Some ORU alumni sad suit filed
BY APRIL MARCISZEWSKI World Staff Writer
Sunday, October 21, 2007
6/22/08 at 1:36 AM
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They wish Christian
mediation had been used.
As Oral Roberts University, its governing
board and several administrators face a highly
public lawsuit, several alumni lamented that
the case was not resolved through
Christian mediation outside the
court system.
"Although I see
this could be helpful in forcing them
to hold everything
up to the spotlight,
all of this could
have been done
without all the drama," said alumnus
and ORU Alumni
Association board
member Gene Gregg. ". . . It's concerning that
the school is now in the national spotlight for
all the wrong reasons."
Three former ORU professors -- John Swails, Tim Brooker and Paulita Brooker -- sued the private Christian university on
Oct. 2, claiming they were
wrongfully fired or forced to
resign.
Their lawsuit alleges President Richard Roberts illegally
involved the college in a political campaign. Their legal petition includes a copy of an
unsubstantiated report that
alleges the Roberts family
misspent ORU money and
misused ORU resources for
itself, along with alleging
Roberts' wife, Lindsay, spent
a great deal of time with an
underage male. The ex-professors claim that turning
over the report to the board
of regents got them fired.
ORU and its attorney, Jack
Santee, declined to talk about
what happened before the
lawsuit was filed or discuss
the concept of mediation.
Gary Richardson, attorney
for the former professors,
said he met with Santee and
suggested having an open-minded discussion to resolve
the alleged wrongful termination outside of public purview.
He waited three weeks, did
not hear back from ORU and
moved forward with the lawsuit, he said.
The biblical idea of mediation is practical "if they'll talk
to you. We couldn't get them
to talk to us," Richardson
said.
Mediation can work two
ways: through a paid mediator or through the Tulsa
County court system's Project Early Settlement program, said local lawyer Michael J. King, a partner with
Winters, King & Associates
and an ORU law school graduate. The mediator should be
an "elder" respected by both
parties, he said.
"We think the Bible requires, before you sue somebody, if somebody's wronged
you, you should go to that
person and talk to them first,"
he said.
People and organizations
familiar with mediation cited
I Corinthians 6:1-8 as the Bible passage that commends
mediation over lawsuits: "If
any of you has a dispute
against another, dare he take
it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the
saints? . . ."
King said most cases are
mediated after a lawsuit has
been filed, and most cases
that go to mediation are settled, usually resulting in "two
sides that are partially happy
with the result and partially
unhappy with the result but
very happy it's resolved."
Mediation is cheaper than
going to court, and it gives
people a chance to be heard,
he said.
Although he did not know
whether the ORU lawsuit was
a good candidate for mediation, "almost everything can
be mediated if you have willing parties," King said.
Rhae Buckley, ORU Alumni Association board chairman, agreed that mediation
can work if the parties agree
to be bound by the terms.
The Christian organization
where he works has used mediation the few times in which
situations have not been otherwise resolved.
He thinks the lawsuit
against ORU has created an
effort to make the university
transparent, but he thinks
such an evaluation would
have happened without the
lawsuit.
Gregg said he was concerned the lawsuit would
cause Christians "to look foolish in the eyes of the world,"
especially considering the
former professors who sued
have said they do not know
whether the report of alleged
impropriety by the Roberts
family is true.
He did think the lawsuit
was bringing about the positive result of ORU examining
its policies and procedures.
With ORU's funding coming from donors and students, "there needs to be a
high level of accountability,"
he said.
On the day the lawsuit was
filed, ORU student Albert R.
Thompson Jr., who said he
supported both ORU and the
former professors, wondered, "If Christians can't settle their disputes . . . what
does that say for the rest of
Christianity in general?"
Annette Friesen, with the
Institute for Christian Conciliation, a division of Peacemaker Ministries in Montana,
said the Bible calls for Christians to be peacemakers and
to be known for their love.
"Conflict's inevitable," she
said. "How we respond to
conflict is the biggest representation of who we are as
Christians."
The institute helps people
deal not only with their points
of conflict but the personal issues that fuel the conflict,
Friesen said. Even with "a
great deal of sin back and
forth," she said, ". . . nothing
is impossible. We've seen
great miracles occur. We've
seen God really truly change
hearts."
Peacemaker Ministries'
Web site, at www.tulsaworld.com/peacemaker, says
"Christian conciliation encourages forgiveness and
promotes reconciliation,
which can preserve valuable
relationships." But it makes
allowances for lawsuits, too,
saying, "God has given the
civil courts jurisdiction to enforce the laws of the land and
restrain crime."
April Marciszewski 581-8475
april.marciszewski@tulsaworld.com
