Wednesday, April 24, 2013

FRC Prayer Team

FRC Prayer Team


Prayer Targets: Upcoming Boy Scouts' Council Vote on 'Sexual Orientation'
April 24, 2013 | | Share with Friends | Permalink
Who, knowing the righteous judgment of God... not only do the same
but also approve of those who practice them...
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life

in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 1:28-32; 6:23 KJV
Dear Praying Friends,
This is a special prayer appeal. Four weeks from now, on May 23rd, the National
Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) will vote on whether to overturn its policy
prohibiting "open and avowed" homosexuals from admission into the Scouts. This push,
of course, is being driven by the homosexual activist movement.
On May 5, 2013 at 7:00 PM (EDT) FRC will host a nationwide simulcast,
"Stand with Scouts Sunday." Tony Perkins and other trusted national leaders will explain
how believers can help preserve the moral agenda that the Scouts have historically
championed! To host the FREE live simulcast in your church, home or prayer group,
click here
. The event will also be archived for viewing at your group's best time.
I am asking you and your prayer network to pray and to encourage everyone you
know who prays, to pray, pray, pray!
Ours is a war not with flesh and blood, but with
spiritual principalities and powers (Eph 6:10).
The powerful BSA Executive Committee has crafted a new resolution that includes an
encouraging statement that "any sexual conduct, whether homosexual or heterosexual,
by youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting"-- but then, incongruously,
it calls for admission of boys regardless of "sexual orientation." Inviting the homosexual
agenda into the Scouts means boys and adolescents who openly proclaim and identify
with aberrant sexual desires will share tents, dressing and toilet facilities, campfire talks, etc.
Some Scouts are very young. Others are adolescents, just awakening to their sexuality.
A character building program, like the Scouts, should be guiding these young men toward
moral purity as defined by the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount --
not introducing them to the moral confusion of the modern homosexual movement.

In my view, by fostering this "change," Scout Executives have broken their oath to foster
moral purity, and are introducing moral impurity into the program. "A little leaven leavens
the whole lump" (Gal 5:9).
The current Scout policy states, "While the BSA does not proactively inquire about the
sexual orientation of employees, volunteers, or members, we do not grant membership
to individuals who are open or avowed homosexuals or who engage in behavior that
would become a distraction to the mission of the BSA.
" The proposed new policy
resolution states, "No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America
on the basis of sexual orientation or preference
alone..."

But this proposed new policy does not comport with the Scout Oath: "On my honor I will
do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other
people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight."
Diluting the Oath and opening this Pandora's Box will produce the same conflict and confusion
that now exists in other institutions that are trying to preserve moral values yet embrace
homosexuality. They do not mix. Will Scout leaders be coached and prohibited from expressing
any hint of disapproval of unnatural "sexual orientations," as have military leaders?

Even with the clear policy barring "open and avowed" homosexual youth from admission, the
Scouts have faced serious and costly challenges, including lawsuits from parents whose sons
have been subjected to unwanted sexual advances and abuse by scoutmasters or other boys.
By changing the policy, these challenges will only increase!

Such a change by the highly respected Boy Scouts of America would also impact society. The
Scouts' action would be one more group implying that homosexuality is an innate characteristic.
The policy would also encroach upon Scout families, a majority of whom do not want their sons
to be indoctrinated to approve homosexuality.

By embracing such "change," the Boy Scouts would become a pawn in an effort to advance an
agenda at war with the God of the Bible. We who read Scripture know this radical social
experiment will lead only to ruined lives (Rom 1:27) and societal destruction (Jude 7). The
advocates of this policy fail to perceive or understand the seriousness of their sin
(Mt 18:6; Jn 10:10).

Over the years, millions of families have entrusted their sons to the Boy Scouts. Scout families
must now demand that the National Councilmen be "good shepherds" over those entrusted to
their care. Each member of the National Council must be strong and courageous, holding fast
to their Oath -- to be "mentally awake and morally straight," now, when it counts. Aggressive
prayer is needed to strengthen the hearts of each of the 1434 National Council 

members who will vote on this matter May 23rd.

The BSA Board originally planned to impose an equally unworkable "local option" policy without
a vote by the National Council but an outcry from hundreds of thousands of Americans like you
and me changed their mind. Again, the vote is expected on May 23rd in Grapevine, Texas. We have
a short time to pray, to enlist others, and to make a difference (see the Stand with the Scouts
Webcast; get a Brief Introductory Video suitable for Church, download a BSA Bulletin Insert,
a BSA PowerPoint urging viewers to sign the Petition, Online Petition. Please urge others
o sign the petition and to watch the simulcast May 5th).
  • May God stir hundreds of thousands more God-fearing Americans to let their voice
    be heard by the Scout Leadership -- via the petition, face-to-face visits, letters, articles,
    letters to the editor, Tweets, Facebook posts., etc. May churches across America plan
    for Stand with the Scouts Sunday (Ps 107:2; 110:3; Is 58:1; Rom 15:14; 2 Tim 4:1-4).
  • May God hear our cries for mercy and move upon a strong majority of the National
    Council members to stand and vote for moral purity -- for the new resolution to be
    rejected! May they not be moved by pressures from without or from within to do
    otherwise. May American boys have a Boy Scout program that helps parents inculcate
    moral purity in their sons, virtues that derive from God's eternal laws, from now until
    the Lord returns! (Mat 18:1-6; Rom 1:22; 1 Cor 6:18-20; Eph 6:4; 1 Tim 4:12-16; 5:22;
    Jude 7)
Some key pro-family leaders believe the impact of the Boy Scout decision, one way or the other,
could be as or more important than Congress' disastrous decision to overturn Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
Most Boy Scouts are minors, not adults. The Scout organization was chartered to build character in
youth, not undermine it. Pray that the Councilmen will read and heed Jesus' warning in Matthew
18:1-6, before casting their ballots on May 23rd. May they reaffirm the sensible and moral policy that
s now in place! Thank you for praying!
Sincerely,

Rev. Pierre Bynum
Chaplain & National Prayer Director
Email: pbynum@frc.org

Family Research Council
801 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-2100
Fax: 202-393-2134
Web: www.frc.org

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