Poke at the Giant

I write a weekly article (at least, I do most weeks) for the church bulletin. It always seems like current events provide something to focus on for writing -- current news, current church issues, etc. Sometimes, I really get fired up about something, as I did over all the nonsense and speculation surrounding Matthew Winkler's murder. Below is what I did not put in a bulletin article. This is my "poke at the giant." I sent this letter to CNN on Tuesday after reading the transcript of Monday's Nancy Grace program...


I am writing to register my disgust at the unbalanced approach to "journalism" taken by your network and, specifically, by Nancy Grace in her interview of Tom Rukala concerning churches of Christ. Mr. Rukala grossly misrepresented churches of Christ (and demonstrated his own ignorance of New Testament teaching in the process).

"Churches of Christ" came into being on Pentecost Day in the year that Jesus was crucified and resurrected, not some 150 years ago as Mr. Rukala suggested. Nor is baptism merely a sectarian requirement for membership, since it is quite clearly presented in the New Testament as God's requirement for membership in His church, along with the other requirements such as faith, confession of Jesus as Lord, and repentance from sin. None of these things goes beyond Mr. Rukala's statement concerning the need to "call on the name of the Lord" (Acts 2:21); they are in fact, all the things that the first converts to Christ were doing in response to that charge.

Ms. Grace indicated that she was having difficulty finding much information regarding churches of Christ. I find that remarkable since there are many areas of this country where one would find several congregations, some of them very large, with numerous members who are very ready and able to explain who we are. Why go to a Baptist minister, and especially one who seems to have an axe to grind?

Finally, I find the whole presentation offensive in light of its apparent intent to demonstrate that Matthew Winkler's murder had something to do with the character of churches of Christ, and in light of it's timing (the night before Winkler's funeral).
I intend to suggest to anyone in reach of my voice that CNN should not be regarded as a trustworthy source of news and information until such time as I hear that you have allowed some knowledgeable and competent representative of churches of Christ to present the other side of Mr. Rukala's and Ms. Grace's story.

Sincerely,
Bobby G. Wheat
Winfield Church of Christ
P.O. Box 158
Winfield, KS 67156

Undoubtedly, others wrote similar letters. I did notice that, on Wednesday night, Nancy Grace included Rubel Shelly in her program. As you might expect, consistent with her "sensational" approach, she hardly let him finish a sentence.
Oh well, I suppose we should never really expect to get fair treatment from the press... I am confident, however, that truth will prevail, whether or not CNN ever catches on...