Church gives $10,200 to Boy Scouts

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A vote by city commissioners in Fort Lauderdale against giving the Boy Scouts $4,167 to help disabled and disadvantaged children was offset by a Baptist church’s show of support Sept. 11.

Hundreds of Christians rallied on behalf of the Scouts when city commissioners, after a five-hour hearing, voted against the grant to Learning for Life, an in-school Scouts program for students in high crime areas.

Larry Thompson, pastor of Fort Lauderdale’s First Baptist Church, was met with cheers when he handed the commission a check for $10,200 — $200 above the Scouts’ original request, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reported. The church’s gift was raised in donations of no more than $100 each by members of the Southern Baptist congregation, Thompson said.

Meanwhile, several national Christian groups are organizing to support the Scouts, the Internet news site Crosswalk.com reported. Focus on the Family, Family Research Council and the Center for Reclaiming America are gearing up to try to stop local governments and other longtime financial supporters from turning their backs on the Scouts over its ban on homosexuals.

Broward County, with its seat in Fort Lauderdale, also has voted to withdraw $92,884 from the Scouts, and Miami-Dade schools postponed a Scout recruitment drive over the band on gays, according to Crosswalk.com.