Diverter valve?

 

Trust

To trust is to surrender. Trust cannot be formed, cannot grow, cannot be stewarded, unless the person engaged in trusting fully understands, accepts, and practices the surrender of the thing or matter which they are entrusting to another. To trust is to surrender care of someone, or something, to another person. Without this surrender, the concept of “trust” is vapid and has no meaning. And make no mistake – there is no such thing as “partial surrender.” There can be partial responsibility, or joint custody, or team management – but there is no sharing or partiality in surrender. Like being pregnant, surrender is or isn’t – there is no “partly” about it.

And this, for followers of Jesus, is what is meant by the word “faith.”

Commissioning of Scout leaders

 Here's something I put together for a previous congregation... 

Commissioning of Scout Leaders 

As there were in Old Testament times elders for the government of the people, so the New Testament church provided persons with particular gifts to share in the discernment of God’s Spirit and the leadership of God’s people.  In recognition of God’s call upon these men and women to lead the Scouts of Cub Pack 760 and Scout Troop 760, we now commission

[names] 

 

 

to Your service.  

Lord, You command us to listen to You [Is 48:12], and the psalmist sings with the knowledge that You hear his voice [Ps 143]: Grant to each of these your servants a listening heart – to hear Your voice in faith, and to hear with compassion the voices of the Scouts You have entrusted to them. 

Through the words of the psalmist and others, O Lord, You call us to meditate and reflect.  Grant these leaders the desire and the facility to reflect regularly upon their calling, and to discern the guidance and presence of Your Holy Spirit.  Lead them to cultivate that discipline that they may, in turn, reflect to their Scouts Your acts of love and grave in their lives. 

Almighty Father, You are the God of all life, especially the new life we have in Jesus.  By Your Spirit, guide each of these Your servants as they lead their young charges into new experiences and new vistas.  Nurture in them a vibrant and growing trust in You, that they may not fear the unknown, but go forward confidently in faith. 

O Lord, Author of all Righteousness, Justice, and mercy: As we heard though the words of your prophet Isaiah, Your heart melts with compassion for those who are oppressed, and burns with anger at those who do nothing to relieve them of their burdens.  Imbue these leaders with consistent, fair, and compassionate judgment; deliver them from self-interest; and let those who look to them for guidance see in them the reflection of true righteousness that is Yours alone. 

Lord Jesus, You Yourself are our peace, for in Your body on the Cross You have broken down every dividing wall of hostility and made us one – one with one another, and one with You.  Remind these leaders daily that You have chosen them to be Your people – not through any merit of their own but solely by Your grace.  Grant that they may carry forth that unity and share it with their Scouts, bearing witness – in their every thought and deed – to the joyful truth that they belong; that fellowship is not something they must earn, but a gift freely extended to them in love, in brotherhood and in sisterhood. 

Thank You, God, for the blessing of these leaders.  For their faith; for their devotion; for their love; and for their obedience to Your call to serve and lead their fellow Scouts.  Grant them the peace and assurance of Your constant presence.  Let them not grow weary of their responsibilities, nor resent the demands of their ministry; rather, in all things, may they confirm to the world that a Scout’s Duty to God is a sacred and joyful duty, through which one is strengthened in Faith, emboldened in Hope, and deepened in Love – to the glory of Your holy name.  Amen. 

 

Words in bold are taken from the 2010 Scoutmaster Handbook, Chapter 11 “Working With Boys,” pp. 130-32.