Church considering split with Boy Scout troop

by Zach Maxwell
Staff Reporter Durant Daily Democrat

Durant Democrat photo: Zach Maxwell A Cub Scouts flag inside the M.E. Dobbins Scout Hut this week, with the shadow of First Baptist Church reflecting off the window.

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After nearly a century of history, Durant First Baptist Church is on the precipice of severing ties with a local Boy Scout troop.

A decision is expected in early August on whether the church will continue sponsorship of Boy Scout Troop 618. A church council is set to discuss First Baptist?s involvement with the Boy Scouts following a May decision by the National Council of Boy Scouts of America allowing openly gay boys to participate in the program.

Based on that declaration, First Baptist is on the verge of taking action. It wasn?t immediately known if other church-sponsored Boy Scout troops were facing similar decisions, although at least one troop affiliated with Durant First United Methodist Church appeared to be safe from such a transition.

?We talked about where that left us as a church,? said Jim Hodson, Minister to Children at First Baptist. ?Our committee decided that the (national) Scouts had walked away from where we are as a church. They have put us in a place where we cannot teach what we believe is true, through this program.?

Troop 618 Scoutmaster Gary Burleson says he has not heard back from First Baptist liaisons as of Thursday afternoon.

?I was hoping we could at least meet and talk so some things could be put at ease,? Burleson said. ?I understand their position, but they could have gone about it differently. We can look at this as a positive rather than a negative. They could use this as a mission to reach boys.?

Troop 618, the city?s oldest, stands to lose the most by uprooting from the M.E. Dobbins Scout Hut, a church-owned building which sits across the street from First Baptist. Burleson said the familiar ?618? number also must be retired.

?Troop 618 has been in Durant for 86 years, and we?re going to have to retire that number now,? he said. ?That kind of saddens me, but as a troop, we?ll be okay.?

Offers for troop sponsorship and meeting space have come from the local Elks Lodge, St. John?s Episcopal Church and other Durant churches. And the local Baptist church is already planning to offer an alternative, Southern Baptist-approved activity for boys (www.OnMyHonor.net).

This group, formed in early July in response to the Boy Scouts? decision, is open to ?biologically male children? under the age of 18. Durant First Baptist expects to affiliate with the group by this fall and possibly in time to start operations by the beginning of 2014 when the Boy Scouts inclusion ruling takes effect.

?In terms of sexual identification and behavior, we affirm that any sexual activity outside the context of the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman is sinful before God and therefore inconsistent with the values and principles of the program,? states the OnMyHonor web page. ?Within these limits, we grant membership to adults and youth who do not engage in or promote sexual immorality of any kind, or engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the program.?

Policing these sexual orientation issues, especially among young boys in close quarters and remote settings, is not the desire of either side, both Hodson and Burleson said.

?That?s the confusion that has now arisen,? Hodson said. ?We as Christians, we love everybody. But as Southern Baptists, we believe the homosexual lifestyle is wrong. If there is an individual who is confused about their gender, and if they choose to join or organization, that?s great because we can teach them what we believe is right.?

?We have no discussion of sex, period. That?s better left for parents,? said Burleson. ?This whole issue should be moot. We?re not even dealing with that issue.?

Burleson admitted it could be an issue for troops in other parts of the country.

?It?s not these boys? fault that someone up in a national office messed it up for them,? he said. ?But instead of shutting it down, (the church) could come talk to us.?

Hodson said First Baptist plans to ?maintain the legacy? established by M.E. Dobbins, the first Scoutmaster in Oklahoma with more than 100 Eagle Scouts to his troop?s credit.

Source: http://durantdemocrat.com/bookmark/23168832

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