Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Methods Over Substance

While Royal Ranger Outposts are popping up all over the US and all over the world, sadly, there are some that are closing their doors.  We just had a young man join our Outpost who came to us from just such an Outpost.  What is it that drives a Pastor to make this choice?  In today’s episode we are going to examine one symptom that we must all be alert to and highlight a few steps that can immunize your Outpost.

Several times we put a booth up during Pow Wow to promote the Districts’ premier summer event, Summer Merit Camp.  The tag line for SMC is, “Where Adventure Fuels Advancement”.  As boys walked by the booth, we would engage them by asking them where they were along the advancement trail.  Many times, this would result in a deer in the headlights reaction.  As we drilled down on that question, we would find out that some Outposts Wednesday night meeting would consist of dodgeball and a devotion.  This became the catalyst for an episode titled “Dodgeball saved my Outpost”.  During this show we looked at some of the pitfalls in leaning to these types of games to change the “fun quotient”.  This is a prime example of the method over substance conversation.

Why does method seem to overtake substance?

We find or use methods to deliver the substance.  Look at the basic three components to a Wednesday night meeting:  Bible Merit, Activity, Skill Merit.

• Bible Merit
  • Method — You may give the boys handouts, assign scripture reading, or even put up some video to illustrate the points of the message
  • Substance – Being boy led, adult facilitated the substance should include your patrols. How does the Bible lesson reach the boys right where they are, and are you building within the Outpost the relationships that foster openness and sharing?

The method means you have taken roll, read the lesson plan cover to cover, check the boxes and handed things off to the next commander.  Substance might mean you never made it past the first verse, someone engaged the group and now the real discipleship begins.

• Activity (Recreation)
  In the activity guide this segment of the night is referred to recreation. We refer to it as activity.  We wanted to drop the notion of a “burn off some energy” time.
  • Method – here the methods run the gamut: kickball, manhunt, indoor games etc… It so easy here for method to take center stage.
  • Substance – We use a lot of minute to win it style games and often have a creative commander build an activity within the same scaffolding. Again, the boy led adult facilitated philosophy kicks in.  The gear managers have the activity assignment from the previous week.  The patrol leader sets up the activity, gives direction and picks contestants.  The commander works behind the scene to maintain a Plan A process.  These activities build camaraderie within the patrol, yield winners and losers, and foster leadership.  There are multiple places for the commander to have some great teachable moments.
• Skill Merit
  This is the segment of the night that really drive advancement for the boys, and relationship with the commanders. Rules without relationship breeds rebellion, rules with relationship breeds respect.
  • Method – The skill merits is where the commander really shines. There are some tough merits along the trail but most of the times one or more commanders will have experience to bring to the table.  Here the methods allow for real hands on.
  • Substance – At the heart of the story God is tell in His word is relationship and at the heart of the vision Jonny Barnes was given for Royal Ranges is relationship.

It really isn’t that hard to be prepared every Wednesday night, but it is to be Ready.  Ready to build relationships, ready to pour Gods word into the hearts of the young men you mentor and discern those time when a young man needs you to step into his story.

Royal Ranger is fun, and challenging, and disciplined and courageous and all the other blue points.  But when the team isn’t ready things devolve into method and only method.  Sure, the fun is there but it’s build on a foundation with no substance and no one needs one more of those on their calendar.