Circuit Writer

Here’s my latest column for The Tahlequah Christian, for the week of March 28 – April 3.

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Regardless of where you stand on the passage of health care reform, I think we can all agree that it has created quite the … media frenzy. Leading up to the vote, the TV news was dominated by voices pro and con. Since then we’ve heard the angry cry of opposition and the jubilant celebration of the supportive base. To put it plainly: it’s a mess. And if you’re attuned to any of the other major issues that are floating around Washington, D.C., you’ll know that they have been all but drowned out by the health care squabble. I’m particularly fond of the rallying cry of Repower America, an organization working to promote green energy and improved infrastructure for the nation. They are simply stating: “We got next.” continue reading…

Here’s an excerpt from an article hosted by the National Council of Churches. It discusses the Ecumenical Advocacy Days gathering last Sunday, March 21 in Washington, D.C.  Disciples’ General Minister and President Sharon Watkins preached at the gathering Sunday morning.  The focus of this year’s event was comprehensive immigration reform.

Washington, March 21, 2010 — As more than 700 delegates to Ecumenical Advocacy Days continued to pursue their hope for just immigration laws, the Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins preached about the oneness of the human family.

Watkins, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), delivered the sermon at Sunday morning worship on the third day of the ninth annual Advocacy Days gathering in Washington.

Throughout the ages, Watkins noted, human beings have separated into distinct groups. “The broad sweep of human history is not a feel-good story,” she said. “We make boundaries, and we decide who’s in and who’s out.”

Click to READ MORE.

In a previous post I covered SB 1965, a legislative effort by Senator Steve Russell (R – Oklahoma City) to effectively opt Oklahoma out of the recently adopted hate crime provisions of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.  While I want to refrain from questioning the senator’s motivations, I have no problem questioning his intentions.  In a press release he spells out a clear opposition to the Shepard Act:

Oklahoma currently has tough, good laws that include hate crimes laws. Any murder or brutal assault is hateful. That is the problem with singling out something more with this federal law.  I believe this legislation far exceeds the powers of government over states as outlined in the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  I am also very concerned that this loosely defined and ill-conceived legislation could be used to target people’s belief, freedom to associate in groups, right to assemble on issues, as well as target people’s right to free speech.

The Oklahoma State Capitol building. (Photo by Daniel Mayer, used under Creative Commons 3.0)

What Russell fails to mention is that Oklahoma’s current statute does not include a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity as motivations for a hate crime.  In his rush to defend the privileges of the empowered, Senator Russell runs roughshod over the basic human rights of members of the LGBTQIA community.  As a commenter on my previous post pointed out, the failure to prosecute the perpetrators of hate crimes creates an continue reading…

Here’s my weekly column for The Tahlequah Christian, written for the week of March 21-27.

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Nothing says Spring quite like snow drifts, driving wind, and cancelling church! Well, at least I’ve found it’s not that uncommon here in Oklahoma. Recently, in a conversation with a longtime Tulsa resident, the point was made that over the last few years Green Country received the majority of its snow in March rather than December or January. I haven’t checked the weather records to confirm or deny this, but if I were a betting man, I wouldn’t go against this one.

Yet it was the irony of this – making the decision to cancel church on the first day of Spring – that set me thinking about the equinox. continue reading…

The irony of the day is that as the debate rages over scrapping “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and allowing people of the LGBTQI community to serve openly in the armed forces, the Oklahoma legislature is actively working to prohibit state law enforcement agencies from cooperating in federal hate crime investigations. A bill sponsored by Senator Steve Russell (R – Oklahoma City) introduces changes to the state code designed to do exactly that. On its face, the most recent revision of the bill (Senate floor substitute) may sound innocuous:

WASHINGTON - APRIL 12 (2007): Judy Shepard, mother of hate crime victim Matthew Shepard, wipes away tears during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

An Act relating to criminal investigations … which relates to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation; limiting disclosure of certain investigative information; prohibiting state employees from assisting a federal agency under certain circumstances. continue reading…

This article comes from Christian ethicist, Dr. David P. Gushee, the Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University.  It is an eye-opening and insightful response to Glenn Beck’s biblically illiterate attack on social justice oriented Christian communities.

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Speaking as a Christian ethicist, I can say with certainty that in flippantly attacking the concept of social justice, Glenn Beck inadvertently poked a finger in the eye of every person who takes the Bible as God’s revealed Word and (according to Scripture) poured contempt on a central concern of God Himself:

“For I the Lord love justice.” (Isaiah 61:8)

“You must not distort justice; you must not show partiality; and you must not accept bribes, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue.” (Deuteronomy 16:19-20)

“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

Click to READ MORE.

I’m posting a link to this article not only because it takes an incisive look at Baptist (meaning all brands, not just Southern) polity and what that means for the future of the Baptist tradition given the general tightening of the theological fist, but because I know the author and am privileged to acknowledge him as a peer and a friend.  Enjoy!

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Opinion: Church-autonomy inquiries from a naïve Baptist

By Cody Sanders

… There is certainly historical precedent for Baptist churches dividing over theological issues and congregations leaving or being expelled from associational bodies. Nonetheless, it causes me to question what we lose when we put extreme limits on how far we are willing to take our commitments to soul competency and local-church autonomy.

Moreover, when we hastily decide that a certain person or a certain church has stepped too far beyond the boundaries of friendly cooperation, do we risk expelling the prophets from among us? If so, I suppose this action should come as no surprise. For just as a prophet is without honor in her or his own hometown, so too a prophetic congregation may find no welcome within its historic denominational home …

Click here for the rest of the article.

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Cody J. Sanders, a graduate of Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology, is a doctoral student in pastoral theology and counseling at Texas Christian University’s Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth.

CWS is helping to meet emergency needs in the aftermath of the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake.  Within 24 hours after the quake, CWS and its partners began providing basic supplies, prepositioned in the Dominican Republic.  It is working with partners to provide water, food, temporary shelter and health assistance.  Having worked in partnership in Haiti since 1954, CWS will also help to support communities in the long struggle to rebuild.

Click here to read the full article or click here to make a donation to Church World Service.

The following is the contents of an email update from Week of Compassion concerning disaster response in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti.  I wanted to post this and pass it along for anyone who does not subscribe to the Week of Compassion newsletter.

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Since Haiti was struck by a massive 7.0 Earthquake on January 12^th, North American Disciples congregations have responded out of faith, hope, and a radical sense of generosity.

Here is my column for the Tahlequah Christian for the week of March 14-20.

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As many may recall, this past weekend I attended the annual meeting of the Southwest Commission on Religious Studies. This gathering includes the regional chapters of several academic associations, such as the American Academy of Religion, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the Association for the Scientific Study of Religion. Now that I’ve thoroughly established the religion “nerd” credentials for this gathering, let me establish my own: I have to admit that I really enjoyed the conference. There was a wide variety of papers presented ranging from the history of the Spiritualist movement at Camp Chesterfield in Indiana to a discussion of the various religious positions on abortion as a paradigm for exploring social and cultural worldviews. So if that run-on sentence doesn’t convince you that I learned something, you’ll just have to take my word that I couldn’t help but be engaged during this conference. Even the breaks for food and drink turned into another opportunity to discuss the most intriguing presentations! continue reading…