At 10:09 PM 9/26/00 -0400, William J Marengo, Jr. wrote:
>What a good discussion it has been. I've learned a lot. Obviously
>changes need to be made. Do we fall into the same trap as the
>'PROGRESSIVE' crowd who chip away at an institution's foundation until
>it's unrecognizable, even to the point of loosing its godly heritage?
>Or, do we cautiously change/fine tune only what is necessary, not to be
>politically correct but to do what is right and sound?
I think it is more like returning to and restoring a godly heritage by becoming more
Christ-like. When so many boys are watching us and emulating us, it is important to
follow Jesus as closely as we can, following the Word of God and the Spirit of God
faithfully, so that we don't lead any astray.
NTC was a real turning point for me, but not at all like the national staff intended.
It was a point at which I decided that I would follow Jesus Christ, even if the Lord
led me in a direction different than the national staff party line, and He did. I know
that some people think that the Spirit-filled men on the national Royal Rangers staff
are more infallible than the Pope, but I have inside information. They are, indeed,
sincere in their desires and pure in their motives, but they are human, capable of
error, and with God's help, capable of coming up with improvements. I trust God to
keep leading them towards the right improvements.
In the mean time, I'm staying away from NTC and everything that has NTC graduation as
a prerequisite, as well as staying away from anything that would require me to promote
NTC. (So much for the training plans I once had.) I sometimes encourage others to do
the same. I have cancelled my plans to do much of anything beyond the outpost level in
Royal Rangers. At the outpost level, we can and do run without any requirement to do
anti-biblical negative training, and we are free to demonstrate the love of Jesus
Christ in practical ways.
I make the Golden Rule my daily rule. Because I detested the harshness and bad spirit
of the NTC policy of training by counterexample (which is nothing but hypocrisy), and
felt that I could have spent my time MUCH better doing dozens of things besides going
to NTC, I cannot in good conscience recommend that anyone attend NTC. That would
violate the law of love. If my recommendation saves a brother the hassle, then that is
a good thing. If someone still wants to go, then at least they went in with their eyes
open. If enough people stay away from NTC to cause some sessions to be cancelled, then
maybe that will help motivate the national staff to fix the problem. If they do, then
I'll be glad to promote the redeemed NTC. As it stands, however, I recommend that all
commanders go through the Leadership Training Course (LTC), and that you spend more
time reading and meditating on the Word of God and spend time in prayer instead of
going to NTC.
Yes, NTC was a real turning point for me. I almost dropped totally out of Royal
Rangers because of NTC. It was only when I realized that the local outpost was still a
good ministry, and that we were free to conduct ourselves in a Christ-like manner,
that I decided to carry on, but without my NTC patch. I'm glad I did carry on, because
I see the fruit in the lives of the boys and fellow commanders. For me, and for
another commander who attended NTC with me, it would have been a sin not to confront
the hypocrisy in love, however, knowing that others would be following after us.
Obviously, some people disagree with me and some agree with me. (You would be amazed
at just how emphatically some people agree with me. This can be a really emotional
issue.) Some think that I should not debate this issue in public. The problem is a
public problem, dealing with wide-spread misconceptions and false assumptions.
Therefore, I do, from time to time, bring the issue up, in prayer, in private, and in
public, as it seems appropriate at the time.
>I know I left some open ended questions, but maybe it's time to find a
>new topic/subject.
>
>AHHHH, HOW'S THE WEATHER OUT THERE?
Its quite pleasant. Change is in the air. :-)
Let's see... we could ask about the role of women as Royal Ranger commanders in the
USA and how that relates to the AG position paper on the role of women in ministry.
(They don't line up very well.)
Then again, how about posting some good devotions, games, inspiration, etc. A#1 isn't
the only one that can inspire us with respect to the patrol method.
___
Michael Paul Johnson aka Soaring Golden Eagle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
http://eBible.org/mpj Rocky Mountain Outpost 207 New Creation Church
Jesus Christ is Lord! If Jesus came back today, would you be READY?
_______
To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Eat the hay & spit out the sticks! - A#1's mule" RTKB&G4JC!
http://rangernet.org Autoresponder: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
