Circuit Writer

This week’s column (May 2-8) for The Tahlequah Christian.

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The ongoing news of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues to be a source of consternation for me. As I listen to the ever-growing reports – 1,000 barrels per day leaking into the ocean has managed to grow to over 5,000 barrels per day – I am greatly concerned for the long term damage that this disaster will cause. The resulting oil slick, now estimated to be over 130 miles by 70 miles (roughly the size of the state of Delaware), could potentially cause an even greater disaster than the Exxon Valdez incident that coated Alaska’s Prince William Sound with roughly 250,000 barrels of crude oil. continue reading…

My latest column for The Tahlequah Christian, written for the week of April 25 – May 1.

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I’m quoting from a page found on Facebook, the popular social networking site:

DEAR LORD, THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR, PATRICK SWAYZIE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS, FARAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER, MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN.

I didn’t spend any time setting up this comment, because it’s not worth the setup. This type of language is crass and despicable, and what’s worse, it’s said in the guise of religious language that is presumably Christian. continue reading…

There are so much news and information to cover this week that I’m going to do my best to squeeze it all in to this one newsletter column – so here goes!

First off, on the home front I want to remind everyone that the Regional Assembly is taking place this weekend in Enid. The opening activities begin on Thursday afternoon and continue all day Friday and into the early afternoon on Saturday. It’s not too late to sign up – you can find registration information at www.okdisciples.org.

Secondly, with graduation approaching and some of you asking, continue reading…

The latest column for The Tahlequah Christian, written for the week of April 11-17.

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These past few weeks and months have been interesting on the political scene. The national picture has witnessed massive legislative and foreign policy shifts that will likely mark significant changes in how we understand ourselves as a nation. And while this may turn out to be a good thing, in the short run it may leave us feeling uncertain, unsettled, and perhaps even confused. For some, this is already the case, and the results have become chaotic. continue reading…

This is the latest pastor’s column for The Tahlequah Christian, for the week of April 4 – April 10.

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Easter has now come and gone, and with it a sometimes forgotten anniversary: the death of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Thirty-two years ago this past Easter, King was assassinated on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He had arrived in the city just days before to offer his support to African American employees of the sanitation department who were striking for fair and equal treatment. Just the day before, he had delivered what is known as his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” address to the crowd at Mason Temple of the Church of God in Christ. In it he reiterated his consistent theme of nonviolent resistance and protest against the injustice of segregation and bigotry. continue reading…

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 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…

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…

This is my column for the Tahlequah Christian for the week of March 7-13.

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As I prepared to write a column for this week, I sat at my table surrounded by paperwork: a copy of my notes for the ordination council, an unfinished application for graduation, a calendar with dates for my friends’ already scheduled ordination services, and a reminder about the upcoming Regional Assembly in April. It suddenly struck me that perhaps this week I should take a break from the theological and focus on the practical, because I have a lot of news and information to share. continue reading…

This is a rather late posting of my column from The Tahlequah Christian for the week of February 28 – March 6.

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This last week I attended a public presentation entitled “Beyond Apologetics.”  (Also on Facebook.) The lectures, jointly sponsored by Phillips Theological Seminary and Brite Divinity School at TCU, were funded by a grant from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation. This evening gathering convened a panel of scholars and pastors who are working on the question of ministering to and with people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. It was a fascinating set of presentations that challenged me to think differently about how we behave in community when we gather together as church. continue reading…