Raise your hand if you were a member of Boy Scouts of America when you were growing up. I was, and I learned about duty to God and country, and the value of good character.
Sadly, the organization has been "transitioning" itself for years and the results are not likely to inspire another generation of boys.
It all began with a horrific scandal involving thousands of scouts who were sexually molested by adult scout leaders. In 2023, they established a multi-billion-dollar fund to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits.
In 2019, in the midst of litigation, the Boy Scouts of America changed the name of its flagship program for boys ages 11 to 17 to "Scouts BSA." The rationale was to deemphasize the word "boys" in order to accommodate girls who wanted to be members. This May, they went totally gender-neutral and have adopted the name "Scouting America." Reportedly, most local chapters are now led by women. Can drag queens be far behind?
Something tells me "Scouting America" won't satisfy "woke" culture for long either. When I was in the scouts, I felt pride wearing a uniform and being in a group with "America" in its name. The Scouts taught me to love our country and be prepared to confront danger and defend against it.
Can "America" in its name survive for long? After all, in many schools we are teaching distorted anti-American history that dismisses the founding fathers as "slavers," and labels America itself as genocidal to indigenous people whose land we "stole."
For decades, the Boy Scouts also taught boys to be "morally straight." God, of course, was at the center of teaching scouts not to lie, cheat, steal, and to defend the weak and helpless. That won't survive the modern "Scouting America" either. An atheist mob is probably forming already.
Thank God there are Christian alternatives to "Scouting America." The largest is Trail Life USA, and JDFI has promoted their organization and the good work they're doing on our broadcast. If you would like to learn more click here.