Meyers, Robin R. 1952-

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Meyers, Robin R. 1952-

(Robin Meyers, Robin Rex Meyers)

PERSONAL: Born 1952, in Oklahoma City, OK; married; wife’s name Shawn (an artist); children: Blue, Chelsea, and Cass. Education: Phillips University Graduate Seminary, M.Div.; Drew University, D.Min.; University of Oklahoma, Ph.D. Religion: Christian.

ADDRESSES: Office—Mayflower Congregational Church, 3901 N.W. 63rd St., Oklahoma City, OK 73116. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Minister, educator, and writer. Mayflower Congregational UCC Church, Oklahoma City, OK, senior minister, 1985—; Oklahoma City University Philosophy Department, professor of rhetoric, 1991—. Earl Preacher for the Earl Lectures at Berkeley, CA, 2000;Oklahoma Gazette, columnist. Also served in churches in Summit, NJ, and Detroit, MI. Has appeared on television, including Dateline NBC, and as a commentator on National Public Radio; sermons broadcast in Oklahoma on KOKC-AM 1520, c. 1994—; appeared in the documentary The Execution of Wanda Jean, 2002.

WRITINGS

With Ears to Hear: Preaching as Self-Persuasion, Pilgrim Press (Cleveland, OH), 1993.

Morning Sun on a White Piano: Simple Pleasures and the Sacramental Life, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1998.

The Virtue in the Vice: Finding Seven Lively Virtues in the Seven Deadly Sins, Health Communications (Deerfield Beach, FL), 2004.

(As Robin Meyers) Why the Christian Right Is Wrong: A Minister’s Manifesto for Taking Back Your Faith, Your Flag, Your Future, Jossey-Bass (San Francisco, CA), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS: Robin R. Meyers is a minister and author who writes about preaching, communication, and Christianity. In his book Morning Sun on a White Piano: Simple Pleasures and the Sacramental Life, Meyers focuses on what he perceives to be the “simple pleasures” of everyday life, from writing a letter to parenting to interaction with pets. He also makes specific recommendations for living a more simple and sacramental life, such as turning off the television set. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that the “short meditations are charming and eloquent explorations into the holiness of ordinary life.” Writing in the Library Journal, Robert Nixon commented that Morning Sun on a White Piano contains “a number of excellent insights into what makes life worth living.” William C. Graham, writing in the National Catholic Reporter, recommended the book to “those who wish to better appreciate the joys of simple living.”

Meyers presents an alternative view to the political Christian Right movement in his book Why the Christian Right Is Wrong: A Minister’s Manifesto for Taking Back Your Faith, Your Flag, Your Future. Meyers presents his case that many Christians, especially those on the religious right, fail to understand the true meaning of Christianity and Christ’s words, or they simply ignore them. Based on the primary points in a speech Meyers gave in 2004 at the Oklahoma University Peace Rally, which was widely disseminated through the Internet, Why the Christian Right Is Wrong presents the author’s opposition to much of the right-wing political agenda and his belief that Christians should in fact lean towards liberalism. Focusing primarily on Jesus’ teachings, Meyers points out, for example, that Christians should be against the death penalty based on Christ’s own words and that Christians should also be good stewards of the Earth as commanded by God and, thus, support protection of the environment. In an interview with Mary Lane Gallagher in the Bellingham Herald, Meyers explained his position this way: “I’m not opposed to anybody holding traditional values. I’m opposed to taking the person who was the first nonviolent revolutionary, who was so radical in his subversive ministry, that he got executed, and use that person as the great guardian of sort of a nostalgic, traditional view of life.” The author went on to note: “The book is intentionally provocative. I’m certain once or twice, at least, it crosses over a line.”

Writing in the Library Journal, Leroy Hommerding commented: “Certainly, his points deserve a reading.” Hommerding also wrote that the author provides “a spirited approach to economic survival and what constitutes humble and compassionate citizens.” A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the author “delivers an unambiguous, palpable blueprint” for those Christians dissatisfied with where the country is headed.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES

PERIODICALS

Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, WA), July 13, 2006, Mary Lane Gallagher, “Minister Gains Notoriety for Treatise against the Religious Right.”

Library Journal, February 15, 1998, Robert Nixon, review of Morning Sun on a White Piano: Simple Pleasures and the Sacramental Life, p. 148; June 1, 2006, Leroy Hommerding, review of Why the Christian Right Is Wrong: A Minister’s Manifesto for Taking Back Your Faith, Your Flag, Your Future, p. 126

National Catholic Reporter, April 3, 1998, William C. Graham, review of Morning Sun on a White Piano, p. 18.

Publishers Weekly, February 9, 1998, review of Morning Sun on a White Piano, p. 91; February 27, 2006, review of Why the Christian Right Is Wrong, p. 56.