My last guest post was doomy and gloomy, but since a Scout is cheerful, this one
is more upbeat. Everyone in LDS scouting that I have had a chance to talk to
believes it is just a matter of time until the church formerly separates from
scouts. Here are some crazy ideas about what could happen:
1. Done. Bye. It’s over. The
church walks away completely.
a. They cut all ties and walk
away (I don’t see that happening)
b. They do an alimony payment
for a time similar to what they did for the 14+ scouts in 2017, and give the
families who want to continue, a number of months to explore and find other
troops. Maybe they fund dues for the first year.
2. A slow phase out. Maybe
scouts for deacons goes away in 2019, and Cubs in 2020.
3. Things stay as they are as
of right now. Possible, but unlikely.
4. What if something crazy
happens?
That
is what I’d like to explore. I had a crazy idea of combining the stake into one
troop. If only two or three scouts are excited about scouts per ward, and if
each stake has seven to 10 wards this would be a troop of 20-30 boys who
actually care. This would allow the stake to call a Scoutmaster and multiple
Assistants. It would allow our Eleven Year Olds to be a larger and let’s face
it more fun program.
A
variation of that is to combine troops within a building. On average we have
two or three wards in each building. We often combine with the other ward
anyway. This would reduce the number of leaders and classrooms needed. The
church seems to be reluctant to lose any unit numbers and the concept of the
quorum being the troop would have to be thrown out.
Another
variation of this is to separate scouts from the young men’s program. Have
scouts be on a different night. Have the ward act like almost every other
chartering organization that provides space and support. This would allow those
that want to do scouts to step up and not wait to be called. LDS troops would
be more aligned with every other troop in the country. The Church could still
decide not to have female participation. This would also however cause scouts
to become just as expensive for those who participate as it is in the rest of
the country. One of the things that was helpful was that there was little cost
to LDS families. This of course is a double-edged sword and a cruel kindness.
The church would probably not be as prominent on the National Board as in the
past.
Of
course, this is all wild speculation (and probably a little pointless) but it
is the kind of stuff that occupies my brain when driving or trying to fall
asleep. This exercise however brings me a bit of optimism because I think
scouting is worthwhile. I think LDS scouting needs a shot in the arm. As much
as I’m trying in my troop, I can affect only a dozen or so boys. A national approach
to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater would still allow for boys to
feel encouraged to participate. This would have the benefit of avoiding the
mental conflict for those families that really don’t support Scouting. Maybe we
can turn things around and make a program that our leaders will want to
support. Rather than banging our heads against a wall, perhaps it will become
attractive to boys.
Ask
me about my thoughts on girls in Boy Scouts sometime.
Tell
me how wrong I am. Tell me if you agree. Either way I welcome your thoughts.
Cali-Gratis
Post
Script: The high rate of turnover is a real issue
in the church troops. I have a friend who was called as a Webelos Leader and
his bishop told him that it would be for at least five years. That kind of blew
my mind. I had the chance to meet Charles Dahlquist a couple of years ago, and
he said scout callings should be considered tenure callings. Only he
called it "ten-year." In non-scout troops, a ten year scoutmaster is
nowhere near unique. This might help bring stability and that really shouldn't
be underestimated when implementing a complex program.
FISHGUTTS: Stake
Scouting is what should happen with volunteers and zero callings. I say Stake
because that will give you the best possibilities for patrols. Make patrols out
of boys who go to the same building and cross-pollinate them with boys
that are not in their ward but in their building. My ONLY concern about this is
that is if you allow the Stake Young Men's Presidency to "preside"
over this you will fail. This program MUST report straight to the Stake
President and Bishops as a whole. If you allow the SYMP to run this who are not
Scouters you end up with the same problem as before. A crap program that will
soon die. They would have zero idea what to do with it.
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