Excerpts from the Southern Baptist resolution
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
WHEREAS, This decision of the BSA is viewed by many homosexual activists as merely the first step in a process that will fundamentally change the BSA, putting the Scouts at odds with a consistent biblical worldview on matters of human sexuality;
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 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 choose to remain in relationship with the Boy Scouts to work toward the reversal of this new membership policy …
Palmer Brown has been tying knots and earning badges as a member of the Boy Scouts of America for pretty much his whole life.
Now the organization he regards as family is at the center of a religious tug-of-war, with some congregations regretfully showing scout troops the door and others rolling out the red carpet.
The latest move came Wednesday in Houston at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. SBC delegates ratified a resolution calling for the ouster of certain unnamed Boy Scouts officials, who, in the Baptists' view, pushed through the recent decision to accept openly gay scouts.
The resolution stopped short of urging all SBC member churches to sever ties with the scouts. In recent weeks, two prominent metro Atlanta Baptist congregations made national headlines by announcing they would not renew their troops’ charters, meaning those scouts will have to find new homes.
But the SBC did urge congregations that choose to let troop remain 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.”
According to the resolution, the Scouts’ new, inclusive policy “has the potential to complicate basic understandings of male friendships, needlessly politicize human sexuality, and heighten sexual tensions within the Boy Scouts.”
Brown, 17, started in Cub Scouts in the first grade. As he enters his senior year at North Atlanta High School, he is preparing to join the Eagle Scouts. His church meets at Northside United Methodist Church.
“Originally, I have to admit, I got involved as a way to stay with my friends,” Brown said. “Some dropped out or went into sports, but for me, the troop is a second family. We all support and engage with each other. We are all friends.”
He’s not sure what “sexual tensions” the Baptists are talking about.
“I do not believe that I have ever known a gay scout in our troop. But it was never really a big deal,” he said. He’s disappointed, he said, that some churches “are deciding that it is better for them to unassociate themselves with an organization that does good, rather than run the risk of having a scout do something they do not approve of.”
That’s not how Wallace Mapp sees it. Mapp is scout master for the troop housed at West Hunter Street Baptist Church in Atlanta. He is also a deacon in the church. Now 77, he was a member of a troop at the church when he was a child, and he has been the scout master for 15 years.
If the church votes to tell the scouts they are no longer welcome, he said, he will disband the troop rather than try to move it.
“I don’t think the church thinks favorably about this kind of conduct,” he said. “We are a Bible-based church, and if they voted to get rid of us, I would have to go along with the decision.”
The two churches that decided to cut ties with their troops are both in Cobb County: Roswell Street Baptist and Johnson Ferry Baptist. Roswell Street Baptist's affiliation with Boy Scout Troop 204 dates back 70 years.
The troops weren’t summarily kicked out, just told that their charters will not be renewed. Bill Zeiher, the scoutmaster for the Johnson Ferry-based troop, said they have been given until the end of the year to find a new home.
Calls to Ernest Easley, pastor of Roswell Street, were not returned.
Bryant Wright, senior pastor of Johnson Ferry, released a video last week, expressing gratitude for the 13 years the church has been affiliated with the scouts but saying they must part ways.
“Unfortunately, the recent decision to affirm participation by homosexual scouts puts Johnson Ferry in a very challenging position. And here’s why: As followers of Jesus Christ, we have committed our lives to become more and more like him. …
“Acceptance of people is not affirmation of their sin. When a young boy, who is struggling with sexual identity or feels he is gay, comes to his Scout leader for counseling and advice, we’re committed to pray with that young man and urge him to live a life of sexual purity consistent with God’s word.”
The troops now in need of homes should have no trouble finding new ones, said Jeff Fulcher, a spokesman for the Atlanta Area Council Boy Scouts of America.
“For every troop that we hear is going away, there are eight to 10 [organizations] who want to come in and take them in,” Fulcher said. “Anybody that wants to be part of scouting in Atlanta will still have an opportunity to be a part of it. We will help any unit get resettled.”
The Rev. Richard Burdick of Unity North Atlanta Church in Marietta is one of several Cobb-based faith leaders – Episcopalian, Jewish and Buddhists included – who penned an open letter supporting the Boy Scouts and declaring their “commitment and dedication to the principles of love and compassion.”
Burdick said his church, which is part of the Unity movement, has reached out three displaced troops to gauge their interest. He said nobody has accepted the invitation at this point.
The One World Spiritual Center in Marietta has gone one step further. On the marquee outside the church, the message reads: “Boy Scout troops welcome here.”
“We heard of several local churches asking troops to leave and doing it pretty loudly,” said the Rev. Stephanie Seigh, the pastor of the 90-member interfaith church. “I just thought that was really uncool. We just want the Boy Scouts and the community to know that while we honor (the other churches’) belief system, we do not agree. We have a different belief system.”
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