I found a new hero Saturday while
touring the Cherokee Heritage Center in Tahlequah, OK. Samuel Austin Worcester
was missionary to the Cherokee in the 1800's, but Georgia had a law that
forbade missionaries from living with Native Americans without a license. He
flouted the law, and he went to jail for over a year. His case went to the
Supreme Court, and he won. He was a great advocate for Cherokee sovereignty,
translated the New Testament to Cherokee, and helped found the first Native American newspaper. I also learned about the missionaries that accompanied
Native Americans on the Trail of Tears. This helped me understand why the
Cherokee people turned to Christianity in spite of the despicable treatment they
received from the American government (#GetJackonOffTheTwenty).
Upon coming to Oklahoma, we learned there
are a number of "
Indian" churches. In Tahlequah there are a number of
such churches, many featuring "Indian" in the title. But we asked
people we trusted to recommend a good Indian church in town and were pointed to
Elm Tree Baptist Church.
We decided to go to Sunday School
before the service and were glad we did. At the church on fifth Sundays, all
the classes meet together for special programs. Darrel, the man in charge of
the morning's activities, introduced himself. We mentioned that we'd decided to
come here since we heard Indian Churches were a thing here. He pointed out that
there was a mix of Indians and non-Indians in the congregation. (It is
impossible, of course, to guess by appearance such things since there are a
number of blond, blue eyed Cherokee.)
The opening reminded me of Sunday School programs when I was a kid. There was the chance to share
birthdays and anniversary, and then there was the "Penny Parade" when
people could march to the front and put change in the church building bank
(which I could not resist).
Each class presented songs and/or memory
verses. This was a guarantee of some little kid cuteness. After presentations
from the children and youth, the adult Sunday School classes gave
presentations; two general adult classes, a women's class and a Cherokee class.
The Cherokee class presented verses in Cherokee and English and sang a song in
Cherokee. Three men also sang a hymn in Choctaw (another language from another
tribe). Some people shared testimonies. One woman told about her husband's
recent stay in the hospital and the encouragement she received from people in
the church in the form of calls, visits, cards and especially groceries.
At the end of the program, a woman
came to the front of the room to give the director the results of the
attendance count and Bible count which was shared with the group. The program
ran a little long, so we moved straight into the worship service which began a
couple of minutes late.
Frankly, we were a bit disappointed
to learn the students would be leading the service. They said they would be
letting everyone experience an average college worship service, but we were
hoping to experience an average Indian worship service. Still, we enjoyed the
hymns and choruses.
But it was great fun to learn that
one of young woman in the group is the current
Miss Cherokee, a goodwill
ambassador for the Cherokee Nation. She sang a Cherokee hymn accompanied by her
mother and aunt. She also shared about her experiences in a recent mission trip
to Haiti. Other members of the group also shared about the trip, which was sponsored
in part by Elm Tree Baptist.
The leader of the BCM group then
spoke. He said just as many who shared about their trip to Haiti spoke of
"leaving their comfort zone," he was doing the same as "a white
boy speaking to an Indian church."
After the short sermon (that had been preceded by three missions
testimonies), Pastor McCarter presented an altar call asking people to come
forward to receive Christ or come forward for prayer. The prayer requests of
those who came forward were then shared with the congregation. As the pastor
was concluding the service, more prayer requests and announcements were called
out from the congregation.
After the service I talked with some
of the junior and senior high students who were sitting near us. I asked what
an average service was like, and they said there was usually a singing time
(with at least a couple of songs from the Cherokee Hymn Book), and then Pastor
McCarter would preach. I asked about the pastor's preaching and one of the
young men said, "I like his preaching because I can understand it. When I
listen to some other preachers, I don't always get anything out of it, but I do
with D. J." I shared this with Pastor McCarter and he said he was simple
man with a simple message.
Pastor McCarter told me Elm Street was
his third ministry, and he's been serving there for the last 26 years. He came
to Christ back in 1972 when he was playing guitar in rock and country bands and
drinking too much. But God changed his heart, and he now says that there is
nothing he likes better than preaching the Gospel.
Pastor McCarter also teaches the
Cherokee language in spoken and written forms, and he leads a Cherokee choir
with members from a variety of churches. That choir travels and has performed
at the Smithsonian twice.
Members of the congregation were
quite welcoming and one gentleman assured us that we had already seen the best
of the country by coming to
Cherokee County. Our journalistic objectivity keeps
us from calling anyplace the best, but we are thankful God led us to Tahlequah,
the capital of the Cherokee Nation.
Editors' Note: You may notice that there are fewer pictures than usual, and the statistics are missing. Come back tonight ... we're having minor technical difficulties and should have them fixed by then! (sorry)
Service Length: 1 hour 28 minutes
Sermon Length: 4 minutes (plus three student testimonies from a Haiti mission trip)
Visitor Treatment: We were warmly greeted by quite a few people as we came in and after we sat down for the Sunday School programs. A woman asked us to fill out a visitor card (and collected it later). We were asked to stand up and tell about our trip. The pastor (and his wife, too) came over to greet us, as did the Council member.
Followup by Tuesday Morning: none
Our Rough Count: 110
Probable Ushers' Count: 135
Snacks: none
Musicians: 2 acoustic guitars (male and female)
1 drum (male)
keyboard (female)
1 bass guitar (male)
Songs: "I Saw the Light"
"I'll Fly Away"
"How Great Thou Art"
"Revelation Song"
"Holy Spirit"
"Orphan Child" (a "Cherokee Special" sung by one of the BCM students with her mom and aunt)
"Guide me Jehovah"
"How Great Thou Art"
Miles to church:4
Miles from start: 2,509
Total 2016 Miles: 4,464
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