Jeff Gill

Guest Columnist

If you’re looking for someone who’s giving up on the Boy Scouts of America, I’m not the right person to talk to.

I have now been a member of this 110 year old organization for 50 years. I started as a Bear Cub in third grade and haven’t looked back. Webelos, Arrow of Light, Eagle Scout, Woodbadge, Scout camp staff for many years and still part of Cub Day Camp volunteering (Up in the air, Junior Birdmen!).

And if you want to know about problems in the organization, I’m like any other adult leader, usually called a “Scouter,” who has been in Scouting for more than fifteen minutes. Local unit leaders like to complain about the district, district folk beef about how the council makes decisions, and we all wonder how national manages to find the light switch in the morning. Sounds like most large organizations, doesn’t it?

More:Boy Scouts bankruptcy: What we know about victims, assets and the future of scouting

That’s the blessing and the curse of Scouting: we’re a large organization, hidden behind small groups of Scouts out hiking at camp or doing service projects on your street. Cub Scout dens or Scouts BSA patrols are the heart of the program, five or six young people at a time learning to work together, learning from each other as they work to complete a task or achieve an award (usually a patch, Scouting is big on patches). You can easily never notice the forest as you work among the little trees as they grow; the Scouters in the program can go years and not even be sure of their council name, let alone where the national offices are (Irving, Texas).

But to support and maintain the mission and values of this century and more old organization across two million and more Scouts, you need the forest. There has to be a national council, providing oversight and maintaining leadership standards for the adults who make sure kids are safe and activities are appropriate.

When I went from being a Scout to becoming a Scouter as an adult, I had that moment of shock that is nowadays referred to as “adulting.” I learned that like the duck on the pond, the visible part may look calm, but beneath the surface, the feet are paddling fiercely. It turns out that even as Scouts BSA, the older group in Scouting, strongly affirms youth leadership in decision making, the grown-ups still have plenty to do. Not just driving us to camp. Paperwork, plans, rules, training.

Today, I would put the Youth Protection Training that Scouting mandates for ALL adult leaders at the top of youth serving organizations. It’s so good we share it for free online. But I’m also old enough to know that in the 1970s and earlier we didn’t have it. We assumed good will and best wishes, and allowed predators leeway without meaning to, struggled to deal with the aftermath of harm in an era when even law enforcement and prosecutors flinched from dealing with child abuse.

The bankruptcy filing the national organization is going through is a deferred payment for the failings of that era. Victims deserve compensation and support; I also want them to know that Scouting is different and better because of their honesty and courage.

Today, I think Will Rogers’ opinion from the 1920’s is still true. When there were controversies around the program back then, he went to a Boy scout jamboree, and after looking around and listening, Rogers said “The only problem with Boy Scouts is, there aren't enough of them.”

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor in Licking County; he’s been a member of Scouting for 50 years and is still active in Licking District activities. He gets plenty of Scout-related email at knapsack77@gmail.com or you can follow him on Twitter: @Knapsack.