The following letter was released earlier today and signed by IRD President Mark Tooley, which reads:
We strongly support the Boy Scouts of America current prohibition on open homosexuality and retaining it without revision. Nearly 70 percent of BSA troops are hosted by churches and religious institutions. Upholding traditional morality is vital for sustaining this partnership, for protecting Scout members, and for ensuring BSA has a strong future. A proposal from the BSA board to prohibit “discrimination” based on “sexual orientation or preference” for BSA members potentially would open the Scouts to a wide range of open sexual expressions. In our current culture, it is more important than ever for our churches to protect and provide moral nurture for young people and for the Scouts. We implore members of the upcoming BSA Council to affirm the BSA’s present policy, which the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed, and which has served BSA well.
(Titles are for identification only.)
Randy Alcorn
Director of Eternal Perspective Ministries
Bishop David C. Anderson, Sr.
President, American Anglican Council
Sara L. Anderson
Executive Vice President
Bristol House, Ltd. (United Methodist)
The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey
Chief Operating & Development Officer
American Anglican Council
Doug Beacham
Presiding Bishop, Int’l Pentecostal Holiness Church
Dr. Robert D. Benne (Lutheran)
Jordan Trexler Professor Emeritus
and Research Associate
Religion and Philosophy, Roanoke College
David K. Bernard
General Superintendent
United Pentecostal Church International
Dr. Robert H. Blackburn
Past Chairman, National Association of Covenanting Congregations
The Rev. John Bradosky, Bishop
The North American Lutheran Church
Rev. Dr. Gemechis Desta Buba
Assistant to the Bishop for Missions,
North American Lutheran Church
Pastor Mark C. Chavez
General Secretary, North American Lutheran Church
Nancy Clark
Director of Mutual Faith Ministries
The Rev. Sue Cyre
Executive Director of Presbyterians for Faith, Family and Ministry (PFFM)
The Most Reverend Robert Duncan
Archbishop, The Anglican Church in North America
Dr. Anthony Esolen
Professor, Providence College
Dr. Jim Garlow
Senior Pastor; Chairman, Renewing American Leadership
Dr. Daniel N. Harmelink
Chair of the Board of Trustees
The Lutheran Bible Institute in California
Pastor Matthew Harrison
President, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Doug Harvey
Executive Director, Disciple Heritage Fellowship
Rev. Charles Huckaby
Dean, Western Classis of the Calvin Synod Conference United Church of Christ Term 2010 – 2013
Clyde M. Hughes
Bishop/General Overseer, International Pentecostal Church of Christ
Bishop Harry R. Jackson
Presiding of the International Communion of Evangelical Churches.
Dr. Jeffrey Jeremiah
Stated Clerk, Evangelical Presbyterian Church
Bishop David Kendall, Bishop Matthew Thomas, Bishop David Roller
The Board of Bishops, The Free Methodist Church – USA
James M. Kushiner
Executive Director, The Fellowship of St. James
Dr. Richard Land
President
Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
John Lomperis
Director, United Methodist Action
Alex McFarland
Director for Christian Worldview and Apologetics
Senator Patricia Miller
Executive Director, Confessing Movement (United Methodist)
R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Bob Morrison
Secretary, REVIVE! (Iowa United Methodist renewal)
Rev. Dr. Mary Holder Naegeli
Minister-at-Large, San Francisco Presbytery; Moderator of the Presbyterian Coalition
Thomas C. Oden
United Methodist theologian
Director, Center for Early African Christianity at Eastern University
Rev. William Owens Sr.
President, Coalition of African American Pastors
Dr. Eric Patterson
Dean, Robertson School of Government
Regent University
Dr. Bob Phillips
Senior Pastor, Encourager Church, Houston
Co-Founder, Kairos Journal
Leon J. Podles
President, Crossland Foundation
Dr. Steve Riggle
Senior Pastor; Grace Church, Houston
President, Grace International
Dr. Mark E. Roberts
Publisher, Word & Spirit Press (Pentecostal/Charismatic)
Rev. Kevin C. Rudolph
National Covenant Association of Churches
Windwood Presbyterian Church
Dr. Rick Scarborough
Founder and President, Vision America Action
The Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Schumacher
Executive Director, American Lutheran Publicity Bureau
Charles G. Scot
General Bishop of the Pentecostal Church of God
The Rev. W. Stevens Shipman
Director, Lutheran Coalition for Renewal
The Rev. Paul Stallsworth
President, Taskforce of United Methodists on Abortion and Sexuality
David M. Stanley
Director, Institute on Religion and Democracy
Chairman, United Methodist Action Steering Committee
Co-Chair, REVIVE! (Iowa United Methodist renewal)
John Stonestreet
Speaker and Author for Breakpoint and Summit Ministries
Bishop Ray Sutton
Ecumenical Officer, Anglican Church in North America
Eric Teetsel
Executive Director, Manhattan Declaration
Mark Tooley
President, Institute on Religion & Democracy
The Rev. Dr. David Wendel
Assistant to the Bishop for Ministry and Ecumenism
The North American Lutheran Church
Dr. Luder Whitlock
Interim President of Knox Theological Seminary.
Mark Williams
General Overseer, Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee
Bishop Ronald Wilson
General Superintendent, Congregational Holiness Church
Dr. George O. Wood
General Superintendent, General Council of the Assemblies of God
[Update 5/22 at 2:21 pm]: Bishops David Kendall, Bishop Matthew Thomas, and Bishop David Roller have joined the above and Dr. Daniel N. Harmelink in affirming the above Boy Scouts of America’s current leadership policy.
[Update 5/23 at 3:44 pm]: Presiding Bishop Doug Beacham has added his name to the Boy Scouts statement.
Comment by Troop113 on May 21, 2013 at 3:23 pm
Reblogged this on Troop 113's Blog and commented:
Second Timothy, Chapter 3, verses 1 thru 5 say “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.” We are seeing more evidence of this type of behavior and thinking all the time. Consider the case of the Florida 18 Year Old who is charged with statutory rape of a 14 Year Old. More than 56,000 people have signed a petition to halt the prosecution of the young adult. Why? Because the couple involved were same-sex, and the prosecution is accused of bigotry. Hmmm.
Regardless, I was impressed to see the statement by a wide range of religious leaders about Boy Scouts and the membership issue to be voted on this Thursday. I’m glad that they’re willing to make a stand and be counted. They have every right to be heard — no amount of “shout downs” should silence any American. Still, this is a spiritual battle and we need to petition God to intervene.
“Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.” (2 Chron 12:11NASB)
Comment by Melissa Windom on May 21, 2013 at 3:39 pm
As a Christian, and as someone who had brothers, sons, and nephews in the Scouts, I hope and pray the BSA does the right thing. There is no “right” for any man to be a Scoutmaster, and this push for “inclusiveness” shows a callous disregard for the kids, whose lives in this culture are sexualized enough already. We don’t let gay men work with Boy Scouts for same reason we don’t send straight men on campouts with Girl Scouts. Can we please let common sense and concern for our kids override this out-of-control Political Correctness?