Re: Help - need info on LDS scouting
Blaine S Nay (b.nay.scouts-l@JUNO.COM)
Mon, 25 Jan 1999 21:54:09 -0800
On Thu, 21 Jan 1999 15:07:22 -0000 "Ian N. Ford FRSH"
<ian@ford.dircon.co.uk> writes:
>WHY appoint someone with little or no commitment or interest in working
>with youth to be a Scouter in the first place ? It seems a strange way
to
>run a ministry ... Would you allow someone with little more than a
tentative
>understanding of theology to lead a bible study class ?
>
>It takes three or four years to get anywhere near competent as a
Scouter. I
>am still learning after twenty seven ... I would have thought that for
a
>Scout Master or Cub Master we need to be looking for someone who could
>ideally commit three to five years and a fair degree of time and
enthusiasm
>to the role.
>
You have a very good point, one which we often bring up in Mormon
Scouting circles.
Obviously, the best leader in any organization is one who is committed to
the goals of his organization and who learns his job well. That doesn't
mean the person needs to be fully trained and experienced on the first
day on the job. This kind of leader is rare and really should be put
into a position where he can continue to grow. If he's fully proficient,
it's time for a task he hasn't yet mastered.
Of course our aims in Scouting include developing leadership abilities in
boys. But we also develop the leadership abilities in adults through
training and through experience. It isn't reasonable to expect all new
leaders to be fully prepared on day one of the job. People get prepared
for the job by training and experience -- there is no other way for the
vast majority of us. We have to grow into the job. The leadership
skllls gained as adult Scout leaders are then carried into other aspects
of our lives such as parenting and employment.
Unfortunately, sometimes, the right person can't be found within the
congregation and I don't see much recruiting of Scouters from outside the
faith, although volunteers certainly are welcome.
We believe that our spiritual leaders are inspired when they call people
to service in the church, including Scouting. The Scriptures have many
examples of persons who were called by God, but failed. I don't think
the failures were God's fault, but the fault of the persons called. I
also believe that God will not ask us to do something of which we are
incapable. Even if and when God knows we won't put our best effort into
a calling, he needs to give us the chance.
I guess the answer to our situation in the Mormon church is that we hope
the Scouter will "grow" into the job, something which doesn't always
happen. And that's not fair to the boys. Nevertheless, some of my own
greatest learning experiences (and most satisfying) have been in doing
something I wasn't really interested in or qualified for at the time.
A couple of the finest Scouters I know were dads who had no interest in
the outdoors, let alone Scouting, but got hooked when I drafted them for
two-deep leadership on overnighters (I always ensure dads camp
comfortably, including my dutch oven cookin'). So, you never know who's
going to shine when given a new challenge.
==============================================================
Blaine Nay, NL7EL, Silverdale, WA, USA
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/b_nay/scouting.htm
==============================================================
