Circuit Writer

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…

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…

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)

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Now that the metaphorical dust is settling on the disaster that has befallen Haiti, it is the time to begin remembering what we are already forgetting.  Distracted by the commentary and wrangling surrounding the State of the Union Address, we’ve lost track of the tragedy of an estimated 150,000 dead (the U.N. confirming 111,481 based on bodies recovered as of January 24).  While there is no doubt that we should acknowledge the economic problems here in our country, it would be a failure of nerve and moral courage to shift our focus inward upon ourselves on account of an arbitrary requirement that the President “shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union.”  (Article II, Section 3, U.S. Constitution)

I’ve previously written concerning the real nature of Haiti’s “curse” and Christian responsibility in the wake of this disaster, but it’s time for us to move beyond talk and take action.  For everyone who has already become involved, sending recovery kits and making financial contributions, I thank you and commend your actions.  However, as Richard Kim points out, our charity simply isn’t good enough: continue reading…

I’d like to dedicate this blog post to Bobbie Tetley, my high school AP American History teacher who instilled in me a love of history, and even though I am on the eve of completing graduate school, she remains one of the most challenging, demanding, and respected voices not only of my educational career, but of my life.  Thank you, Mrs. Tetley.  – cwc

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This first came to my attention through an action alert from the United Farm Workers, an organization I’ve become connected to through my denomination’s participation in the National Farm Worker Ministry.  I received an email asking me to “Stop Texas from erasing Cesar Chavez and Hispanics from school books.”  It provided information about an upcoming session of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) that will be voting on new curriculum standards for social studies for the state of Texas.  UFW asked me to compose an email to Gail Lowe, the chair of the Texas SBOE demanding that they not further marginalize the voices of Latina/os within the history curriculum. continue reading…