Thank God for youth leaders who kept us on right path

Ahead by miles were the local leaders I was influenced by both as a teenager and later as a fellow leader. There were half a dozen scout groups in our district in Co Antrim. All were open to everyone and only one of them was sponsored by a church.

The key value was that each of us promised to do our duty to God and the Queen, and to do a daily good turn. That is the mission statement of scouting.

Our group was led by Bobby, a bachelor and a Methodist lay man. He was a contemporary of my father. Next in line was Billy who sang in our parish choir where his sister was organist.

They led by gentle example and the very occasional word in season.

Annual camp was a liberating experience in the post-war days when only a few families went on holiday. We camped near Edinburgh, Ayr, and on the Isle of Man. Gilwell near London provided a jumping off ground for day visits to the White City where we saw Sir Roger Bannister run, and being from a cricketing village, we went to Lords where the great Denis Compton batted for Middlesex and England.

As a district we camped together. Our leaders blended. One who piloted Sunderland flying boats during the war was head of a Belfast secondary school and a church elder. His minister came too and fitted well in to the leadership team. In fact all the leaders in the district were active members of their own churches. Scout leadership was part of their duty to God. Tacit. Tangible. But never really spoken of in that way.

One of the best preparations I had for ordained life was completing scout leadership training - the ‘Wood Badge’. And what a team I met there. It was headed by Bobby, a Presbyterian elder and bursar of the university. He was assisted by Norman, another elder, and vice-principal of a grammar school, and Maurice, an electrician in industry and so on.

They delivered the training approved by Gilwell, the home of scouting. One of the formative texts was ‘Stand back Scouter’. The task was to assess the project, (health and safety is not a recent invention) provide the materials, stand back and let the patrol leader exercise and develop his leadership skills. The skills of chairing a meeting, and similar leadership roles were explored on the ‘Wood Badge’ course. We spent three or four week-ends under canvas whilst doing this. Mid-week I was bluffing my way through second year exams at Queen’s University.

I have immense respect for those who enabled my growth. They were to a man Christians. And they exercised that witness through their leadership in a youth movement which I have cause to be grateful for as a leader, a father, and a grandfather.

These thoughts are sparked by an invitation to take part in a celebration next month of Brian’s life which came to an end during our recent health hiatus. I met him as one of our district team nearly 60 years ago. He in time led our district, our county, and eventually the movement in Northern Ireland. He did his duty to God and his neighbour and most importantly enabled many others to do so also. I would love to see congregations getting teams of two or three members to pray for individual youth leaders. They too are God’s ministers and more than worthy of the prayerful support of the faithful.