Dr. Joseph L. Harris

Good morning, my sisters and brothers.

[AUDIENCE; Good Morning]

Good to see you here this morning, and welcome to Nashville. We thought you would bring a storm in when you came, so I could stay up all night and worry about this speech as well as the storm. But God is good; everyone is safe; and there doesn't seem to be a lot of debris around. We're grateful for that. We're also grateful that you're here in Nashville. I was with you a couple of years ago when the Scouters were here and I had the privilege of greeting you at that time. It's a privilege to be back with you this morning. I certainly appreciate Don Oblander and your Chief Scout Executive, Jere Ratcliffe, for their gracious invitation to be your speaker this morning.

I am proud of the United Methodist Church and what we're doing in Scouting, but I have to admit we're not doing enough. I'm going to tell you some of the things I hope we can do and hope you might do as religious-based institutions. I'd like to know, because I'm always curious about the audience I'm with. How many here are United Methodists? If you are, just stand up for a minute.

OK. I feel like I'm home then. Stay standing. Now, how many of you are from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Just stand up. All right. How many are Catholics? Presbyterians? Lutherans? Everybody else stand up.

[Laughter.]

All right. Now give yourselves a hand. You may be seated.

The reason I wanted you to stand up is because I wanted you to look around and see how many religious and faith-based institutions are vital to the Scouting program. It's critical that we continue that kind of partnership. One of the reasons we United Methodists and the General Commission of United Methodist Men joined the court case we're all waiting with anticipation to hear about is because we think it's important for the strong religious ties Scouting has always had to continue. We know that the moral foundation Scouters give is extremely important, and I'm proud to be associated with the organization and with each and every one of you here today.

I want to tell you that we in the United Methodist Church see Scouting as a very important program in our churches. My son was a Scout for six years; my daughter was a Girl Scout for three years. You don't all have children like I do, but my children keep telling me, "Dad, you have got to get with the times. You have got to get relevant to the generation that's now." And that reminds me of something that I want to share with you this morning. I want you to check your age meter, and I want you to think about a few things that will help you realize that you're getting older. For instance, you know you're getting older, if you remember being sent to the drugstore to test the vacuum tubes for a TV or radio. Do any of you remember that?

You know you're getting older if you remember when Kool-Aid was the only drink for kids, other than milk and soda. You know you're getting older if you remember when a dime was a decent allowance and a quarter was a huge bonus.

[Laughter.]

You know you're getting older if you remember your teachers all wearing neckties or having their hair done everyday. You know you're getting older if you remember when each school day began with Bible reading and prayer. You know you're getting older if you remember finding free glasses, dishes, or towels hidden inside the laundry detergent box.

[Laughter.]

You know you're getting older if you remember stopping for gas and getting your windshield clean, oil checked, and gas pumped without asking and for free every time. Plus, they gave you trading stamps.

[Laughter.]

And finally, you know you're getting older if you remember when being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to what was waiting for you when you got home.

[Laughter and applause.]

Those were the days. But we're in a new day, a new era, and a new generation. We have to change with the times, but we also ha,,.,e to fight to keep some things the same. This morning, I

want to talk about how things have changed and how important I believe the Scouting program is to every religious institution.

Now, my first encounter with the Scouting program was as an associate minister in the United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This particular church was a large congregation, with 5,000 members and several Scouting packs and troops that were intimately involved in the church. I enjoyed being a part of Scouting in that church.

Then, I was appointed to a church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-the Quail United Methodist Church. This was a predominantly African American United Methodist Church. One of the things I first wanted to know was what kind of Scouting program the church had. To my disappointment, the church had dissolved its program a year or two earlier. I was deeply disappointed because I knew from experience how important the Scouting program is in a church.

I immediately inquired about what had happened. The very first thing I was told was that there was a lack of leadership; they just couldn't find anybody to take the troops. The people who had been leaders in the past were dying from old age, moving away, or just losing interest in the program. The church itself also had dwindling interest in supporting the Scouting program. That deeply disappointed me because I know what Scouting has done for me; I know what it has done

for my son; and I know what it has done for other young men and women who have been involved in Scouting.

Another reason I was given was the Scouting facility-a building adjacent to the church that the Scouts could call their own. It was in a state of disrepair, and the church was not willing to put any funds into bringing it up to snuff. So, because of the disrepair, dwindling numbers, and a lack of leadership, there didn't seem to be any reason to continue.

I was also told there was declining interest among the youth of the church, their parents, and the community. I asked, "Did you try to relocate somewhere else?" They said, "Yes, we tried different churches, but they had all kinds of programs already. And they weren't sure about these Scouts using their program. So we finally gave up." How many of us have heard that a Scouting program no longer exists in a specific church or religious institution because of similar circumstances?

I think one unnamed factor that contributed to the decline of Scouting at Quail was the church's failure to see Scouting as a vital ministry of the church. This is what I want to focus on this morning because I think it's extremely important. Those of us in faith-based institutions and local churches know our responsibility is for the ministries of the church that help touch people's lives.

At Quail Church, they didn't make the connection between Scouting and the ministries of the church. Yet the Scouting program did about as much for the church and community as any other ministry the church had.

For example, the Scouts helped in soup kitchens and helped the poor, dispossessed, and anyone else in society who was hurting. Scouting helped shape the church's young people into fine productive citizens who believed in God. The Scouts were there, but somehow the church didn't make the connection because they didn't feel they had any ownership of the program. They

thought, "This is a group using our facilities, but it's not our program." I thought this was a shortsighted view from the church.

But I wasn't there long enough to change things. After two years, a bishop tapped me on the shoulder and said, "I want you to become a district superintendent." I did, and went from one

church to another, having responsibilities for 50 churches. As a superintendent in the United Methodist Church, you have supervisory responsibility over several churches and their pastors. I

had 37 pastors.

Each year we had what's called a Charge Conference. It's a yearly review of the ministries of the church, and the churches make plans for what's going to happen during the next year. One thing I wanted to hear, with anticipation, was what churches were doing in the area of Scouting. But I

was disappointed. While we had a good number, as you heard, of Scouts in United Methodist churches, not all 37,000 United Methodist churches had the Scouting program. The reason I heard from so many of the smaller and rural churches were, "We no longer have the young people around."

Often I would ask, "Is there a Scouting program in the community or in the church?" In too many cases, there was a Scouting program in the church, but there was a feeling of disconnectedness between the Scouting program and the church. And I said to them in many

Charge Conferences: "Somehow we have to understand that connection. You have to understand that this isn't just a group of young people using your building; they're a vital part of who you are and what you do. The ministry of Scouting is important to your church."

One thing that disappointed me about Quail Church was that it was an older congregation, and there was a missed opportunity for intergenerational ministry-an older, more experienced person worshiping with a younger person. These are the kinds of relationships that need to be built. We in faith-based institutions have to understand that if we do not build these relationships, then the so- called "lost generation" will not have the influence of the experienced generation, and neither will the experienced generation have the understanding of the younger one. This is something we must focus on, and recognizing Scouting as a ministry can help us to do that.

We're in a new century-the 21 st century-and it's going to leave us behind if we don't try harder to stay caught up. Those of us who are United Methodists, and those of us who are part of other faith-based religions and institutions, have to understand the importance of seeing Scouting as a vital ministry of the church and sharing that ministry. It's not just another good program in the dozens of good programs out there. It is a program that will help us to reach young people in this new age. Why is that? There are three things I want to mention to you this morning that I believe are important for seeing Scouting as a vital ministry of the church:

First, those of us involved in the faith-based institutions have to emphasize to lay people and clergy the importance of Scouting as an outreach program. You can go into any community and see Scouts participating in every aspect of the community. Now, every church I know has an outreach program. They try to encourage their young people and adults to be involved in the community, to help in soup kitchens, to help the poor-to help the community become a community and not just an isolated group of individuals who happen to live in the same geographical area. Scouting is a tremendous vehicle for making that happen. I believe that if we tell our churches Scouting is a vital ministry because it has an outreach component to it, then we can make a difference in the future.

There was a Scouting program in the First United Methodist Church of Ardmore, Oklahoma. The Scouts formed a connection with the United Methodist Men and the other church members by working together to clean up homes that were destroyed. Afterward, they celebrated together. What a difference it would make in a church if they could see Scouts together alongside other church members, celebrating the ministry and helping in the community. Certainly Scouting is an

important outreach ministry of the church because of that.

Second, Scouting offers a unique opportunity, as I said before, for intergenerational ministry. Now, the average age of United Methodist Church members is getting older every year. In fact,

Lyle ShaHer, who is one of our church gurus, says we'll see our greatest number of retirements ever in the next five to ten years. These individuals will have wealth enough to do a variety of things, and we'll have a pool of volunteers who can form partnerships with young people in the Scouting program. What a difference these partnerships would make in a young person's life. They would have mentors-someone other than a parent-who are worn by the world but also have wisdom to share with young people. Scouting offers adults a chance to become merit badge counselors, mentors, planning committee members, and adult sponsors who work with young people in ways that they can't in other programs.

With young people learning that they can do whatever they want as long as they don't hurt others, these partnerships are needed now more than ever. The partnerships can help youth become productive citizens and become more involved in the churches. I think that's critical to the church's survival.

Third, Scouting as a ministry offers moral training and discipline as a foundational norm for its young people. Now, I don't know of a church or faith-based organization that would not want its young people to have that kind of foundation. I worked as a youth director in the United Methodist Church, and some of our youth could have learned a lot from Scouting in terms of their moral fiber. Those youth are the people who will soon be in positions of leadership in our country and will make decisions that affect our daily lives. We want these people to not only be church-based folks, but we want them to be so grounded in the ways of Scouting that it becomes second nature, and there is no question as to what their motivation is and what their intent is. That's important.

Scouting as a ministry offers programs like God and Country, which emphasizes and focuses on educational and spiritual development and service. Those go hand in hand with the goals of every church of which I am aware. This is why Scouting and churches are ideal partners. Judeo-Christian churches teach children the things Scouting has taught for years. Scouting is your ministry and a great program for the community and the world.

There was a young man about 7 or 8 years old whose father was in the Air Force. He traveled and lived all around the world. He lived in France; he lived in Italy; he lived in eight different

states. Whenever you travel like that and you're young, you try to find something to hold onto because there's so much change in your life and it seems so chaotic. One year, his family moved to Istanbul, Turkey, and there was a Scout troop there.

The boy had not been a Scout before, and his father had not particularly been involved in Scouting. But there was an Air Force chaplain, who happened to be a jack-of-all-trades. (He was

the baseball coach; he was the football coach; he was the Scoutmaster.) And he came to the house one day to talk to the father. He said, "You know, we have this Scouting program, and the young men that are in it use it as an anchor-something to stabilize their lives in the midst of all the change. I'd like for your two boys to be involved with that if you give your permission." The father did, and the boy and his brother became Scouts.

The chaplain, called Chaplain Allen, was an interesting man because, not only was he a man of faith, but he understood. This was back in the '50s, and these two boys were African-American. We all know what the climate was for African-American folks at that time back in the United States. Yet Chaplain Allen never seemed to distinguish a difference between races. He approached those two young men as he did everyone else in the troop. He was a tremendous man. He was a man of God. He was a man you could talk to--he would always keep what you shared in confidence and offered good counsel.

One of the boys decided Chaplain Allen was the kind of man he wanted to be like some day. As a matter of fact, he told his brother, who called him deacon from that point on. As he grew up, he decided that wasn't what he wanted to do; he didn't want to be one of those religious guys; but he couldn't get away from that word "deacon." Of course the Lord got a hold of his life later, and he ended up becoming a minister of the church.

Now, because of Chaplain Allen-a Scoutmaster who made a difference in the life of someone-that young man is standing before you this morning. That was me.

[Applause.]

You see, the Chaplain Allens of the world, the John Does of the world, the Jeff Smiths of the world, whoever's out there, become major contributors in the lives of the Joe Harrises of the world. That's why Scouting is a vital ministry.

As we head into this new century, it is going to be critical for us and for all religious-based institutions to see Scouting as an important and vital ministry in every church. Sure, we United Methodists have 424,000 Scouts out there, but we need to have 824,000. We need to have I million Scouts. We need to have as many as we can because we have to help touch the world. Scouts do that. They touch the world and make a difference.

Now, I pray that each of you will go home to your faith-based institution and say, "Hey, we've got to see the Scouting program, not just as a group of kids who use our facilities, but as a vital ministry of our church. Scouting helps touch the world, and we're about touching the world."

Thank you for who you are, what you do, and what God is leading you to do in the Scouting program-

[Applause.]

Tell a friend!    10-Question Survey

      Copyright © 1986-2006 NAUMS.  All rights reserved.  Updated: C. Lincoln  Jul-08

   Join Our Yahoo Group     Free viewers: Acrobat PDF   Word doc  PowerPoint ppt   Excel xls

The National Association of United Methodist Scouters does not endorse, warrant, or guarantee the internet products, services, or information described above. The Cross and Flame is a registered trademark and the use is supervised by the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church. Permission to use the Cross and Flame must be obtained from the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church: Legal Department, GCFA, Post Office Box 340029, Nashville, TN 37203-0029, Phone: 615-369-2334.