Trimble pastor contributes Christian insight to Oxford Roundtable discussions

Dr. William Oakley and his wife, Pattye, of First Baptist Church of Trimble, pause with an official scroll of his recent trip as a participant of the prestigious Oxford Roundtable. [Click to enlarge]

Instead, the invitation was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Oakley to present his point of view on the relationship between religion and secularism with some of the greatest religious minds of the day. An honor that humbled the well-deserving pastor and allowed him to share his viewpoint with religious leaders from a variety of denominations.

"In that roundtable discussion, there 16 different religious clergy," said Oakley. "Catholics, Episcopalians, Jewish, Charismatics and Independents - most major denominations. These people were each selected by invitation only."

Oakley traveled to Oxford, England, for six days this spring to be a part of the Oxford Roundtable at Oxford University in England. One of 40 leaders in religion invited to attend the prestigious meeting, he was also one of 18 asked to prepare and present a paper.

"Of the 40, (only) 18 were asked to present a paper," said Oakley. "And I was fortunate to be one of the 18."

Oakley said that each paper was received graciously by the other members of the roundtable and that the opinions and theology of each participant were treated with respect by the other roundtable members.

"My paper was accepted well," said Oakley. "Discussion about the paper was very informative and interesting. We were just there to hear those different views and express our opinions. You were not invited to preach or to trumpet a personal soapbox. What they wanted was something that related to religion and secularism and how that chasm could be breached."

The moderator of the roundtable and the company included were humbling to Oakley, who balked at being introduced with his fellow participants as "a great religious mind."

"(The participants) were all down-to-earth common folk, but everyone there had from one to five doctorates," said Oakely. "There were professors from Harvard, Columbia. ... Tremendous thinkers, people who excelled in their particular fields of 'religious activities.'"

Although he maintains that he is not among the top religious thinkers of his day, Oakley was not nervous when it came time to present his paper.

"All the papers were a matter of personal opinion," said Oakley. "And I understood and knew that my family, friends and church were praying for me as I delivered the paper."

Oakley delivered the paper at 10:30 a.m., in Oxford-5:30 a.m. here in West Tennessee-and knew that his family and a group of his church members had agreed to wake up early and pray for him as he was presenting.

"I thank the Lord for taking care of that fear for me," said Oakley. "It was my desire to be a real Christian witness to that diverse group of clergy. Realizing that they would be from all kinds of religious backgrounds, the application had to be academically sound and well-documented. In writing that paper as it was written and approaching it through the world view of various world religions, I was able to conclude my paper with a strong emphasis on a Christian world view as it relates to scripture. That allowed me to leave with my colleagues information about which they could think seriously-And, by the way, I received information that I have given and will give serious thought, as well."

A cross-section of some of the other titles include "The Role of Religion in Public Education," by Jewish professor Josef Edelheit; "The Tension Between the Sacred and the Secular," by Episcopal Rector Lou Ellen Armstrong; "Hip Hop and the Church: A Clash Between Religion and Secularism," by Charismatic Pastor Remus Wright; and "South Ends of a Magnet," by Methodist Pastor Jennifer Wilson, which explored what draws religious and secular groups together, instead of what tears them apart.

Oakley's paper was titled "Shaping a Worldview through Religion: How That Worldview affects the State."

"The premise of my paper, after spending several pages on the world view of major religions in the world, was that, in my opinion, the only world view that will be redemptive in our society is a Christian worldview, based on scripture," said Oakley, who said the group came to a troubling conclusion at the end of the week. "The 40 us came to a common consensus that, tragically, in our day, secularism is having more influence on religion than religion is having on secularism. And we were exploring ways to turn that scenario around."

The roundtable was kept on a strict schedule, with papers read and discussed in the morning and most afternoons set aside for tours of the area and sightseeing. Dinners were held late and last well into the evening.

The group took guided tours of St. Paul's Cathedral in Oxford, the home church of the Vicor serving as moderator of the roundtable.

"That was the most amazing, awesomely beautiful, old, but perfectly kept cathedral I've ever seen," said Oakley. "There is just nothing like those things."

On Thursday, the group toured Blenheim Palace, just 15 miles southwest of Oxford. "Blenheim Palace was built in the 1400s," said Oakley. "The beauty of the thing is absolutely indescribable. The artwork and tapestries all were done in the 14th and 15th centuries. One of the more modern attractions of the palace is that it is where Winston Churchill was born. Churchill's mother was the daughter of the Duke of Blenheim, so she went to the castle (to give birth to him.) The room is exactly preserved, including the linens."

Wandering through Oxford and the many individual colleges that make up the University of Oxford was another unique pleasure for Oakley.

"It was, absolutely, amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience that I am eternally grateful to God for allowing me to participate in," said Oakely, who said that his church family played a very instrumental role in him attending the roundtable. "When the church here heard about the invitation, they responded very graciously by helping me with most of my finances to go. I want to express my gratitude to my Lord, my family and my dear church for providing me with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Oakley is prayerfully considering expanding his paper into a book.

"I'm not completely settled, yet, that I am going to do that, but I am praying about it," said Oakley, who surrendered to preach when he was 18-years-old, and was ordained at 19. "I always knew in my hear that I was a pastor, (but) writing has always been a big part of my ministry. I am deeply humbled that the Lord has allowed me to experience what I have experienced in the ministry and I could never thank Him enough for His blessing. God's been good to an old country boy."