will announce its process of registering new unit charters in late November. At that time it will also announce a plan detailing how whole scouting units can transfer to the new organization, though Green says the organization is not actively trying to recruit scouts or scout leaders to join.
The organization's leaders say it will be ready to launch on Jan. 1, 2014.
Previous thread pinged out to Boy Scout pinglist: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3040879/posts
Big mistake making this a national org...
Better to have a confederacy or republic analog so that any group that gets targeted can simply dissolve and reform locally.
The policy will read, in part: ‘the proper context for sexual relations is only between a man and a woman in the covenant of marriage.’”
OH, yeah! Love it!
So then that differs from the Boy Scouts how?
Good question, and I was surprised to see that.
But I've always thought this entire episode was pathetically mishandled by the BSA. I think the national folks allowed themselves to be bullied by a few big donors for no good reason.
Boys could join the BSA at 10 1/2, and neither the old nor any new organization was going to have any procedures for identifying the gay, or potential gay 10 1/2 year-olds. Gay kids had always been in the scouts, just as they'd always been in the military.
So, what this big change was really about was caving to the gay activists and the few big donors pushing for a new policy from inside the BSA organization. All they really got in the new policy was a public okay, or public acceptance of gay members.
They had a don't ask, don't tell policy for years and activists demanded that that be done away with just as they had for the military. There was no reason to adopt any new policy other than cowardise and poor leadership at the national level, because declarations of sexual orientation never was and never should have been any part of the scouts.
This is a mistake. Out of any 1000 Scouts 20 might be homosexual. Once they’re out which boys are going to want to tent with them? If they’re flagrant about it who will want to tolerate that silly behavior?
We miss a grand opportunity to minister to these confused youth and help them to get back on track. Abandoning the Scouts now literally turns them over to the mushy middle and liberals. It’s stupid and short-sighted. Where’s their Christian courage?
How is that different from what the Boy Scouts did?
I think the answer is: that was the unwritten BSA policy before the gay activists and a few big donors bullied the cowardly national leadership into public acknowledgement/acceptance/approval of gay members.
The new outfit is just making the old, unwritten BSA policy official: gay kids can join, just follow a don't ask, don't tell policy.
I discussed this in #24.
(I think a lot of readers here didn't read that part of the article.)
Did you read post #9? I think there is a sentence in the article that many here didn’t read.
Not to mention (and I’ve said this before), just look at what happened to the Girl Scouts. You had a half-dozen self professed conservative alternatives popping up. And none of them really went anywhere. The American Heritage Girls is by far the largest one of these organizations, with 14,000 girls. But it’s 18 years old, and not showing encouraging signs of future growth. To put this into context, when Girls Scouts of America was 18 years old, it had 200,000 members - and that was back when the American population was far smaller.
It’s better to work inside BSA than to try and create another organization.
I see it. This is still a mistake. BSA still has exactly the same standards as it had before as regards behavior of boys. Why kill a good organization right when it needs strong conservatives to hold it together?
Completely agree. We need to stay and fight and hold these organizations. We’ve lost our government because we’ve allowed liberals to crowd us out. I hear conservatives telling young people not to join the military or get married, etc. Why abandon the culture?
We need to reclaim it. I’d love to see these same people put an effort into reclaiming God’s rainbow instead of running away at the first shot. You go toward the sound of the fighting. At least that’s my way.
This has all been so ridiculous. All that changed at BSA is they issued a statement of acceptance of the gay kids who’d always been accepted silently before. They caved unnecessarily to the activists and some donors.
But the activists began pushing, the day the new policy was announced, for acceptance of gay scout leaders. That one will alienate even more long-time scout participants and supporters, and will damage BSA even more than the official statement that gay scouts are accepted.
“Perhaps the vast majority of scouting families band together and sue for some of those resources for these new groups.”
Sue for what?
If the adults in these scouting families care enough to sue, they would have cared enough to be involved in the BSA and this wouldnt be an issue.
Sorry, but suing after losing an election reminds me a little too much of somebody I’ve tried real hard to forget...
Why don't you go ask National and the simpering, traitorous weasels on the National Board, including the mormon who pushed this change and get back with us when you get an answer?
They're the ones who have demonstrated a lack of moral fiber, values, character and will. They have betrayed the trust that thousands upon thousands of volunteer leaders had in them by their deceitful and shameful maneuvering in this whole sordid episode.
They [BSA National scum] are the ones who "killed a good organization", not the ones who are holding to their principles, values and morals who are leaving and helping to form an organization that is going to share those same traits.
I will not either implicitly or tacitly endorse the very leadership that I don't trust by remaining in the BSA beyond my self-imposed Scouting expiration date.
BTTT and welcome to FR.
You’re exactly right, the lack of interest by the VAST majority of Scouting parents has allowed BSA National to corrupt this organization.
Did they call, write letters, email any of the vermin sitting in HQ about their positions? Did they contact their Council and District “leadership” and let them know?
What, exactly, did any of them do besides enjoy the “bread and circuses” while a few did all of the heavy lifting in Scouting?
Bitter? You bet your A$$ I’m bitter. I was a Boy Scout and I’ve been involved as a leader since ‘91 and for this organization to betray the very values they purport to teach young men has me hacked off beyond belief.
BINGO! As a leader for so long you’ve probably raised many of these kids more than their own parents. Nobody can be bothered..
Thanks for the Welcome! Been lurking a while, and these days Im darn near set to explode. This is a better outlet than....
beyond my self-imposed Scouting expiration date
Are you going to take your ball home, too?
bttt
Correct, why not push back? This is a golden opportunity to:
1. Minister to kids who've been able to slip through while suffering, perhaps at the hands of a molester. Why not teach them about real love - agape - instead of leaving them to eros and the wolves?
2. Prove that homosexuality isn't a permanent condition and can be normalized. Why leave when you can lead?
Be realistic. Nothing's changed unless you give up and make it an easy victory progressives and homosexual activists. I am stunned at the hangwringing. We're hardnosed conservatives used to being out in the cold and under the gun.
Once more into the breach, dear FRiend. Don't quit and let them waltz in. Let's keep the Scouts and fight back. To win we need to win the culture war. We can't do that with a bunch of Rear Echelon Malingering Factotums.
If you turn tail now, you simply concede everything and create a self-fulfilling prophecy. I, for one, won't quit. My Lord and Savior didn't and doesn't. I am His disciple. What do you say?
Placemark.
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