I hope this entry finds you all well, happy, and engaged!
Wood Badge has five central themes of emphasis that form the foundation for future success in your scouting efforts. Those five areas of focus are as follows:
- Living the Values - Values, Mission, and Vision
- Bringing the Vision to Life - Listening to learn; Communication' Leveraging Diversity Through Inclusiveness; Generations in Scouting; Coaching and Mentoring
- Models for Success - Stages of Team Development; The Leading EDGE/ The Teaching EDGE
- Tools of the Trade - Project Planning; Leading Change; Decision Making and Problem Solving; Managing Conflict; Self-Assessment
- Leading to Make a Difference - Servant Leadership; Leaving a Legacy
My focus in this post is on the first theme of Living the Values.
Jesus Christ had love and patience for everyone. Everyone but the hypocrite it seems (Matthew Chapter 23). Asking boys to live the values of the BSA without modeling the example is hypocrisy. The beauty of the program is that not only does it make the boys better boys and future men, it makes the men and women who are leading them now better by expecting role model leadership. (and yes, the Lord loves the sinner - not the sin)
No one of us is perfect. We have made and will continue to make mistakes as we lead young men through the scouting program. But if we and they have a solid understanding of the vision and mission of the BSA, and an understanding that this is a journey we are all on, we will continue to grow together and strengthen the values that are at the core of the program.
Remember back on course during the game of life? One of the facilitators of the "Win All You Can" game has the nickname "Captain Chaos" for a reason. The game is designed to simulate high stress environments and conflict within a team to draw out certain emotions. It's critical that those emotions are felt and real for the model to work. At the end of the game, the facilitators pointed out that there were a dozen or more young men watching us throughout the process. Again, this was calculated to accentuate the effect of real life situations and real life emotions boys feel as they storm in any given situation. For adults to put it into context and feel those emotions, and then receive instruction while they are raw is most effective to help them with empathetic communications with the boys. It also helps the adults check their own emotions and the actions tied to those emotions as they try to model the values of the scouting program... even in difficult situations.
Living the values was probably one of my biggest takeaways from my course. I had a realization that if I was truly going to lead these boys, I had to model good behavior - everywhere - all the time - no matter the circumstances. I had to believe myself that I had made a commitment to live the values inherent in the Oath and Law.
Did I mean it when I raised my arm to the square with the scout sign and pledged to DO MY BEST to do my duty to God? Was I positive in my church calling. Was I modeling my "best" in my efforts to fulfill my church responsibilities? What about to my country? Was I voting? Was I participating in civic and community events and showing my support to make my neighborhood, state and country better? Was I DOING MY BEST to obey the Scout Law? Had I truly put my HONOR at stake and my personal reputation to really do my best? It caused me serious reflection and for the first time in my life I really pondered the oath I had stood and recited for years and years of scouting. I wanted the words, "On my honor" to mean something and have power. The only way to give those words power I realized was through my actions.
Remember Baden Powell's quote about the religious "side" of the Boy Scout Movement. "There is no religious side. Religion is the whole of it, that is on the realization and service of God."
So as you continue forward in your journey, I want you to take some time and really internalize the values of the scouting program. Ponder their meaning to you in your own personal lives as heads of families, as partners in marriage, as leaders of boys, and as members of your church and community. Consider how closely knitted together the BSA values and the LDS Church's values are. As adults we make sacred covenants with God in his Holy Temple. These young men are modeling a future event in their own lives and don't yet understand its significance. If you can help them understand now through scouting, it will have much more power and efficacy later in their lives as they make and strive to keep greater and more significant promises.
Strive for personal improvement and God bless you as you improve step by step. As you make subtle changes in your own lives, the boys, and others will notice and want to follow your example. Take opportunities to teach them why you are the way you are and why you do what you do. Tie it back to the oath and law and your duty to God. Help them understand that scouting is profoundly religious with fun activities that accentuate the vibrance life has to offer. Patiently watch them and you will see them begin to catch the vision themselves.
YIS - Tom Brand - The Regal Eagle
