☀️

 ☀️

Next Post: Shortly! Happy Finals ... and Congratulations, Southwest Baptist University Graduates!

Next Post:  Shortly! 

______________________
Happy Finals and Congratulations, 

Southwest Baptist University Graduates!



______________________ 

Emergency Meetings 

of the 

Missouri Baptist Convention
and Southwest Baptist University Trustees

have been requested 

since September and October 2010 

(see the page entitled, Dark Dawn, sidebar). 

The participation of the 

administration and governance 

of Southwest Baptist University 

and the First Baptist Church of Bolivar, Missouri 

is also anticipated.

The Invitation is now extended to the 

Southern Baptist Convention Meeting 

on June 14-15, 2011.

________________________

DRAGONS' TONGUES: Do Students and the Community Have a Right to Demand that the Southwest Baptist University (and Missouri Baptist Convention) Governance Live Up to their Published Commitment Statement?

The following statement has been printed in the Southwest Baptist University catalog every year since 1979.  

Do the students and individuals within the community have a right to demand that the governance of Southwest Baptist University (and the Missouri Baptist Convention, which claims to own and operate the university) act in concert to affirm this statement by their actions.  

Or, is this simply a flurry of lies, another example of Baptist deceit and trickery -- more of the dragon's tongue?

 _____________________________________

The Southwest Commitment
Statement of Doctrine
(Formulated by a committee 

appointed by the President in 1979)

 _____________________________________

For more than a century Southwest Baptist University has been a community of trustees, faculty, staff, and students united in an experience of learning and living.  At this time we affirm our heritage and commit ourselves anew to Christian higher education.

Undergirding the following commitments is our belief that there is only one God, who is creator and redeemer, and that the world is sustained and ruled by Him.

We believe that God, the source of all truth, has given us His inspired word, the Bible, as the perfect treasure of divine instruction, the sole authority for our faith and practice.

We believe that the revelation of God through the life and teachings of Christ challenges us to become Christlike in all our endeavors.

1. We pledge a continuing commitment to a LIBERAL ARTS program from a Christian perspective, believing that each student needs a broad base of knowledge upon which to build larger concepts, including a Christian value system.

2. We pledge to communicate appreciation for our CULTURAL HERITAGE, providing experiences that develop aesthetic sensitivities and skills.

3. We pledge to continue PROFESSIONAL AND PRE- PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS, including those for both church-related and secular vocations.

4. We pledge ourselves to ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE as a goal. We believe that we have the responsibility for developing scholarly competence and participating in professional activities.

5. We pledge to WORSHIP GOD as an expression of personal reverence and public witness to the world because we believe that both private and corporate worship are essential experiences for maturing Christians.

6. We pledge to encourage SPIRITUAL GROWTH through personal Bible study and through local church and college ministries.

7. We pledge to SHARE OUR FAITH. We believe that each Christian during and after college years is charged with making disciples.

8. We pledge to support MISSION OUTREACH in the local churches and throughout the world.

9. We pledge to practice and teach STEWARDSHIP of time, talent and material resources.

10. We pledge to promote the development of INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY to equip one for making academic, social, financial and spiritual decisions.

11. We pledge to be a CARING PEOPLE, a community in which students form lasting friendships and learn principles upon which to build Christian homes, because we believe in the dignity and worth of the individual.

12. We pledge to emphasize PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING. We regard a balanced diet, exercise, personal cleanliness, recreation, and rest to be important to physical and emotional health.

13. We pledge to train our students in COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP.

14. We pledge through PRAYER to seek God's guidance and strength to fulfill these commitments.

Because we are not only a Christian university, but also a Baptist university, we pledge to continue our support of the Southern Baptist Convention and Missouri Baptist Convention programs and Baptist principles.

 _____________________________________

More to come ...

HERE BE DRAGONS: A New Blog Examining Southwest Baptist University's Accreditation Violations

Here Be Dragons:  

A New Blog Examining  Southwest Baptist University's 

Accreditation Violations

______

A new blog -- which will be opening shortly.

(details here) --

opened in part to commemorate 
Martin Luther's posting 

of The Ninety-Five Theses on the door of 

All Saints' Church, also known as "Castle Church,"
in Wittenberg, Germany 

on October 31, 1517.

_______________

 
Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest and professor of theology who initiated the Protestant Reformation.

Strongly disputing the claim that freedom from 

God's punishment of sin could be purchased with money, 

he confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel 

with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. 

His refusal to retract all of his writings 

at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 

resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the emperor.

(from wiki)

_______________

THE REDEMPTION OF DRAGONS: New Blog Highlights Southwest Baptist University's Multiple Violation of Accreditation Criteria

THE REDEMPTION OF DRAGONS:  

New Blog Highlights 

Southwest Baptist University's Multiple Violation of  

The Higher Learning Commission 

of the North Central Association

Accreditation Criteria

As we prepared to publish these letters (mentioned in previous post here), the need to clarify the conversation for those who have not been privy to this continuing controversy became obvious.

Therefore, on Sunday, October 31, 2010, we will be opening a new blog enumerating Southwest Baptist University's ongoing violations of their accreditation criteria.

Despite numerous complaints and pleas for reform, Southwest Baptist University and Missouri Baptist Convention officials remain adamant in their belief that SBU's "Baptist identity and heritage" exempts the university, its officials and supporters from secular law, common decency, and the need to adhere to the standards required of an institution of higher education.

The new blog will innumerate, define, and provide explanatory illustrations for each of several dozen policy, procedure, and practice violations of the accreditation criteria (see here) set forth by Southwest Baptist University's accrediting agency, the The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association (see here).

On February 28 - March 1, 2011, The Higher Learning Commission has scheduled a field visit to the campus of Southwest Baptist University during which Marie and other colleagues and media-related individuals have agreed to provide access to several thousand pages of documentation demonstrating Southwest Baptist University's sustained violations of The Higher Learning Commission's accreditation criteria.

We request your prayers for the redemption of Southwest Baptist University from their enslavement to these dragons of tenacious arrogance, ungoverned indulgence, and unethical and unprofessional conduct, which seriously jeopardizes the academic attainment and emotional, psychological, spiritual, financial, and physical well-being and safety of Southwest Baptist University students.

________________

THERE IS A "SOUL-UTION": Procrustean Nightmares, Butterfly Cries, and Journeying Onward, a Letter to MBC President, John Marshall

THERE IS A "SOUL-UTION":  

Procrustean Nightmares, Butterfly Cries, 

and Journeying Onward,

a Letter to John Marshall, 

the New President of the Missouri Baptist Convention

This letter will be posted on Saturday, October 30, 2010.

Along with:

HUNGER HURTS:  

Why the Leadership of the Missouri Baptist Convention 

Has Failed the Students of 

Southwest Baptist University, 

a Letter to Dr. David Tolliver,
the Executive Director of the Missouri Baptist Convention

Saturday Update - HUNGER HURTS: Why the Leadership of the Missouri Baptist Convention Has Failed the Students of Southwest Baptist University

HUNGER HURTS:  

Why the Leadership of the Missouri Baptist Convention 

Has Failed the Students of Southwest Baptist University

This letter to the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Director Dr. David Tolliver and the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board requests a JOINT MEETING of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board and the Southwest Baptist University Trustees and administrative staff during the annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention, which will be held in Springfield, Missouri, on October 25 - 27 (this coming week).

The letter (and other information) will be posted Saturday through Wednesday (October 23 - 27, 2010) during Southwest Baptist University's Homecoming and the Missouri Baptist Convention annual meeting in Springfield, Missouri.

HOPEFULLY, WARMER HEARTS AND COOLER MINDS WILL PREVAIL: Negotiations Deferred Until the Missouri Baptist Convention Meeting (Oct. 25 - 27)

After evaluating information which emerged yesterday, Marie has opted to delay direct discussions with the Southwest Baptist University Board of Trustees. 

Due to the involvement and assistance of the Department of Education and Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association (SBU's accreditation agency), the negotiations will be deferred until the Missouri Baptist Convention annual meeting (Oct. 25 - 27), which will be held in Springfield, Missouri this year.

It is in everyone's best interest to complete the process in unison.

Hopefully, warmer hearts and cooler minds will prevail.

Details will be posted shortly.

CHOOSING THE PATH: Southwest Baptist University Trustees Meet Today and Tomorrow (October 11 - 12)

The Southwest Baptist University Board of Trustees will meet today and tomorrow (Monday and Tuesday, October 11 - 12) on the campus of Southwest Baptist University.

Tuesday, a Letter of Invitation requesting that the SBU Trustees finally deal responsibly with this matter will be delivered to the SBU Trustees.  

It will then be left to the Southwest Baptist University Board of Trustees to select the path.

If Marie receives no response from the Southwest Baptist University Trustees by noon on Wednesday (October 13), the decision will be removed from their hands.

The matter will then be immediately transferred to the authority of the Department of Education, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association (SBU's accreditation agency), and the Missouri Baptist Convention (which claims ownership of the university), who will be holding their annual meeting in Springfield in two weeks (on October 25 - 27).

Although the discussions themselves are confidential, the outcome of this discourse will be of concern to many; therefore, we will track and post the details that may be made publicly available.

We appreciate your prayers.

THE ANTIDOTE TO EVIL: Individual Responsibility and Accountability and Corporate Liability at Southwest Baptist University

A news story this week (see here), brought a painful reminder of a truth that Southwest Baptist University (SBU) does not wish to discuss:  There was an antidote to the organophosphate pesticide. 

On the day that Marie was acutely poisoned, she and friends asked a multitude of SBU personnel and officials to disclose two simple pieces of information: 

First, who applied the pesticide, which SBU claimed was "non-toxic" and merely a repellent?

And, second, what was the name of the pesticide?

Neither Marie nor her friends ever received an honest, Christian response from the Southwest Baptist University administration and personnel.

Instead, they feigned ignorance, loosed a barrage of self-serving lies, and perpetrated egregious fraud.

If, the day Marie was poisoned, the Southwest Baptist University administration (primarily, the late SBU President and CEO Dr. James Sells and later, his successor, now-Congressman Roy Blunt, who had been an SBU Trustee at the time of Marie's poisoning) and the SBU staff (chiefly, Nurse Nancy Hodges and Director of the Physical Plant Bob Glidwell) had acted responsibly by disclosing the name of Campbell Pest Control, their pesticide applicator for over twenty years, Marie's prognosis would have been very different.

When the Director of Physical Plant Bob Glidwell did finally return from his mysterious, unscheduled, mid-week "vacation" and answered the phone, he mocked Marie (and a witness), laughing openly and saying, "You can't do anything about it now.  You needed to have the tests done within three days."

Mr. Glidwell was referring to the tests which would prove that she had been exposed to organophosphate pesticides, most of which are metabolized within three days of exposure.

It took over two years and a handful of lawyers to finally get the conspirators to reveal the truth: The allegedly "non-toxic" pesticide was, in reality, Diazinon, an organoposphate, a deadly poison and nerve agent, now banned for most residential applications (see here) and, at the time of Marie's poisoning, prohibited by law for indoor applications where people, like Marie and other students, were present.

But, they lied, repeatedly.  

They collaborated, furiously, relentlessly, without remorse, and with full knowledge that they were condemning Marie to injury, disability, and, perhaps, death.

Within hours, according to sworn testimony by the pesticide applicators themselves, Dr. James Sells and his staff had coordinated their assault, passing vicious and unfounded rumors throughout the community to discredit Marie as a person, to deny her medical care, and to evade questions, possible litigation and future liability costs.

They piled on; lie after lie, lie after lie -- for years.  

For decades.

They knew.  

They knew that the pesticide was an organophosphate and that there was an antidote (in fact, several antidotes), which would have alleviated much of Marie's suffering and the subsequent, permanent disability, if the antidote had been administered within hours or even several days.

This month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration  approved Pralidoxime chloride (Protopam Chloride), the organophosphate antidote,  for use in children, nearly 50 years after it was first approved for adults.  

(Please, see the article here.)

There was an antidote then.  That day.  If the administration would have acted responsibly and justly.   

But, they lied; they are still lying.  

To this day, they are still hiding the truth of the suffering that they have caused; they still will not take responsibility for what they have done.

 

Is this a demonstration of the Christian life?  Is this Christianity?  Is this loving your neighbor?  Is this the Gospel in action?

(And ... please, don't claim Jesus Christ had any part of this evil.)

No, this is corporate corruption, pure and simple. 

There is an antidote to these lies:  Individual accountability and responsibility and  and corporate liability.  This is Marie's objective in requesting the Missouri Baptist Convention investigation of Southwest Baptist University and the Comprehensive Compensation and Care Package (see here).

We will posting details shortly.

RESOLVING THE IRRECONCILABLE: Is There a "Soul-ution" for Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention? (Corrected at 8:00 pm)

As previously mentioned, the Comprehensive Compensation and Care Package (here) will be made available this week.

Copies will be distributed to Southwest Baptist University, the Missouri Baptist Convention, and First Baptist Church of Bolivar about Thursday, September 16.
 
Upon previewing a portion of the Package, a friend was disappointment that, if the first option were chosen, there would be minimal punishment for those who had broken trust by participating in the most severe unethical misconduct and crimes.

"Why should the Southwest Baptist University Trustees and staff be allowed to remain in leadership?  Why shouldn't they be fired and held to account for their misconduct?" the colleague asked, expressing dismay that Evil had appeared to triumph.

As this was discussed over several days, Marie sent a message, which explained, much to the surprise of her colleagues, her feeling about this venture:

Dear Friends,

You have asked some thought-provoking and worthy questions; I will try to address them.

In one key aspect, I differ from several of you: You believe that Southwest Baptist University is in some way "Christian"; however, I do not share that opinion.

Or, at least, I no longer do.

In order to engender some order from this abysmal terrain, I have had to build a new paradigm and accept a reordered perspective.

Over the last few years, I have come to accept that, as much as I might like it to be otherwise, Southwest Baptist University is not a Christian university.

Rather, Southwest Baptist University is a corporation ... nothing more.

A corporation -- such as, for example, Lehman Brothers, Monsanto, Exxon, or British Petroleum -- is "an institution that is granted a charter recognizing it as a separate legal entity having its own privileges, and liabilities distinct from those of its members."

A corporation is an organized, legal fiction constructed for business purposes.

A corporation is not a church; it is not a member of the Body of Christ.  Nor, is it a Christian organization.

Southwest Baptist University is merely a nonprofit subsidiary of a larger, nonprofit corporation -- namely, the Missouri Baptist Convention.

Like many of their corporate brethren, the corporation of Southwest Baptist University -- particularly under the leadership of President and CEO Dr. C. Pat Taylor -- has become ingrained with a deeply-rooted, corrupt corporate culture, which is rife with self-serving mediocrity, self-justification and hypocrisy.

Following the tradition and customs of two past presidents/CEOs (Dr. James Sells and Roy Blunt, current congressman of the 7th District of Missouri and running for the the U.S. Senate), Southwest Baptist University encourages the appearance of "Christian values" as the objective of administrative public relations and discipline.

Few, if any, Christian principles are implemented in disciplinary action, or in the mediation of disputes and disagreements, or in interactions with students or the public.

If particular individuals do not serve the aims, designs and purposes of the corporation (usually, the financial, business or political purposes), those people are deemed worthless to the corporation.

This dehumanization permits the corporation to assault the dissenters -- savaging their characters, alienating them from family and friends, silencing and demeaning their questions, and, eventually, discarding their personhood.

In my mind and heart, this is an obscenity, a barbaric aberration, a sheer defilement of the Command of Jesus Christ to love your neighbor as yourself and to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The pretense that those habitually perpetrating this fraudulent, shamming lifestyle are, in fact, Christians is an abomination, a raping of the the Body of Christ.

Further, to pretend that this conduct in anyway approximates the Truth of Christianity is nothing short of blasphemy.

I cannot participate in the spiritually violent "corporate life" of Southwest Baptist University, anymore than I would care to engage in drunken brawls, or the beating and torture of little children and puppies.

Although I do not claim to be perfected, I do know the difference between right and wrong.

The corporate cultures of Southwest Baptist University and their corporate facilitators at the Missouri Baptist Convention are wrong.

It is not that I don't forgive them for their continued wrongdoing.  As I've said previously, I don't hate them; I'm not bitter or angry at them.

On the contrary, I love them with fervent care and compassion.  Indeed, I want them to succeed and to overcome their weaknesses, to excel in being the institution that Christ Jesus intends for them to be.

But, I don't want to follow their lead, nor render obeisance by dutifully submitting to their corporate idols and false gods.

I don't want to mimic their actions, nor adopt their customary abuses, their modes of thought or their irreverent habits of life.

Regardless, in attempting to reach a compromise with this corporate entity, the reality of this culture must be addressed and conciliated with Christian ideals and perspectives.

The reason for the dissonance in this quandary is immediately apparent: our motives and goals are (and have been) in vicious conflict.

Whereas SBU's administration seeks to escape responsibility and to mute the cry for reform by seeking a "simple" solution (often by unethical and illegal means), I have searched for a "soul"-ution by a path that will honor God, while still acknowledging faults and misdeeds, and striving, with confidence, towards wholeness and restoration by the way of four goals:

1. Confession and Repentance
2. Contemplation and Reassessment
3. Compensation and Restitution
4. Commitment and Reformation

These restorative principles are grounded in the Spirit, Love and Wisdom of Christ.



As a Christian, I endeavor to follow Christ and abide in His example.  That they, as a corporate entity, wish to do the same is not at all certain, as far as I can determine.

Nevertheless, this is not the time to jeer them as they, crippled by their errors, stumble aimlessly on the darkened path.

Sincerely, I ask you:  Is it surprising that they, blinded by self-interest, would stumble on this dreary and treacherous path, slipping on this spiraling, sinister trail, so obstructed by cruelty, greed, and arrogance ... and washed out by so many tears?

At this point, what should be done?

Through this offer, I will provide what light I can on the path and hope that, through miraculous intervention, some one among those in authority at First Baptist Church of Bolivar, Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention may be given eyes to see, even through this impenetrable darkness.

Please pray that those acquainted with the Light will see the Way and help others along that Way.

My friends, will you pray that they will be enlivened by the Spirit, rising to dance and sing along the Way?

Those who insist on closing their eyes and remaining "blinded" by self-seeking expediency should not be permitted to mislead others into the miry, morass of the swamplands.

They must resign.

However, for those who are enlightened by the Spirit, this Way will become an opportune avenue for unprecedented revival and strengthening of the community bonds in the Spirit of Christ.

If they, as a corporation, choose to cleave to their reckless and wayward corporate identity, this promise of opportunity will become a highway, a robbers' road, of disruption, treachery and disrepute.

I leave the choice to them: They will choose the path.

You, my friends, assume that they will take the most "Christian" path and, thus, will escape much harm to themselves and this community.

Having endured their seemingly unending surplus of arrogance and misguided, self-righteousness cruelties, I am not so confident of the outcome.

I hope that your trust in Southwest Baptist University is merited and that they do, in Truth, select the more Christ-honoring Way.

Thank you for your prayers and your input in this process.

In His Love and Mercy, 

Marie O'Hara

________________________________

UPDATED! Thursday, September 9, 2010: RESTORING JUSTICE and a HEART of INTEGRITY to SOUTHWEST BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

 ____________________

RESTORING JUSTICE and a HEART of INTEGRITY to
SOUTHWEST BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

 ____________________

Within the next several days, 

the Comprehensive Compensation and Care Package 

  (see here)

will be delivered to the 

Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board.

Details to be posted 
on Sunday, September 5, 2010.

Your prayers are encouraged and appreciated.

__________UPDATED!__________

Sunday, September 5, 2010 about 12:00 noon

and Thursday, September 9, 2010, about 7:30 pm

____________________ 

Apparently, Dr. Ray Leininger,
the retired pastor of First Baptist Church of Bolivar,
has undergone successful cancer surgery 

and will begin chemotherapy.

We earnestly request prayers 

of healing, support and care for him.

Dr. Leininger was substantially involved 

in these events 

and was to be substantially involved 

in this resolution;

therefore,
we have made several adjustments to the  

Comprehensive Compensation and Care Package
(see here), 
details of which will be posted beginning
Friday, September 10, through
Monday, September 13.

Your prayers are appreciated.

 ____________________

THIS JUST IN: Clinical Markers Confirm Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Validate Environmental Medicine Approach

There is an incredible story to tell here: a miraculous story of God's wisdom and care ... and a miraculous dream.

We can't wait to tell that story!

But, for now, we will have would like to share this wonderful news of confirmation for all of our friends suffering from chemical injury or chemical sensitivity.

_________________

MCSA NEWS
August 2010, Volume 5, Issue 8

Clinical Markers Confirm Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Validate Environmental Medicine Approach (here)

_________________

For those who have suffered, often in isolation, from the effects of chemical injury:

Know for a certainty that the Lord never forgot you.  

You were never alone.

God was working (and is working still) in the hearts of good people to find the biological mechanism for this disease and injury and to find the cure. 

_________________

EVERY DAY IS CHRISTMAS! 

_________________

A GATHERING OF SINNERS AND SAINTS: The September Emergency Meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board

A GATHERING OF SINNERS AND SAINTS:  

The September Emergency Meeting 

of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board

As the students of Southwest Baptist University 

return for the Fall semester, 

Marie will begin a series of (initially private)

correspondences 

with the

Student Government Association,

the Omnibus

(SBU's student newspaper),

and other student organizations.

These correspondences
will address

Southwest Baptist University's 

accreditation issues

and other matters pertinent 

to the investigation (see here) of 

Southwest Baptist University's governance 

by the 

Missouri Baptist Convention.

Over the next few weeks, 
we will be posting portions of those 
correspondences ... and the student responses.

Your prayers for all involved are appreciated!

DARK DAWN: Sacred Place, Sacred People, Sacred Duty - Marie's Letter to MBC Exec. Director Dr. David Tolliver and the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board Requesting Emergency Meeting

Monday, August 16, 2010

 
From the Desk of Marie O’Hara
Mailing Address
Bolivar, MO  65613

 


Dr. David Tolliver, Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Director and the members of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board   
% Missouri Baptist Convention
400 East High Street  
Jefferson City, MO 65101     (Fax: 573-635-0904)
           
Dear Dr. David Tolliver and members of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board:
       
There is a moment within the darkness of night, in the blackness of night, when the light seems to be entirely extinguished – when the sable night tosses her head of shimmering stars ... and holds her breath.

It is the darkness before the dawn.

“Be still, and know that I am God,” the Psalmist has written.

And, perhaps because I was born at such a pause within the night, this is when I meditate and pray, holding my thoughts in the still of the night, waiting within the timeless abyss of darkness for the first glimmer of dawn ... for the transformation of the First Light.

That darkness, like the night holding her breath, is a time for transformation, for the renewal of Life.

When I was poisoned by pesticides on the campus of Southwest Baptist University on September 26, 1988, I experienced that abyss of darkness in a new way:  with lungs burning and collapsing from the inhalation of the misting pesticides and solvents, I struggled, floundering, submerged and drowning in the inky, cold blackness, gasping for air ... for one, warm breath of light.

I still remember the dark, untransformed terror of those moments:  they still wake me from restless nightmares.

It has taken years to learn to be still in that darkness, to know that in that last drawn breath, I must wait, wait in the abyss to find the God of darkness, to wait for the dawn.

For it is within that last uncertain breath that I must forgive those who torment me.  

Whether it be a taunting worker, who has just disconnected my electricity and, therefore, my air filtration systems, or Baptist neighbors, who spray their yards with pesticides or burn their trash, fully knowledgeable of the consequences for my health, or a sneering landlord, who believes I have had enough chances and enough time, I must draw that last, collapsing breath and wait in the dark stillness, as the muscles that control my breathing cease to function, as dark unconsciousness enfolds me, as the stillness, like the darkest night before the dawn, engulfs me.

I wait, wait within the darkness for the transformation, for the fiery dawn of new life.

For regardless of my fate, I will be transformed – either by the invigorating, fresh light of breath, the aquamarine light breaking like a summer day, or by the Transforming Fire, the Resurrecting Dawn, as I waken into a New Life, a life hereafter.

I must wait in those dark moments, wait for the Light, for the Life ... and I will be transformed.

On April 13, 2010, I wrote to you and the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board regarding the ongoing moral, ethical, and legal issues at Southwest Baptist University and within the Missouri Baptist Convention. 

At that time, I indicated our eagerness to engage in mutually constructive dialogue by means of an online educational forum, known as the Educare Forum. 

However, in the months since then, I have realized, through a series of difficult incidents, that this method will not be effective or practical; it will not provide a point of transformation, which was my true objective.

For many within the Missouri Baptist community, this can only be understood as an exercise in darkness, with no hope of solace, no coming Light -- only a plunge into the blind, uncomprehending night of terror.

The Children of Light should not be instruments of terror and fear, for does not perfect love cast out fear?

The people of the Missouri Baptist Convention are a sacred people; Southwest Baptist University is a sacred place.

Therefore, once again, because the Missouri Baptist Convention affirms a controlling interest in Southwest Baptist University, I must ask you to preform your sacred duty in assisting to transform this darkness into Light, death into Life -- to oversee, execute, and enforce any necessary and judicious disciplinary action, aiding those who are lost in darkness and injustice.

As previously stated, my concerns involve the harm done to me, my family, and my friends by the employees, administrative and governing officials, and supporters of Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention, who willfully aided, abetted, counseled, and induced the commission of acts resulting in: 
•    slander, defamation and the malevolent and formulated provocation of hostility, ill-will, and hatred;
•    sexual harassment, molestation, humiliation, and discrimination; 
•    physical injury, intimidation, and abuse;
•    multiple instances of actual and threatened retaliation;
•    the fallacious invasion of privacy and violation of confidentiality;
•    forgery or tampering with academic, medical and other records;
•    subornation of perjury and witness tampering;
•    obstruction of justice and abuse of/denial of due process;
•    financial duplicity, extortion, and insurance fraud,
•    and the abuse and negligence of administrative, executive, pastoral, and ministerial functions, privilege and authority.

Additionally, these claims regard the actions of the employees, administrative and governing officials, and supporters of Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention, who permitted, facilitated, encouraged, and rewarded others in: 
•    the deliberate and repeated infliction of physical damage, pain, and suffering;
•    the calculated pattern and practice of the imposition of social, psychological, and spiritual distress, anguish and suffering;
•    the coordinated conspiracy to defraud, slander, and cause physical, financial, or other harm in collaboration with officials of the Southern Baptist Convention, and other church officials (both SBC churches and others),
•    and the ongoing conspiracy to defraud, slander, and cause discriminatory abuse and physical, financial, and other harm based on disability, religious belief, and/or gender in collaboration with local business persons, community members, politicians, and city, county, and state officials.
 
Due to the grievous and persistent nature of these concerns, I now ask for a full investigation of these issues -- beginning with an emergency meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board members, which I am requesting convened no later than the middle of September 2010.

Further, I request that these issues be publicly addressed during the annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention in October 2010.

Between now and the mid-September meeting, I would like to present a Comprehensive Compensation and Care Package to the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board – a plan which will settle any outstanding claims against the Missouri Baptist Convection, Southwest Baptist University, and the First Baptist Church of Bolivar, Missouri.

To facilitate this objectives, I am asking that Dr. Freddie Pike, who is Minister of Education and Administration at First Baptist Church, Bolivar, MO, be appointed as a Special Envoy to you, Dr. David Tolliver, and to the members of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board.

Dr. Freddie Pike is nobly credentialed and well able to preform this service with graceful aplomb, wry intelligence, and a sense of humor. This week, therefore,  I will be in communication with Dr. Pike to organization and coordinate the requisite arrangements.

I look forward to cooperating with you as you preform your sacred duties.

In His Transforming Light, Justice and Mercy,

Marie O’Hara

_______________________

See Also: Monday, September 13, 2010, about 6:00 pm

Resolving the Irreconcilable: Is There a "Soul-ution" for Southwest Baptist University and the Missouri Baptist Convention? [corrected at 8:00 pm] (here)

_______________________

Update!: EVERY DAY CHRISTMAS! SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS: LIVING EXPENSES (NEW BLOG)

EVERY DAY CHRISTMAS!

SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS: LIVING EXPENSES

________*________

 Any individual may give anonymously
to Marie O'Hara's bank account at:
REGIONS BANK
340 S Springfield
Bolivar MO 65613
Phone: (417) 326-2428 

Please speak to the Bank Manager, 

AMBER MACE.

________*________

Those who would like to assist Marie
with living expenses 

(housing, utilities, adaptive equipment,

nutritional and medical expenses)

through a church are invited to contact:

DR. FREDDIE PIKE ,
the Minister of Education and Administration,

First Baptist Church of Bolivar

316 North Main Street

Bolivar, MO 65613

Phone: (417) 326-2431

________*________

OR 

PASTOR GARY ANKROM
First Assembly of God
1320 S. Springfield Ave.
Bolivar, MO 65613
Phone:  (417) 326-6006

________*________

OR

PASTOR JOHN MARSHALL,

the First Vice President of the 

Missouri Baptist Convention,

Second Baptist Church 

3111 East Battlefield

(who have a "mission" church" 

in Bolivar, MO)

Springfield, MO 65804

Phone:  (417) 887-3111

________*________
OR
 

Elder JOHN CREDILLE
(417) 326-6452

Elder JOHN WHEELER

  (417) 326-3223

Wellspring Fellowship

2110 Spring Pl.
Bolivar, MO 65613
Phone:  (417) 326-2897
________*________
OR

 PASTOR DANNY VANCE

Mt. Olive Baptist Church
4079 Highway D
Bolivar, MO 65613
(417) 326-2805

________*________ 

**SEE NEW BLOG** 

EVERDAY CHRISTMAS! 
SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS:
LIVING EXPENSES 

________*________

Also, see: 
CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY FEAST! 

Local, Organic Foods at New Life Natural Food Store

________*________ 

Then he said to them, 

“Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, 

and send portions to those 
for whom nothing is prepared; 

for this day is holy to our Lord. 

Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
(Nehemiah 8:10 KJV)

________*________ 

And, 
CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY FEAST: 
Diamond Organics Will Supply a Feast of
Organic Veggies and Fruits

________*________ 


And, 

KEEPING THE LIGHTS BURNING: 
Utilities Arrangements
________*________