Mrs. Jack Russell said:
I just want to say that I am so proud of Mr. JR. He has been so upset (inside, he never shows it) about the BSA policy change. He has handled the entire situation with grace and dignity. We met with our pastor yesterday. Because we are Christians and love our church, this has been so hard. Some men would have thrown up their hands and given up. My husband does not agree with the new policy, but he loves the boys in his troop. There are so many that are so close to Eagle that he can't quit on them.
Right now the mood in the Scout troop is a little down about our church's decision to not re-charter. Mr. JR does not like the decision, but agrees with the decision. As the Scoutmaster of Troop 321, it has made his job harder. He has asked the pastor to allow him to announce that the troop will leave the church. He feels as a member of our church and the Scoutmaster of the Troop, this job falls on him. I am so proud of him for stepping up and doing this. He wants the congregation to know how difficult this was for our church. He wants the church to know how much we have appreciated them being the charter for the troop. He wants the boys who are scouts and members of the church to know they will always have a church home. He wants the congregation to know he fully supports the church's decision.
Right now the devil wants there to be turmoil in the Baptist church's. He is right in the middle of this. I'm not saying the devil was involved in the BSA policy change, but he sure is using this to try to divide church members. By Mr. JR standing up for God and the church, he will be far remember as doing God's will. Is Mr. JR a homophobe? NO. Does Mr. JR hate gays? NO. He is a Christian man who believes the word of God to be true and tries to live his life as Jesus would have him live. The boys in the troop know that Mr. JR will not leave them. People try to make it that you can't be a Christian and be in Scouting now because of this decision. It is further from the truth. While our church can no longer be a part of Scouting because of this policy change, the troop still needs a good Christian role model for the boys.
Scouts of Troop 321 have done so many good things for the church. One Eagle project was done there. Lots of service hours were spent doing work at the church. The boys scouts have always helped out during our VBS and other projects. The church will be forever grateful for that. In turn the church has done so much for the Scouts.
When Mr. JR asked if we could still have Eagle court of honors at our church, our pastor said absolutely. That sounds like a conflict of interest, but when thinking that our church allows people that are not members of our church hold weddings and other things at the church, it's not so conflicting. Our Pastor said it plainly. The church can not sign the charter because of the wording of the new policy saying "openly gay". It has nothing to do with the celebration of a boy accomplishing the rank of Eagle.
Having said all of this, Troop 321 has been given many options of business/people who are willing to sign the charter and also several places to meet. Our Troop will survive this and our church will survive this. Chalk one up for God and the devil can just go away NOW!!!!!
