My responsibilities over at http://WelchOK.com have been keeping me pretty busy in the cyber realm (there’s that whole Wynn-Wynn Media thing, too). The big news is that our Welch Wildcat basketball team is rocking the house this year. As I post this, I am in Enid for the area basketball tournament. The Cats are two wins from the state tournament. Visit http://WelchOK.com to stay up to date on how they do.

And, I also want to thank those who nominated both the WynnBlog and the WynnCast for a 2010 Okie Blog Award. It was an honor to be nominated again, even though both of the sites have been fairly neglected of late. I’m fast becoming the Susan Lucci of the Okie Blog Awards, but I do appreciate our readers and listeners. Congrats to the other nominees and winners. And that whole neglect thing will soon be changing. Hang with us.

Go Cats!

People are tired of the “Christianity” we peddle. Check that. I am tired of the “Christianity” we peddle.

Jesus Christ is my living Savior and Lord. He is the Eternal Source of my faith and security. In Him alone do I hope. He gives meaning to every aspect and situation of life. He gave the very last ounce of Himself to redeem my utter sinfulness, though He did not stop at dying for me. He went on to rise for me. And for all who will look upon Him and say, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” In Him all things hold together and have their subsistence. People can’t help but love that Jesus—the real Jesus. But, we’ve quit introducing him to the world, now haven’t we?

Jesus Christ came that all might be redeemed and made new. Satan is not so powerful that he can ever contaminate something beyond the point where Christ can make it new again. He heals broken relationships—if we give them to Him. He overcomes our inborn sin—if we give it to Him. He overcomes our world—if we give it to Him. He gives us strength to struggle for the right in the midst of voices who call for complacency and inaction—if we give our motives and passion to Him. He sees into our inner being and sets about making us into reflectors of His grace, mercy, and compassion—if we give ourselves to Him. He redeems all that is given to Him. The world both needs and wants that Jesus—the real Jesus.

And so what do we Christians give to the world? Our structures, our formats, our pride, our arrogance, our self-righteousness, our utter contempt for the true Person of Christ. We pore over the Scriptures and do not recognize the authentic Christ—and that God’s Word also serves as a mirror each time we see the legalists, the Pharisees, the hard-hearted religious. That is not the faith my Savior gave His death and life to preserve. That is the religion my Savior defeated.

But we keep resurrecting it and trying to breathe new life into it. I have news, folks, if Jesus killed it, it’s gone—and gone for good. He came that we would have, not death, but life, and life more abundant.

People hate our Jesus because we have made Him into us—our passions, our priorities, our prejudices, our policies, our procedures. If and when we are willing to let Him make us into Him, the world will get a whiff of genuine, sin-killing, life-giving, make-me-a-new-person faith lived out in how we speak, how we respond, how we love, how we worship, and how we live. In short, people will love Jesus when we introduce them to Him by acting like we’ve met Him ourselves. Let’s get to it.

I’m looking for a few folks who are serious about being Christ’s representatives to the world.

I have been at odds with some of my blogger pals because I favored the new area-code overlay for the area currently served by the 918 area code (rather than a split). Most of those who favored the split seemed to be from the Tulsa metro, and I had to assume they thought the metro would keep the 918 while us more rural folks would get the new area code. I favor the overlay because a whole bunch of folks and businesses who have had 918 numbers for years simply shouldn’t arbitrarily have had to switch to new ones and endure the costs associated. More importantly, area codes are becoming more and more meaningless with number portability. You can get a Vonage phone line with virtually (pardon the pun) any area code—even multiple areas codes—in the country and have it ring wherever you happen to put the VOIP device online.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission voted 2-1 Monday for the overlay rather than the split. Dana Murphy, of whom I am usually very supportive, was the dissenter.

The new area code will be 539 (Charles Hill was right about it starting with 5), and it will apply to new phone numbers within the current 918 area code after April 1, 2011 (if they are out of 918s by then). It will mean 10-digit dialing, even for local calls, which is the only downside I see to the overlay, but I frankly think we’re headed for that anyway. And honestly, we’re also headed to more pre-programmed calls from contact address books, so the extra three digits aren’t that much of a burden.

Glad they ruled the way they did. I’m remembering a Seinfeld episode about the perception of the new (646) versus the old (212) area code.

Looks like my tech guy finally got my blog back up. Thanks for bearing with me. You should check out my newest project: WelchOK.com

The Berlin Wall came down because Ronald Reagan told Gorbachev to tear it down. That was 20 years ago. Hard to believe. They are commemorating it today at the Reagan Library.

There’s news today that a Texas Planned Parenthood director quit after seeing an ultrasound. One of the efforts Oklahoma Baptists have made is to make sure all our crisis pregnancy centers are equipped with ultrasound capabilities so that young women (and young fathers) can see that there is indeed life within. Satan is a deceiver at his core, and so long as he can convince the world that an embryo or fetus is not a living human, he has the battle won. When we shine the light of truth by showing young women that they have life within their wombs, nearly 90% choose life. When the fathers will look at the ultrasound, it’s 99%. Thankfully, when they can see clearly, people make the right choice, and I am thrilled that we also help provide a means for the young moms to have healthy, happy babies, while gaining an education and having the security of a home. We Baptists do some things wrong; this is not one of them. Carry on, my brothers and sisters.

Just received word that the new director of RSU’s Bit by Bit therapeutic horseback riding program has called at least one of the horse owners who has allowed gratis use of her horses for the program in addition to being a program volunteer (and who also happens to have been one of the more vocal critics of the recent issues with Bit by Bit) and told her that her horses will no longer be needed for the  program. She’s on her way to get her horses now.

This leads to some questions:

• With the exit of trained, “old hand” mounts, how many horses are trained and ready to work with classes set to start soon?
• What does Bit by Bit view as the proper ratio of horses:students for the program?
• Was every horse lender who dared utter a word against RSU and/or has criticized the program of late told his or her horse(s) isn’t/aren’t needed?
• Is refusing a gift of horse use from generous people the best response to the situation, and for what purpose was it done?
• Is this an attempt to silence calls for greater openness and accountability from within the program by excluding critics from Bit by Bit?
• Will RSU, in fact, be changing the program to the Little by Little therapeutic stickhorse riding program?

Discuss…

UPDATE: The Claremore Progress reports that RSU has hired a new full-time therapeutic riding instructor, Elizabeth Capalbo, for the Bit by Bit program. Her credentials, like Ms. England’s, look great. But as I said with the announcement of Ms. England, the hiring of great personnel does nothing to change bad behavior of the past, and if nothing changes in the way Bit by Bit is administered by RSU execs, these great staffers will soon be facing the same frustrations and asking the same questions that led to the recent departures of Milliman, Switala, and Hart. Here’s hoping the someone, somewhere learned something. We continue to share our deep concern about those who have given so much of themselves to make Bit by Bit what is it, only to have their service and dedication discarded so shabbily. (On a side note, and this goes far beyond RSU, I have recently become somewhat concerned at the notion of doing a “nation-wide search” as a means of recruiting talent. Nothing about being from far away gives anyone more or less skill in certain areas. It simply makes them from far away. It’s not wrong to look broadly, but if it is used as a maneuver to neglect and/overlook genuine talent in your own backyard, something’s not right. And let’s not forget that when brother Joe Wiley departed RSU for greener pastures in Tennessee, the transition was too delicate to wait on a nationwide (or, heck, multicounty) search. Dr. Rice was designated very quickly. Just my opinion, which may or may not be worth exactly what you paid for it.)

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I have a wicked head cold and work is busier than busy, so I don’t have time to give many details, but I can make a few quick updates.

Megan Hart has also resigned from RSU’s Bit by Bit program. It appears she will be allowed to work out her notice (but seriously, how could she not, there’s no one left). It appears Ms. English will have a very clean slate when she arrives.

There’s been another firing resignation in another department at RSU. I’ll add more as I am able.

You Welchites, don’t forget the Welch Public Schools Enrichment Banquet tonight at 6:30. I’ll be there, head cold and all.

Toying around with a new design for The WynnBlog. Some things aren’t quite where they should be; I’ll get them fixed ASAP. You like?

Most recently in what is becoming the RSU saga revisited, Pam Switala has resigned from her position as equine manager of the Bit by Bit therapeutic horseback riding program at Rogers State University. You may remember Switala’s being interviewed by New’s on 6’s Tara Vreeland about 11 days ago.

What led to Switala’s departure? Several allegations are swirling, and the WynnBlog has not yet confirmed all the circumstances surrounding her departure, but I’ll keep searching for the truth.

Also, those of you concerned with the continuation of the Bit by Bit program need to keep a couple of things in mind. First, what is to become of the horses that are committed to the program contingent upon Switala’s caring for them? Such contingencies do exist. Second, know that your concern about Bit by Bit and your calls and emails to those in power are beginning to make a difference. Be intrepid until you see the changes you know are needed to make Bit by Bit the program it is supposed to be–and that the Bit by Bit students need it to be.

More to come when I am able.