A Place To Worship God

A few weeks ago the largest church in our small town made a decision to end their 20 year relationship with a Boy Scout troop due to the decision by the national organization to allow homosexual boys to participate in scouting. The church's governing body saw their sponsorship as tacit approval of a homosexual lifestyle for kids and that was just something they couldn't accept. So the scouts are looking for a new home, which should not be a problem.

Since this all went public there has been a steady stream of criticism of the church. Some of it despicable, some of it thinly veiled threats toward the church. Most all of it from various folks with an ax to grind on organized religion. I have seen them pilloried for being intolerant, hypocritical, boy haters by people that don't know the members of that church and rarely darken the door of any church for that matter. It seems that the referendum on churches has come back and they are guilty one and all!

As a person who attends church pretty much each Sunday I want to take a few minutes to defend them in general and the offending church in particular. Churches in our community are a safety net for the poor and impoverished. The food bank is funded and run by an alliance of churches and are the major sponsor of the local meals on wheels program. More importantly is that the churches provide a spiritual refuge for souls in need of one. The reason I keep going to church is because it is a place to commune with God. Maybe it's just me but I find prayer and reflection more fulfilling in a church setting.

Now as to the church in question, I wonder if they were thanked for the 20 years that they sponsored the scouts? What about their part in the maintaining of the safety net? Admittedly their decision is not politically correct but nobody denies they have a right to do it.The members of that church are local residents, many that have paid taxes, reared children, coached and supported any number of youth activities in the community and are good solid citizens. They support their church with their money and, as Christians and Americans, still have religious freedom. So what if their church doesn't follow every politically correct rabbit trail that our society lays out there? Seems like that is what has got us where we are today!

Small towns love gossip and controversy but they are generally short-lived. The Boy Scouts will find a new home, the Baptist Church will continue to do what they do. The next controversy will come along and nobody but the Scouts and the church will remember this one. The recriminations against the church will not be forgotten all that easily and those that publicly castigated them will know what payback is.