Podcasts about oklahoma conference

In this episode, Pastor Levi Duggan discusses innovation and inclusion with Rev. Carlo Ramirez, Associate Director of Connection Ministries in Congregational Vitality and Hispanic/Latino Ministries for the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church. 

In this episode, Pastor Levi Duggan interviews Rev. Dr. Bessie Hamilton, Associate Director of Connectional Ministry for New Faith Communities and Multi Ethnic Initiatives for the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church. 

Ed Light, retired United Methodist minister, reminisces with Vicky about the beginnings of Gridiron in the Oklahoma Conference.

Wes Via is the Communications director for Oklahoma Conference and the Pastor of Hope Adventist FellowshipWes's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wes.via/to get the free training, send me an email at hello@digitalmissionspodcast.com 

Listen in as we recap a really weird week 8 in College Football and preview week 9. Plus, Mike Leach loves candy? And has CFB realignment killed Conference USA? All that and more in this week's episode.

My guest is Adam Soltani, who is the Executive Director of CAIR Oklahoma. CAIR is the Council on American-Islamic Relations and is a civil liberties group with affiliations nationwide, including Oklahoma. Adam is a graduate from the University of Oklahoma holding a Master's degree in Human Relations with a certificate in Organizational Diversity and Development. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in the field of Sociology from the University of Central Oklahoma. He has served the Muslim community in various capacities as a professional including promoting and managing American Muslim artists for a London based record label Meem Music, serving as an assistant director for outreach at the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, coordinating youth development programs at the Islamic Society of Edmond, and being one of the founding members of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Soltani currently serves as the chair of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches' Religions United Committee. He is a former member of the Oklahoma Democratic Party Religious Education Committee, the Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma, the planning committee for OKC's Jewish-Muslim Film Institute, and the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City Executive Committee. Adam's written commentary is regularly featured in the Oklahoma Gazette, Tulsa World, and Oklahoman, and he has been interviewed by local, national, and international broadcast media. He is a regular public speaker at Oklahoma universities and college campuses on topics ranging from the basics of Islam to specialized topics such as demystifying Jihad. He's the recipient of numerous awards, is an adjunct instructor at Oklahoma State University, and is a husband and father of two, Zane and Aaron. See Adam's full bio at https://www.cairoklahoma.com/staff/adam-soltani/ Connect with my guest: You can connect with Adam Soltani by email at asoltani@cair.com, or through the CAIR Oklahoma website at https://www.cairoklahoma.com/contact/. Resources mentioned in this episode: Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Oklahoma https://www.cairoklahoma.com/ Oklahoma State University - Religious Studies https://religiousstudies.okstate.edu/people/core-faculty/353-adam-soltani Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City https://www.catholiccharitiesok.org/ News and Press: News9 CAIR prepares for Afghan refugees https://www.news9.com/story/6155eff2f8f43f0be1f09ac9/cair-oklahoma-works-to-prepare-for-arrival-of-afghan-refugees-in-okc Share and subscribe: Share this podcast https://www.fullintegrationcoaching.com/liveyourpurpose For more ways to share and subscribe https://anchor.fm/liveyourpurpose Thank you! Connect with Charles: Learn more about my life coaching, public speaking, and retreat services https://www.fullintegrationcoaching.com Follow along with me on Facebook and Instagram @ fullintegrationcoaching

Shannon interviews Dr. Rev. Shannon Fleck, Exec. Dir. of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches.

In this message, Rev. Dr. Victor McCullough, District Superintendent of the Heartland District of the Oklahoma Conference of the UMC, expounds on the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16. 

With so many education bills gaining traction that received no support from the education community, including a clear attack on the voice of educators with SB 634, Fried Okra asks legislative guru Ivy Riggs to shed a light on why this is happening and the motivations behind placing a singular target on a woman-dominated profession that has a track-record of holding Oklahoma lawmakers accountable in their commitment to public education. Alicia and Carrie then have a fascinating conversation with Reverend Shannon Fleck from the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, who discusses "No Hate in the Heartland" and why education is such an important tenant of their work.

Find the Good News, Episode 107, “The Hinge Moment,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Reverend Shannon Fleck, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Take a good look around you, at the people in your community, the leaders, the ministers, the people in positions of authority or power, and pay attention to what you see? Do they look like you, think like you, and generally believe the same things you believe?   On reflection, and if I'm being really honest about it, that's what I've experienced most of my life. For the most part, I could easily fit in anywhere, especially if I kept my mouth shut and my thoughts to myself. As long as I behaved and didn't push the boundaries of the status quo then the unseen hand was generally welcoming.   When we're not personally running into boundaries it's easy to think that everything is alright in the world for everyone, especially when our focus is dialed in on our own needs. What about everyone else outside that narrow tunnel, the people in our communities that don't see themselves represented in the positions of power or authority, those who can't easily slide on the rails of the system by simply playing along?   For whatever the reason— religion, race, financial status, sexuality—we have human brothers and sisters that aren't invited to the table of privilege. Further, many in privileged positions have been curating the systems to keep it that way by perpetuating outdated secular norms. This is the precise territory that Reverend Shannon Fleck operates, and it's why I asked her to visit with me on Find the Good News.   Reverend Fleck is the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, a coalition of faith communities, Christian denominations, interfaith organizations, and secular nonprofits that work to connect society to faith-based communities.   This mission and this conversation are personal for Shannon. She holds, as do I, that people are informed by what they see, and when they do not see themselves properly represented they are actually being held back from the fullness of humanity, effectively stunting their growth into their full potential, neutering communities from the enrichment that diversity and variety brings.   Reverend Fleck is a Christian faith leader that is publicly addressing the very real and present issues that many Churches are not addressing. While she isn't a fan of the particularly partisan marriage of religion-and-politics, she does lean her Christian faith directly into restorative justice, as well as the avoidance of umbrella terms that simply placate and maintain old social norms.   Shannon wraps her arms around a grace that is inviting, a grace of inclusion, and refuses to sacrifice people against the threshing stone of theology. Reverend Shannon Fleck and the coalition she represents are very concerned with how to represent people, ensuring that they can see themselves sitting at the table.   Now, it's time to check our privilege, get informed, consider some personal actions and changes, then tune your attention to this Good News Beacon, and press play on a little good news. ========== SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS >> https://www.findthegood.news/donate/  ========== LEARN MORE ABOUT REV. SHANNON FLECK >> https://www.facebook.com/shannonmfleck  ========== FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com   ==========

In this message from the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church, Reverend Derrek Belase continues the discussion on hospitality through the lens of Luke 4:16-30.

My guest is Muhammet Ali Sezer, who is the Executive Director of Dialogue Institute Oklahoma and Raindrop Turkish House Oklahoma. Muhammet graduated from Suleyman Demirel University with a degree in Mathematics. He also earned a College Counseling Certificate from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA Extension). Muhammet is an alumnus of Leader Tulsa Class 58. He serves on the Oklahoma Governor International Team (OKGIT), Executive Board of the Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice (OCCJ), Religions United Committee of Oklahoma Conference of Churches (OCC), US Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) of Oklahoma, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Society of Tulsa. Muhammet is married to Zuleyha and they are the parents of Murat, Zeynep and Melih. Connect with my guest: You can connect with Muhammet Ali Sezer through the Dialogue Institute Oklahoma website https://www.dialogueoklahoma.org/. Resources mentioned in this episode: Dialogue Institute Oklahoma https://www.dialogueoklahoma.org/ DIO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/DialogueOK Raindrop Turkish House Oklahoma https://www.facebook.com/raindropokc The Turkish Food Festival https://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.21516 The Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma https://www.tiaok.org/ TIAO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/InterfaithOK/ Press: https://oklahoman.com/article/5679897/turkish-american-muslims-honor-christian-traditions Share and subscribe: Share this podcast https://www.fullintegrationcoaching.com/liveyourpurpose For more ways to share and subscribe https://anchor.fm/liveyourpurpose Thank you! Connect with Charles: Learn more about my life coaching, public speaking, and retreat services https://www.fullintegrationcoaching.com Follow along with me on Facebook and Instagram @ fullintegrationcoaching

Join me for a conversation with Rev. Shannon Fleck, Executive Director of Oklahoma Conference of Churches (OCC).  Rev. Fleck’s passion, social activism, and leadership has been crucial for uniting faith groups all across Oklahoma.  Under her leadership, OCC has launched a new and powerful initiative, “No Hate in the Heartland.”  Tune in and learn about OCC and the role of faith in our world today. To learn more about OCC, visit their website: Oklahoma Conference of Churches #faith #Oklahomaconferenceofchurches #nohate #racerelations #socialactivism

This week Rev. J. Kwest delivers an important message for everyone in the UCC Kansas—Oklahoma conference.

Conversations On Preaching Series with Daniel Ortega Youth Ministries Director at Oklahoma Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Rod Reuven Dovid Bryant and Jerry Gordon interview Dexter Van Zile, Christian Media Analyst of Boston-based Committee for Accuracy for Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA). Van Zile gave the latest update on extremist Christian and sinister academic groups fostering anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism - “the likes of which we haven’t seen since Father Coughlin of the 1930’s and Henry Ford.” Top of the list is TruNews, a Vero Beach, Florida church with an antisemitic news podcast and YouTube Channel. Van Zile found TruNews principals Rick Wiles, Ed Zsall and Doc Burkhart at a Christ at the Checkpoint Conference {CATC) in Bethlehem in May 2018, a pro-Palestinian Christian “peace” group that endeavors to dissuade Evangelicals from supporting Israel. He found them splicing their anti-Semitic hate into video productions of the CATC. During TruNews reports, Rick Wiles declared that Israeli Jewish rabbis are “just like Judas … looking for a political savior who will rule a political kingdom on earth, a super race that will dominate the planet. That’s really what Zionism is all about.” He also said that “Kabbalah is voodoo that Jews do” and that “If Jesus himself walked the streets of Jerusalem again, they would crucify him again. They would crucify him. They would release Barabbas and they would crucify him. Nothing has changed.” TruNews called the Impeachment Inquiry against President Trump, a “Jew Coup” intent on putting a Jewish cabal in power. It accused Trump of being a secret convert to Judaism and declared that the anti-Christ will appear as a Jewish homosexual. Despite all this, TruNews’ Ed Zsall showed up at White Press conference asking Trump a question about the “Deal of the Century” peace plan. Moreover, he showed up at an economic forum in Japan again asking President Trump questions. TruNews is not a member of the White House Press Corps, but they were given the run of the place at the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference organized by Bethlehem Bible College. Prior to that, they attended an International Security Conference in Moscow and a NATO conference in London. Van Zile noted that the Bethlehem Bible College that sponsors the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference at their Oklahoma Conference in 2018 may have crossed over to the dark side by engaging in Anti-Israel invective touting as a Jewish cabal in a picture of President Trump’s advisers. As Van Zile said, this amounts to saying that it is “now cool to be anti-Israel’ i.e., Anti-Semitic. The Bethlehem Bible College, which has a US NGO that raises funds here, didn’t respond to Van Zile’s concerns. In effect it is promoting anti-Israel doctrine in the US. Christians, as he points out, have little standing in the Muslim-majority Palestinian society. The Palestinian Authority rewards the College for its hostility towards Jews and its connections to US Church sponsors. Van Zile discussed his own involvement lodging a complaint with the Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts over anti-Israel counter-factual documentaries produced by head of the Communications Department, Professor Sut Jhally. Jhally declared at a Beirut conference that college classrooms provide a captive audience to spread anti-Israel doctrine. As Van Zale pointed out Jhally rigs his examinations in such a way as to produce grades for affirming Jhally’s anti-Israel doctrine. Van Zile, who has a daughter in college, asserts that Jhally uses his position to deprive students at UMASS of a liberal education. This is an outrage, Van Zile asserts, particularly since the annual cost for in-state students to attend UMASS is $30,000 and that taxpayers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts spend $361 million a year to support such an institution. Beyond the Matrix 11DEC2019 - PODCAST

Show Notes This week, we talk to TJ Sands. TJ is a pastor working in the Oklahoma Conference, and leads the second-largest church in his conference. He's also passionate about discourse and honest conversations, and boy do we have one for you today! Jewelry and the use of it has been a divisive issue in the church ever since the Victorian era. Even today, people look down at those who wear wedding earrings, necklaces, or even wedding bands. So, what's the deal? Does the Bible truly prohibit it, as many assume, or is there something deeper to the conversation? Website and Blog | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram Send us an email at burnthehaystackpodcast@gmail.com.

Daniel began full-time ministry in Oklahoma in 2007 after graduating from Southwestern Adventist University. Daniel has served as a youth pastor, senior pastor, Bible teacher, and elementary principal. He moved back to Oklahoma in January of 2018, after serving three years in the Indiana Conference, to serve as the Youth & Young Adult director and communications director for the Oklahoma Conference. He enjoys youth ministry along with his wife Yesenia and two boys, Isaac and Benjamin. Check out Oklahoma youth here >>> https://www.facebook.com/okadventistyouth/ https://www.instagram.com/okadventistyouth/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/youthministrymentor/support

Sunday, July 14, 2019 | Rev. Derrek Belase, Director of Connectional Ministry, Oklahoma Conference

Guest Preacher, Reverend Chris Tiger Acts 14:26-27 26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. Rev. Chris Tiger has served as the Director of New Faith Communities of the Oklahoma Conference since 2016. In this position Chris has had the privilege of supporting and encouraging those who are starting new churches and helping new people become disciples of Jesus Christ. Previously he served as the Superintendent of the Lawton and Wichitas District. He also served as a pastor of churches in Commerce, Altus, Enid and Owasso. During his time at Owasso, he helped the church relocate to a new site and double their worship attendance. He and his wife, Priscilla, are the parents of two children: Amy Givens and Aaron Tiger who are both in ministry. They have blessed him with four grandchildren. He enjoys spending time with his family and being Papa Tiger. He is a teacher at heart, and particularly enjoys helping others understand and appreciate the Bible. Remember if you are out of town and want to still join us for worship we livestream our worship services on our First Church Facebook page. You can tune in live or join at a later time.

Lisa Dellinger, of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Area of the United Methodist Church, draws parallels between the children of Israel, who lived in forced exile under the Babylonian Empire, and Native Christians, whose ancestors who endured a forced, genocidal removal in the Trail of Tears. Both groups learned how hard it is to “sing the Lord’s song in a strange land” (Psalm 137:4). Native Christians are rebuilding their own Temple today by claiming their Indigenous cultures and identities in light of Christ Jesus. (VOICED BY PROFESSIONAL TALENT) FULL TRANSCRIPT 00:02     When women come together, there's nothing we cannot do. Welcome to the Well Springs Journey podcast, where you will hear from women who have been called by God into lives that speak grace and compassion, that share pain and anger, and that dance life's joys and laughter. Inspiration to call forth your creative spirit awaits. Listen now. 00:35     Reflections on Native Christian identity and the longing for coming home, written by Lisa A. Dellinger, Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. Haggai speaks to a generation of people who returned to Jerusalem after a forced removal. Many of these returning citizen's live their whole lives in exile under the Babylonian empire. These are the descendants of those who had to learn how to sing YHWH’s song, while in a foreign land. Most returning Judeans were not alive during the height of the temple's glory. The exiles were raised with stories from their elders of a time when they had their own lands, culture, and self-determination. 01:13     This returning group, the descendants of the once elite of their society, had to learn to live immersed in the socio-religious milieu of their oppressors, and not lose their identity as the children of God. When they arrived home, the temple was in ruins, and here was politician tension with those who were not forced out of Jerusalem. The Judeans that were allowed to stay and the Persian kings loyalist. The people put their energies into rebuilding a life for themselves. This rebuilding did not begin with the temple, the center of traditional life and community wholeness. 01:48     Decades passed with the house of God remaining a tent and the people struggling to find the abundance that the elders had told them they would find back in the homeland. As a Chickasaw woman, and a Christian, there is much for me to related to in this story. My own family began its life in Oklahoma after a forced removal. I am a descendant of Ibbahmehatubby, who was born in 1740, in what is now known as Pontotoc County, Mississippi. This is our homeland given to us by Ababinili, the one dwelling above. 02:22     For the Chickasaw Nation, the genocidal removal, often called the Trail of Tears, began in 1837 and continued through 1850. My great, great-grandfather, Colbert Ahshalatubby Burris, left Mississippi as a child with his mother. My grandfather was named after Colbert Ahshalatubby Burris and he told me stories of the hardships that my families faced, as they tried to survive the trek. They also shared with me how his grandfather became an attorney, and a Chickasaw representative during the 1887 International Council, called by the five civilized tribes, to oppose the federal government's attempts to organize a unified government for Indian territory. 03:06     Many Chickasaw families retain their cultural stories and native religious practices, despite pressures to assimilate, both before and after the United States governments removal. Prior to removal, a significant number of my family, also practiced Christianity for decades, even becoming pastors. Despite prejudice and racism, navigated western attempts at indoctrination without completely abandoning their unique Chickasaw identity. It is not easy to learn to sing God's song in a new land, especially after being moved out from prosperity, and thriving community, by death march. 03:45     Many United Methodist's are not aware that the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference was an established before the Oklahoma Conference. It began with Native Christians ministering to one another. Native clergy pastored the peoples, but in true colonial fashion, the supervising bishops of the conference remained white, Ameri-European. Even today, the bishop of the Oklahoma conference oversees the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. And the United Methodist Church has yet to elect a Native American bishop in any conference. 04:20     Native pastors continue to minister with passion and devotion, despite the obstacles faced by US settler colonialism. Settler colonialism is the displacement and destruction of indigenous populations, and histories, in order to establish a nation that would make the settler the unquestioned native citizen. This violence is often cloaked in the language of being divinely inspired and providentially destined to combat the atheistically and diabolical savages that are in league with the biblical forces of evil. Settler colonialism is specific, in that it requires the indigenous peoples to live in a state of occupation, controlled by the invaders. 05:04     Settler colonialism seeks to make the original occupants invisible, powerless, and unable to practice individual or corporate cultural, and political self-determination. Like the Judean's longing to return home, Native Christians have not forgotten all that was taken from them by the subjugating force. Somehow, despite the racist nationalism that clocked itself in the language of Christianity, Native Christians interpret the gospel in the spirit of God's liberation. There is a living memory of American Indian Native religious traditions that endures, despite the criminalization of ceremonies and the abduction of Native American Indian children sent to abusive Christian boarding schools. 05:50     The land is holy for all Native peoples. Whether practicing Christianity, or traditional Native religions, each original ancestral site, is sacred, and the source of all life for Native America peoples, just as the temple was the heart of communal life, spiritual, and cultural wellbeing, and the foundation of all meaning, making for the Israelites. In the scripture selection from Haggai, there is a sense of nostalgia for a home laced with a trauma that lingers from exile. We see a people struggling with the impact of colonialism, and the memory of a former glory they have only heard of in stories. 06:29     There is a profound sense of struggling for survival in a disorienting experience of the continual alien nation or being a stranger in your own home. The Judean's are living with the memories of a former grandeur, and wholeness, along with the overwhelming task of reclaiming, and naming that wholeness in the midst of the ruins. Native American peoples continue to experience the chaos of trying to maintain their spiritual practices in a new millennium, complicated by the destruction of that, which you need for your ceremonial practice. 07:04     One indigenous interpretation of this particular biblical text is not to see the failure to quickly finish the temple, as misplaced priorities, but the result of historical trauma. Nostalgia, a longing for what once was, may complicate the ability to move past simply surviving, to living fully, without the ongoing burden of literal, and cultural genocide. Coming home to rebuild the sacred is a concept fraught with longing and apprehension for Native American Indians. Our temple is not a structure in one location. Our temple is creation itself, with literally thousands of sites consecrated and given by God. 07:47     These sites are exploited by ecological degradation for profit or overrun after Indian removal by settler-colonist. An Ameri-European Christian reading of this text might see this lack of progress and the rebuilding of the temple, ask motivated by a lack of faith in God to provide all that is needed for individuals in the community. Restoration for the people is a condition tied to providing a home for God. God blesses those who glorify and magnify YHWH's name. The command to look at the ruins of the temple can be read as an admonishment for not putting God's house first. 08:26     In this understanding, the Judean's have the entire agency in this situation but behave selfishly. God's spirit is with them and will continue to be with them as they correct this egocentric transgression. Then, there will be nothing to fear and the flourishing of the people can begin. The conquered Judean's are not fazed by the decades of exile but are using their free will to dishonor YHWH. Native Christians, as a result of settler colonialism, know what it is to have limited choices and fewer resources to practice the kind of agency that many US Euro-American's take for granted. 09:08     One has only to look at the treatment of Native Water Protectors, who peacefully protested the Dakota access pipelines abuse of land and water, to see how free will and agency are assaulted with water cannons in sub-zero temperatures, tear gas, and sound weapons by an accompanying force. While the will to restore both traditional, and Christian Native communities is strong, the repercussions of settler colonial violence are hundreds of years in the making. The return home to rebuild our own temple is not a homecoming easily accomplished. Native Christians in their own way, have resisted assimilation but made steps to practice as self-determined acculturation. 09:52     The restoration that Native Christians seek, is not for individual personal gain, or even just for the sake of human beings alone, but for all of creation. These interconnections make the restoration of the world to wholeness are mizpah, or our understanding of the divine commandment. This is accomplished for Native Christians by claiming our indigenous cultures and identities in light of Christ Jesus. Alongside Jesus, indigenous Christians seek the promise spirit to bring justice, peace, and love into an imbalanced creation that bears the scars of brokenness. 10:32     Thank you for listening to the Well Spring Journal podcast. Be sure to visit wellspringsjournal.org to find more resources for the journey.  

Elder Shires and James Bokovy join to share the direction of Family Life and Communication in the Oklahoma Conference in the months to come.

Elder Shires and James Bokovy join to share the direction of Family Life and Communication in the Oklahoma Conference in the months to come.

Sermon from special guest, Bishop James G. (Jimmy) Nunn, of the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church

Hi welcome to episode 4 of KataCast. This episode is a case study that was presented by Stuart Powell from Cookshack, a talk given in October 2015 at the 2015 Oklahoma Conference on Manufacturing. This audio comes from a video posted on Mike Rother's YouTube channel (his channel ID is 734mike) and you can find the video by using the forwarding URL www.leanblog.org/kata4. The Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata (IK/CK) are practice routines ("Starter Kata") that help turn anyone into an experimenter striving for a strategic purpose. Stuart Powell and his team at Cookshack in Ponca City, Oklahoma strive to differentiate Cookshack from competitors by strategically applying the Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata routines and practicing them daily. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kata-cast/support