When Oklahoma Wesleyan students heard about this injustice, they were determined to do something about it. First they asked themselves, “What can college students in the town of Bartlesville, Oklahoma do?” Because they realized that it is often difficult for college students to offer financial support, they established The Orange Movement, which capitalizes on the unique skills and support that they can offer— like the time, energy, and technological skills that are necessary to inform people of the problem.

Last week, The Orange Movement connected with the Oklahomans Against Trafficking Humans Coalition (OATH), and Run Free by Venture Expeditions to run the happiest 5k on earth— The Color Run. Because the color run had over 13,000 participants, it was a great opportunity to inform Oklahomans about human trafficking and the ways they can help.

The Orange Movement, named after the abolitionist Reverend Orange Scott, is a grassroots student ministry that seeks to bring awareness to the problem and to connect people with organizations that are on the front lines in the fight against human trafficking.

More than 150 individuals registered to run on the behalf of OATH, and in order to raise money, they solicited friends and family to sponsor them. To date, they have raised over $3000, which will go directly to OATH Coalition to aid in their efforts to rescue those enslaved right here in Oklahoma. This money raised by the runners will help OATH begin the process of establishing rescue homes, which Mark Elam, OATH founder and leader, suggests is critical, especially for girls trafficked between the ages of 12 and 17.

Human trafficking is a tragedy and a problem for our state, our country, and the world. It cannot be ignored. 

To see how you can join the fight against human trafficking visit oathcoalition.org. 

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When Abdu Murray was a young man, his Muslim parents encouraged him to study the Qur’an and Islam, but as he studied Islam and the major world religions in the years that followed, he began to think that Christianity was the only one that completely lined up with historical evidence.  He declared, “I found the evidence for Christianity to be so compelling, particularly the resurrection of Jesus to be so compelling, as a historical fact. Not an idea that Christians believe or hope is true, but can have confidence in as being true.”

Eventually, he was overcome by the love of Jesus Christ, the man that was willing to lay down his life for people who hated him. He said, “Islam knows no love like that.” Now, his goal is to engage with non-Christians—Muslims, Jews, cult members, and skeptics— and to equip other Christians to do the same. Murray has spoken in numerous locations across the United States and internationally, has been featured on many talk radio shows and television programs, and has been published in a variety of media venues.

Murray received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School in 1999, where he also earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology in 1995. Currently, he lives in Detroit, Michigan with his wife and three children. He is a co-founder and President of Embrace the Truth International. More information about his ministry can be found at Embrace the Truth. 

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Bob and Joyce Campbell are loved and appreciated by their family, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, and the
Bartlesville community. They have three children, one daughter and two sons, and eight beloved grandchildren. Bob taught in the university’s science department from 1980-1987, and served on the Board of Trustees since 1990, and where he also served as Chairman of the Board and as Chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee. He is also well known in the community for his time at Phillips 66, where he was awarded over 50 patents. The new science building is aptly named after the Campbells for their contribution to science and to the community.

Dr. Charles Drake, fellow scientist of Dr. Campbell, began the dedication ceremony, and he was followed by Mr. Roger Metcalf, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Dr. Everett Piper, Oklahoma Wesleyan University president. Dr. Steve Babby, the District Superintendent of the Pacific Southwest Region of The Wesleyan church, also spoke on behalf of The Wesleyan Headquarter, followed by a tour of the building, which concluded the dedication ceremony. The Robert and Joyce Campbell Science Building is aptly named, as it is a building honoring a past generation of scientists, and preparing the next one. 

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Mr. David Preston, Executive Director of the OKWU Foundation, followed with a tribute to the opportunities made available to the students and the community by The Keating Center and to the University’s liberal arts education. “The Keating Center will enhance how we are able to prepare our students to succeed in the real world.  Most schools recoil in horror when one dares to broach the subjects, much less promote, Capitalism, Free Enterprise, and Constitutional Liberty. We don’t. And as a fundamental American principle, the development of the free enterprise system in our country has been the engine that has driven almost inconceivable economic success and personal freedom.”

Dr. Brett Andrews, School of Business Dean and Vice President for Program Development at OKWU, emphasized the connection between Christianity and capitalism by quoting our second president, James Madison— “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” According to university president Everett Piper, the argument of The Keating Center is “that capitalism, free enterprise, and liberty – Constitutional Liberty – can only be enjoyed, preserved, protected if such ideals are grounded in something more enduring and permanent than even the our Country’s most sacred founding document.  Freedom is a gift of God it is not endowed to us by man.”

The Keating Center is a beautiful new building on Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s campus, but according to President Piper, “The Keating Center is about ideas – It is not really about a building.  And the Ideas taught in this Center and at OKWU indeed will bear fruit, and will have consequences – good fruit and good consequences today, tomorrow, for ourselves and for our posterity.”

At The Keating Center, we will champion the fundamental precepts of individual liberty, free market economics, the rule of law, and Judeo-Christian morality. Discussion on these fundamental precepts can be found on The Keating Center blog found at okwu.edu/keating-center.

The Center also houses the university’s School of Business, which has been renamed the Chesapeake Energy School of Business to reflect the generous donation to the university from the Chesapeake Energy Corporation. 

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The student organization responsible for organizing Orange Week is called The Orange Movement (OM) and is also named after Orange Scott.  Orange Movement director/founder Marci Piper said the organization honors Scott by “taking a week to host activities and events that raise awareness of and support the fight against human trafficking today.”

The Orange Movement kicked off Orange Week with a Skype dialogue with Jennie, sister of OM student leader, Josh Telfer. Jennie is currently serving with Night Light International in Bangkok, Thailand working to help rescue young women in the red light districts there.

The week also included a student-produced chapel on Wednesday, Orange Scott’s birthday.  The chapel focused on Scott’s legacy alongside that of English abolitionist William Wilberforce and efforts to fight slavery today. Tying the original abolitionist mindset of the founding father of the Wesleyan Methodist movement with bringing that mindset forward for today’s generation.

On Thursday, February 14, Christian pop-rock band Cloverton performed a benefit concert at OKWU called “Love Orange” in honor of Valentine’s Day and The Orange Movement’s mission to end modern day slavery through the love of Jesus Christ.  Funds raised will support 2013 Orange Movement initiatives.

On Friday and Saturday, The Orange Movement invited students and community members to wear specially designed orange t-shirts at OKWU mens’ and women’s basketball games.  They called the event an “Orange Out” designed to raise awareness and unite participants on the basis of both basketball and social activism. 

Awareness is key for The Orange Movement. Director/founder Marci Piper said the Orange Movement’s main goal is to be a “megaphone for raising awareness and connecting students and our community with organizations that are on the front lines in the battle.” 

In early January, the Organization launched Emancipation Stories, a collection of trafficking survivor stories, created to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.  The Orange Movement also has plans to launch a database of anti-trafficking organizations next year to help concerned individuals find avenues to participate and to help in the fight against modern day slavery, among other initiatives.

Whether it’s Orange Week or not, The Orange Movement emphasizes the healing power of Christ in everyone’s lives.  OKWU’s favorite color is orange.  What’s your’s?

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Yes, you read correctly, Oklahoma Wesleyan University professors were ranked number one in the entire nation – ahead of the faculty of any and all other colleges and universities.

“Many people assume that what are considered the country’s most elite colleges and universities must naturally employ the best teachers. The latest list of institutions with the best professors, which was compiled by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, demonstrates that this just isn’t so.” writes Lynn O’Shaughnessy of CBS Moneywatch.

The Center generated its list by looking at the composite teaching scores that schools received via RateMyProfessors. The website has captured more than 15 million student ratings of college professors from schools across the country.  

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Rev. Chris Conrad, Wesleyan Church District Superintendent of West Michigan, will present a chapel series Wednesday, Feb. 6th and Friday, Feb 8th starting at 10:10am both days.

Conrad’s background in the Wesleyan Church began in the Pacific Northwest District where he grew up in Skyline Wesleyan Church.  The Reverend is also a successful church planter and has been involved in launches in Arizona, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.   In fact, before his election to District Superintendent in 2010, Conrad served on the Department of Evangelism and Church Growth at The Wesleyan World Headquarters in 2006.

Conrad’s messages will focus on the Bible’s Mark 5, in which Jesus heals a man filled with demons, and on a portion of the book of Daniel.  Conrad said he hopes his messages will cause students to recognize “the calling, the responsibility, and the incredible privilege we have to share Jesus with people who are very different from us. 

In addition, said Conrad, “I think what students will take away from [Friday’s] message is the incredible power that is unlocked through their choices.  Often we live as if so much of life is already decided for us…I’m praying the students will leave chapel with a clearer sense than ever before that their decisions truly matter and will make a huge difference in their lives.”

Conrad says he is privileged to return to OKWU for the sixth year in a row.  “I am truly humbled by that…It is an incredible honor for me to come each year,” he said. 

Conrad resides with his wife, Mary, and two daughters, Juliya and Nataliya, in Michigan.  Aside from speaking in numerous seminars around the country, Conrad has also authored three books about evangelism and church growth. 

Chapes is open to the public and begins at 10:10 a.m. CT on Wednesdays and Fridays in the Lyon Chapel & Fine Arts Center on the Oklahoma Wesleyan University campus in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.  For more information: 918-333-6151 or info@okwu.edu. 

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The Hot 100 list features both up-and-coming and established citizens who are making their mark on Tulsa metro.  The “Class of 2013” includes oil executives, entrepreneurs, engineers, restaurateurs, politicians, students, performers, lawyers, and ministers—to name a few—like Mike Goolsbay.

Goolsbay was appointed senior pastor from the assistant position at Destiny Church in 2005.  With a pastoral resignation in fresh memory and the Church in dire straights financially, Goolsbay and his team faced the overwhelming task of bringing Destiny back into the black.

“Looking back I was terrified,” said Goolsbay about his promotion.  He said the main challenges in rebuilding Destiny Church were “rebuilding trust, lives, and relationships.”  But with God’s help, Goolsbay and his Church team were able to resuscitate Destiny and set it on a path towards growth.

In the long-term, that growth will include “finishing off our campus, including facilities from youngest to oldest members,” said Goolsbay.  So far, Destiny has completed 40,000 square feet of renovations and has about another 30,000 to go.

Oklahoma Wesleyan University had a hand in Destiny’s rebirth through Reverand Goolsbay’s education.  Originally holding an elementary physical education degree, Goolsbay later earned a BSBA (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration), attended Bible school, and is now studying for a MBA (Masters of Business Administration) at Oklahoma Wesleyan 

Goolsbay related the importance of “having assistance to grow inside of a belief system that matches mine…compelling faculty…and a thorough course curriculum” as benefits to his time at OKWU.

For more information about Destiny Church in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, visit www.destinychurch.com.  Read the full version of the Tulsa Urban Weekly Top 100 List at www.urbantulsa.com.

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Gloria Jackson

Jackson’s address focused on the unity and inclusion of Jesus Christ through the lives of both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Booker T. Washington.  She referenced both King’s “I Have A Dream” speech and the Emancipation Proclamation as evidences of the freedoms Americans are now blessed with.

By contrasting America’s past with present freedoms, Jackson presented a vision of hope:  “We carry the toil and sweat that is America, we carry the sin of slavery that is America, we carry the wrongful treatment of Black and Native Americans that is America, but we also carry the forgiveness and grace that is America.”

Jackson, who lectures regularly about her great-grandfather, says she believes God gave her the gift to speak to share the truths and faith of Booker T. Washington who is now often misunderstood or omitted in the history books. 

“Modern history is sanitized to be politically correct,” said Jackson, adding that Booker T. Washington was wrongly characterized as “an Uncle Tom, a sellout, and a betrayer of his race.”

On the contrary, she continued, “as we took those first steps as freed people, my grandfather pointed us toward opportunity.”  Besides being a strong leader, Washington was a man of faith.  His daughter wrote that he always began and ended his day with prayer, and he refused to let race, racism, or grievances become an idol in his life. 

Above all, Jackson emphasized faith in God as the ultimate liberator, a testament to both the legacies of Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.  And in the end, she continued, it’s not people who make the difference, but God.  

“Like the Good Shepherd He is, perhaps God uses [leaders] as a rod and staff to guide us in the right direction,” said Jackson, “Perhaps he gives them to us to show us how he uses ordinary people—just like you and me—and raises them up using their talents and skills for His glory.”

MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Aside from her work with the BTWIN, Jackson holds a law degree from UCLA and resides in Los Angeles where she is an attorney and real estate broker.  Jackson has also co-authored a book about her great-grandfather with her cousin, Sarah Rush, entitled Timeless Treasures:  Reflections of God’s Word in the Wisdom of Booker T. Washington.

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