05/02/2021
LADY OFFICERS IN THE BOYS' BRIGADE NIGERIA.
WHY WE HAVE LADY OFFICERS
The idea of having female members of the Boys' Brigade came as a result of the need to have women who can take care of the Junior Section. By default the Junior Section and the Lady Officers were not part of the vision of the founder as Sir Williams Alexandar Smith desired to have Girls groomed under another umbrella (this gave rise to the Girls Brigade).
The evolution of the Junior Section brought about the birthing of female members as Lady Officers whose primary assignment is to take care of the Junior Section.
HISTORY OF THE JUNIOR SECTION AND LADY OFFICERS
The gospel of the Boys Brigade was first instituted on 4th October 1883 at Glasgow Scotland, But its history dates as far back as 27th October 1854 when the founder Sir William Alexander Smith was born in Pennyland Scotland. On the first enrolment, the Company was made up of only males above the age of 12 years whom were part of the Sunday School class at the Free Sabboth mission.
The first movement to start the life Boys Brigade movement started in 1899; that was sixteen years after the first enrolment. This bid failed due to lack of correspondence and interest from Scotland being the motherland. In 1900, The Boys' Brigade was made an international and inter-denominational organization; being the first in the world; this gave other countries a free hand in decision making on concerning the growth and state of the organisation.
The bill to set up lower ranks called the Junior Section failed because the founder was not fully in support of the idea but shortly after his death (1914), the Brigade Executive Committee made a move to institute the Junior Section as a means of reaching out to the younger ones and meeting up with the demands of member countries as an international organisation.
In January 1917 at a Brigade Executive meeting a proposal was made by the Plymouth Battalion of South West England to form a Junior Corps for younger boys. Due to the outbreak of the First World War, the bid was NOT generally accepted by all.
Later in 1918 after the end of the First World War, the then Queen of England incorporated the Reserve Boys (Ages of 6 – 12 years) whom were part of the British Red Cross Movement to join the Boys Brigade Movement.
These Boys were chosen because of the following reason:
1Most of the Boys were orphans and had no other form of life after the way.
2They shared the same aim with the Boys Brigade which is drill and discipline.
3They where skilled on the Military bush signs, road signs and semaphore which were close to the Morse codes and alphabets used by the Boys Brigade.
4They were vibrant and full of energy thus called the Life Boys on Inception.
Two years later, in 1920 Female staff members were allowed as honorary instructors in the Boys Brigade o assist the junior Boys and show them good parental care to make feel at home.
In Nov. 24th 1926 , the Amalgamation of the Boys' Brigade with the Boys' Life Brigade was made international to be cultured by all Countries. Upon the merger between the Boys' Brigade and the Boys' Life Brigade in 1926, the Red Geneva’s Cross was placed behind the anchor to form the current emblem. The cross originally formed part of emblem of the Boys' Life Brigade.
In 1966, With the full integration of The Life Boys as part of The Boys’ Brigade, Lady Officers were permitted to work only in the Junior Section. They wore a uniform similar to that as worn by Life Boy Leaders or Leading Boys or Anchor Boys leader but with the appropriate badges of the Junior Section.
In 1976, The World Conference (of The Boys' Brigade) formed. During this conference, the Lady Officers were with the Officers section as no longer the Junior section. Thus being eligible to work in all Sections of the Company. With this merger their Objective remained the same as to “ Train the Anchor Boys and Show them love and care”.
WHO THEN ARE LADY OFFICERS
LADY OFFICERS are female officers above the ages of 25 years who have the desire to serve in the Boys Brigade Ministry. The can be Lieutenants, Captains, Warrants as the case may be but can’t stand out as NCOs because their BB age exceeds the NCOs age limit.
Thus at that age (25) a lady is expected to have developed a good sense of belonging and been able to develop self control over sexual pressure from male officers.
Lady Officers in the Boys Brigade are addressed as “Sir”, thus the phrase “She is a Boy” is usually used to address lady officers in the BB.
LADY OFFICERS’ CODE OF CONDUCT
1Must be loyal to God, the Brigade and the Church.
2Must avoid or abstain from anything that would stain the name and image of the Boys Brigade.
3Must maintain a good relationship with his fellow officers.
4Must be a humble and obedient person with a high sense of love and care, especially towards the Junuir Boys.
5Must be a financial member of the Church which he belongs to.
6Must show positive interest to the activities of the Company.
7Should have the zeal to work without seeking rewards i.e. should render selfless services as a volunteer.
8Must not at anytime befriend or try to seduce male members of the Boys Brigade.
9 Must give prompt obedience to his superior officers.
10Must have an outstanding character at home, the Church community and Company.
DUTIES OF THE LADY OFFICERS.
Every Boys Brigade officer should realize that when appointment to his office is accepted, he (Lady Officer) is undertaking a duty to the God and the Boy. This involves several responsibilities, which are as follows:
1Lady Officers should recognize constantly the authority of the Church and Company in which they are serving as leaders.
2Lady Officers should co-operate with the Church and members of the Boys' Brigade to ensure Christian education is thought for good spiritual growth.
3Lady Officers should have good communication skills for effective coaching in the children ministry or Junior Section.
4Lady Officers should enrol in Leadership Training programs of the Boys Brigade in order to be proficient in ministry and also partner with fellowship groups or ministries where children ministry is taught.
5Lady Officers as mothers have a heart of gold, so a Lady Officer is expected at all times to love, care for and guide the Boys of the Junior Section as a mother hen broods over her chicks.
THE FALL
When purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable. Male Officers now enrol their female friends, partners or concubine as members of the Boys' Brigade Comapny as a move to seal a love affair or have them around their arms at all times. This have brought pain and disappointment to the organisation as many if such Lady Officers do not even know how to take care of a Boy in the Junior Section.
Take a random sample of Lady Officers in your council, weigh their relationship with Boys in the Junior Section and you will see that 6 out of every 10 Lady Officers have lost purpose.
Overtime, female members have been enrolled into the Boys' Brigade into ranks and sections below 25 years (they are not Lady Officers). They have served in different NCO ranks effective in some Companies and Councils while in others it has become a Jszebel to the organisation (Rev 2:20). Male Officers now lust after them, intimidate them into accepting proposals to be their girlfriends as a cover for promotion and protection.
These younger ones usually fall into this trap because they often do not have the will to say No or stand by what is right. Maturity is key to Kingdom advance when having female members in the Boys' Brigade. I urge Companies and Councils where such exists to have strict measures to checkmate acts of immorality.
In as much as some of these females or male officers may have Jezebelic agenda, I have encountered an encouraging number of outstanding under age female members who have made more impact both in leadership and training than the purported Lady Officers in Companies. We must apply wisdom when trying to balance the books.
THE RISE UNTO GLORY
Truth remains that the glorious days of having tactful, diligent, disciplined and spirit filled Lady Officers are not yet over. We have a new breed rising from the heart of God. We have an army of female members ready to take over the ranks and files of the Boys' Brigade due to global teachings on classical humanism and fundamentalism. Male Officers are losing out on the Boys' Brigade purpose and object. The rise of female members will buffet these concerns.
In order to get it right, we must enrol female members who are purpose driven not gender or self driven. We must understand that the purpose of having a Lady Officer is to take care of the Junior Section. We must allow Christ as the head of our organisation and rely on him (not self) for leadership and mentorship through the help of the Hoky Spirit.
Let's go to him in prayers and ask him to steer our organisation as the Captain of our soul, Amen.
