 Following his retirement from professional Scouting , Goodman served the National Council of Churches ( NCC ) during 1951 – 1954 as the NCC 's first general director of the United Church Men , a laymen 's program he formed to strengthen men 's ties to local churches and their communities . Goodman publicly inaugurated the laymen 's group on October 7 , 1951 in Cincinnati , Ohio . By the end of 1952 , United Church Men departments were formed in more than 24 states , providing financial support to NCC @-@ affiliated colleges and missionary work . His new post entailed working closely with Eugene Carson Blake , NCC president ( 1954 – 1957 ) , and meeting frequently with officials of the participating denominations in the NCC . Speaking with various men 's church groups in the U.S. and abroad was , he believed , a means of promoting brotherhood . Reflecting on his NCC service with these notable church leaders , Goodman said more than a decade later , " Great faith and devoted service , I am very sure , are for ordinary folk as well as for the clergy . ... I have been privileged to know some great clergymen in my day ... but I have also known and loved some truly great laymen , men whose lives and works matched their faith " . Goodman retired from his NCC post on September 1 , 1954 because of tuberculosis . 
