I subscribed to RangerNet a while ago, and have enjoyed the ideas, stories, and even the bantering. I have not written till now only because I did not think I had anything to add until now.
I can appreciate how commanders can get discouraged because of a lack of vision for rangers. But I have to disagree that this program will rise or fall on pastoral support. I have only been around rangers since 1999, haven't been to NTC, am just finishing my LMA, and don't even know how to make a "half-hitch" knot . . . yet. But this is what I do know. The boys in rangers will succeed or fail based on the attitude and faithfulness of the commander who is there (or not there) week in and week out. Pastors have a lot of other responsibilities, that true. And sadly, there are still pastors who believe that kids just need to be "taken care of" so the "real" work of the Holy Spirit can go on in the main sanctuary. Its an unfortunate commentary on our churches, but the positive aspect is that those attitudes are slowly changing. But even in the midst of the need to change the heart and mind of a pastor, the Lord has given you the incredibly important and difficult task of remaining faithful through adversity. There are plenty of examples of this, both ancient biblical and contemporary. Also, any ranger commander called to a difficult situation is to hold their pastor before the Lord in prayer and ask the Lord to change the pastor's heart. Don't allow yourself to fall into the same mental trap that so many (but not all) pastors have embraced. Continue to run the race. Seek out other commanders outside your church to help you vent and deal with the frustrations. And please, don't give up on rangers just because another man doesn't see the value of it. because Christ loves kids- Pastor Cliff Chaplin, Outpost 55 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, February 08, 2002 11:54 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [RR] *Any new voices out there, with a passion for Royal Rangers? Well, I was a RR leader for 6 years. I had passion, I had too much passion that I couldn't step back and see that RR was a baby sitting service. That no matter what the boy did, that the leader was the real problem and that you heard about it. Maybe, when the pastors in the churches will wake up and see the coffee and realize that RR is not another notch in your churches belt of programs to be offered, that is when you will see rangers grow Maybe, a boys heart doesn't care where the money comes from so that he will learn about Christ, or learn how to lead a person to Christ or learn how to care about his fellow human being. You see, it's not about money. It's not about the leaders It's not about the parents It's not about the books, uniforms, patches, merits, campouts, etc. It's about your pastors commitment to the boys that you lead. If he is not committed to the Royal Ranger vision. Then you do not have a leg to stand on. Your pastor's commitment gives you the money, the boys, the parents, the leaders. When pastors stop seeing RR as a baby sitting service on Wed. nights, that is when you will have a Royal Rangers outpost that functions as it should. When other men are willing to be part of a Outpost council with the Pastors blessing. It gets even better. Like I said, I use to have a passion. That went out with the pastors lack of passion, commitment and devotion too all of the people in the church, not just the pet projects and the adults. Scott Tobman _______ Let the Golden Rule be your daily rule. Please pray for your list sponsor: http://eBible.org/mpj/ To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://rangernet.org/subscribe.htm http://rangernet.org
