Month: February 2020

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Fallen From Grace: The Face of the Boy Scouts of America

The bumper sticker on my car says, “I’m proud of my Eagle Scouts.” And I am proud of my sons. They are good young men who worked very hard, modeled the Scout Law of being trustworthy, loyal, friendly, reverent, etc., sacrificed free time and overcame significant obstacles to earn the requirements for Boy Scouts’ highest rank. Without bragging, they could have been the face of BSA.

I remember the day Jonathan came home from first grade with a flyer asking if he could join Cub Scouts. Someone had come to his school with a demonstration, and he was sold. Having experienced some of the Cub Scouting program as a child, I was easily sold as well.

Over the next fifteen years I ran the gamut with scouts. I was Jonathan’s Den Leader and eventually stepped into the Cub Master role (I oversaw all the Dens, leadership recruitment and training). When Matthew joined Scouts, Cile was his Den Leader. Both boys earned the Arrow of Light, Cub Scouts highest honor, and bridged over into Boy Scouts. I kept my involvement in their scouting lives by being an Assistant Scout Master. I led scouts to both Summer and Winter Camps, and took larger roles at those same camps, including leading boys to complete sections of Merit Badge requirements. Both Jonathan and Matthew attended BSA’s National Jamboree.

It was during my adult scouting career that BSA began facing turbulent waters. At first the rumors were just that, rumors. Like the Titanic captain, the leadership downplayed the cries and minimized the damage. All the while membership was half the size it boasted thirty years earlier and the outlook wasn’t promising.

Then it came out. It all came out, reminiscent of the Catholic Church. Boys and boys and boys accused BSA of creating an environment where they were abused. Twelve thousands boys have come forward and BSA has identified over 7000 predators with some accounts dating back to 1920 (ten years after Scouts began in America). In an attempt to compensate the victims, the national office of BSA, apart from the local chapters, has filed bankruptcy. Right now it’s kind of a “wait and see” holding pattern. What will Chapter 11 bankruptcy look like, especially with all the BSA holdings like famous artworks and campgrounds.

Maybe the fatal flaw of the BSA culture is our flaw too. We perceived a time of innocence, when it was really a time of naivety. We’ve been far too trusting of people and institutions with our children without due process. Even Paul tells Timothy to “vet” deacon candidates before installing them (1 Tim. 3:10) and to be slow about laying on of hands (1 Tim. 5:22). Society thought that since the BSA program had a good reputation, the leaders of the program were good as well. We were wrong, dead wrong. We failed to scrutinize the people and the system. What we found was that beneath the surface, the reputation and hype was something disgustingly ugly, shamefully sinful and utterly destructive. No one deserves a pass simply because of their position. And now more than 12,000 former scouts are paying a huge price, for they are the face of BSA (and that number will probably continue to grow). So the organization must be held accountable for turning a blind eye and covering up its messy corruption.

BSA has changed its culture. During my adult leadership era, they began enforcing background checks and implementing mandatory training to raise awareness of abuse for all participants. My favorite move was the two-deep leadership plan which prevents one adult from being alone with a child. They have a long way to go to earn back the trust they squandered, if they ever earn back that trust. For now BSA needs to feel the hurt and pain they’ve caused on so many lives.

For me, the bumper sticker still reflects how proud I am of my sons who are Eagle Scouts. They, with so many other young men, have modeled the Scout Law of being trustworthy, loyal, friendly, reverent, etc. beyond their days of wearing the uniform. Those young men should be the face of BSA. With hope and healing, maybe one day they will.

Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e. only God is glorified!)

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Gilligan’s Island: to the Tune of Amazing Grace

On Sunday afternoon, Cile and I sat on the couch and absorbed the three hour tour of Gilligan’s Island. We were both tired. I was recovering from a twenty-four hour bug, but wasn’t sleepy. She slept. I stayed awake. I watched four of the six episodes and pretty much knew each storyline and joke before the cast members experienced them.

One has to suspend a lot of reality to embrace the show, but it’s worth it. How can one person like Gilligan make so many mistakes without being exiled? How come the professor can create so many inventions and never be able to get them rescued? For a three hour tour, how come the Howells packed so much luggage and money? What did Ginger need with an evening gown? How come their clothes were always clean? How good are the AM radio waves and how long do batteries last? How do you make banana cream pie without the necessary ingredients and an oven?

As I was watching the shows unfold before me, I realized two important aspects of humanity that were continually fleshed out in the show. 

First, Man at His Best. The seven castaways come together to survive, and even thrive on their island. Leadership is provided by the Skipper and Professor, though clearly they seek input from the other five castaways. You don’t usually see them making decisions from selfish motives, but always for the good of the group’s survival and rescue.

None of that is to say that they were an idyllic society. They struggled with situations and with each other. Conflict was a normal part of their lives as danger lurked and/or feelings got hurt. But the group could not survive without the individual, and the individual couldn’t survive without the group. So when conflict arose, reconciliation was always woven into the solution. Let’s face the facts, it was a TV show and conflict is a key component of keeping the viewer’s attention. And, the writers needed a reset button to film the next week’s episode, so the conflict was resolved by the end of the show. That said, the lesson taught was valuable: we need each other to survive.

Secondly, Man is Bad. In the realm of suspending belief, they found themselves on a deserted island not located on any map. Yet visitors upon visitors stumble upon the island, because it’s not found on a map? A famous hunter, an actor pretending to be “Tarzan,” a knock-off Beatles and Monkeys rock band, The Mosquitos, and multiple others appear on the show. The rise of hope is felt and they believe the new visitor will contact authorities to have the castaways rescued. But they never do. The visitors usually have a deep dark secret and are afraid it will be exposed and ruin their own lives. So selfishly, and in the spirit of self-preservation, they keep the castaways and island a secret. They move on with their life, while the castaways are “condemned” to their prison.

The Bible continues to paint mankind with both brushes, a little bit of good and quite a bit of bad. Paul quotes that Psalmist to reinforce the depravity of mankind, “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10). At our very best, we have mixed agendas and shades of evil. We may be giving, but too many times it comes with strings attached. No one stands before God in all purity, because we’re tainted in sin. On the other hand, the Bible speaks highly of good people like Cornelius who generously cares for the poor (Act. 10:2) or Tabitha who is described as “always doing good and helping the poor” (Act. 9:36). But even at our best, we still need a Savior to redeem us from our own sin.

So here we are a mixture of something good and something bad. Sometimes the good in us shines very bright and sometimes it doesn’t. Other times the bad in us overpowers the good and what we experience causes shame. Maybe the hope is found in accepting, embracing and owning God’s grace. After all, the theme song to Gilligan’s Island can be sung to the tune of Amazing Grace.

 Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e. only God is glorified!)

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Revsiting WWJD

The fad took over the late 90’s and still had legs into early 2000’s with its footprint still present today. Let’s be honest, it was kind of cool to walk into Walmart and see then name, Jesus, plastered everywhere (even if profiting off of Jesus’ name raises spiritual questions?). People were wearing t-shirts and bracelets, drinking from mugs with Jesus’ name on it, or his first initial. Two movies starring John Schneider and a hit song by Big Tent Revival sealed the legacy with the call letters, WWJD, all beginning its legacy in 1895.

Charles Sheldon was the author who wrote a book entitled, In His Steps. The fictional story takes place in the small community of Raymond whose world is turned upside down with a homeless man passing through their town. He had asked for help, but no one responded. Even Henry Maxwell, the minister for 1st Church of Raymond, dismissed his plea for help. Then on Sunday morning the man sat in church, and while telling his gripping story of homelessness he collapsed and passed away.

Henry Maxwell took the event personally. Driven back to Scripture, he landed in 1 Peter 2:21,

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you,
leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

Maxwell took that verse to exhort those willing to participate in an experiment. He challenged them to ask a simple question before making any decision, ‘What Would Jesus Do?” (WWJD) in your place, then follow through at best you can. The rest of the story explores how a handful of devoted followers answered the question and the impact it had on their lives and in their community.

Sheldon should be commended for posing the question and encouraging Christ’s disciples to follow him wholeheartedly. Certainly, simply asking WWJD is far better than never contemplating what it means to follow Jesus. But Sheldon’s premise is flawed for at least three reasons.

First, yes, Jesus lived a human life, but never in our shoes, thus making it difficult to determine how to answer so many questions. He never married. He never bought a car. He never went to college or even trade school. He never dealt with the fast food industry. He never had to vote for a politician. He never grew old. So when we ask the question, WWJD, we have to deal with guiding principles like love, forgiveness, compassion, serving and self-sacrifice to inform our decisions. The simple WWJD question ignores the deeper significance of actual discipleship.

Secondly, Sheldon interpreted much of the WWJD through the lenses of the Social Gospel. The Social Gospel addressed social issues of the day like poverty, alcohol, child labor, justice and race relations. Such issues needed and still need addressing as the church should never remain silent in such matters. But the movement was flawed, at least in part because it was rooted in the optimistic hope of the turn of the twentieth century: man wasn’t that bad and God wasn’t that mad (I borrowed that definition). Ultimately, the Social Gospel tried transforming society without transforming lives and it all unraveled when WWI broke out. Man really was that bad, and God must have been that mad.

Finally, Sheldon ignored much of the context of 1 Peter 2. How do you live in a society where you belong to a greater Master and are citizens of a greater Kingdom? What do you do when the government stands against you (2:13-17), your spouse is an unbeliever (3:1-7) and your master is mean spirited (2:18-25)?

Peter calls his readers to look at Jesus who refused to retaliate but absorbed the insults because he trusted God. And without a fad or self-martyr complex, that’s how you follow Jesus in his steps. That is Peter’s understanding of WWJD. In faith we live above board. When attacked, we never retaliate and never threaten. We trust God that his justice will prevail, even if it means we follow Jesus to the cross. And I believe such discipleship is far greater than a market scheme to wear a t-shirt.

Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e. only God is glorified!)