As a seminary student I agree wholeheartedly with Bishop Hayes' insight into our church and affirm the proactive and progressive work he is doing in the Oklahoma Conference. I am very glad for his leadership...See Below
Tulsa World Article
On another note, at the end of the article it is interesting to see how outsiders view the churches all together as one and how all preachers are lumped together good and bad. There seems to be little understanding by outsiders of what it takes to earn a seminary degree or how that degree shapes and forms competent and faithful ministers of the Gospel. There also seems to be a push back against religious coverage in the Tulsa World as if religion has no place in society, as if there were not a thousand extra people in downtown Tulsa doing good and spending money in the city of Tulsa. As a person coming from a liberal background this lack of humility and humanity is what bugs me about myself and others like me. Religion happens…either reform it for the good or for the bad or to keep it the same, but never pretend that it going to become obsolete; that is lazy ignorance/lazy arrogance. Really, it seems we Methodists have work to do, to show who we are apart from other groups using our words and actions, so people can see the various colors of God’s Kingdom and can experience the bountiful Spirit that flows through the heart of United Methodism.
