Wade Burleson is a politician, author, avocational historian, and retired pastor for Emmanuel Enid church in

Enid, Oklahoma Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, a ...

, United States. Burleson was twice elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO), now known simply as Oklahoma Baptists, is a group of churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, th ...

, serving between 2002 and 2004. He later served as a trustee for the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board from 2005 to 2008. Oklahoma Governor

Frank Keating Francis Anthony Keating II (initially born as David Rowland Keating) (born February 10, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th governor of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2003. , Keating is one of only five governors in Okl ...

appointed Burleson to the northwest Oklahoma Higher Education Program Board in 1996. He is a speaker on the

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in Oklahoma, the

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, conspiracies associated with assassin

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth th ...

, and the history of the

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with its roots in

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Career

In 1992, Burleson moved from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

to pastor for Emmanuel Baptist Church. Burleson was appointed to serve on Oklahoma's Higher Education Program Board in 1996 by Governor

. In 2002, he was elected the

of the

and he was reelected to the position in 2003. He was elected to the Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board in 2005. In 2006, his fellow members requested his removal from the board, citing "gossip, slander, lack of accountability and loss of trust." A month later, IMB officers withdrew the request for removal. Burleson has publicly advocated for the removal of elected officials, advocating for their removal in court filings. These political stances were taken on church letterhead, as the office of Lead Pastor. The effort Burleson advocated was later found to be "fatally-flawed" by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

2022 ‘Burleson for Congress’ campaign

On February 1, 2022, Burleson announced his candidacy as a Republican to represent Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, challenging incumbent

Frank Lucas Frank Lucas (September 9, 1930 – May 30, 2019) was an American drug trafficker who operated in Harlem, New York City, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly ...

; he lost in the primary to Lucas.

Gender equality

Christians for Biblical Equality Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) is an organization that promotes Christian egalitarianism also known as evangelical feminism and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. CBE's Mission Statement reads: "CBE exists to promote biblica ...

awarded Burleson the ''International Priscilla and Aquila Award'' for his advocacy of gender equality. The termination of Sheri Klouda would not have been publicly known except for it being highlighted on Burleson's blog. Burleson was a speaker at a rally for women during the 2018 Convention in Dallas, telling messengers that "The New Testament we say we believe teaches us Jesus Christ sets women free to serve, to lead, to minister."

Proposed database of sexual predators

Wade Burleson at the 2018 Southern Baptist Convention

In 2007, Burleson recommended the creation of a database to track sexually abusive ministers.

Istoria Ministries blog

In 2005, Burleson used his blog, Istoria Ministries, to identify what he called "the continuing narrowing of the doctrinal parameters of fellowship and cooperation in the area of missions and evangelism by demanding conformity and agreement on nonessential doctrines." In May 2015, policies implemented by

International Mission Board The International Mission Board (or IMB, formerly the Foreign Mission Board) is a Christian missionary society affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The headquarters is in Richmond, Virginia, United States. History Thousands ...

and spoken against by Burleson, leading to his censure by the IMB, were reversed. In May 2015, the IMB trustees reversed its controversial missionary qualification policies and implemented the changes that Burleson had recommended a decade earlier. In May 2015, ''Christianity Today'' reported on the IMB policy reversals, writing, "Former IMB trustee Wade Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Oklahoma, clashed with other trustees over the policies. In 2006, a group of trustees tried to oust him from the IMB board, but that attempt failed."

Awards and honors

Burleson received the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters for his radio and television ministry. Burleson spoke on the subject of respecting women during the 2009 regional New Baptist Covenant meeting in Norman, Oklahoma. Burleson was awarded the ''International Priscilla and Aquila Award'' for his advocacy of gender equality.

Personal life

Pastor Wade Burleson has been married to Dr. Rachelle Burleson, DNP, chief nursing officer at St. Mary's Regional Medical Center, for over 30 years. They have four adult children and three grandchildren. In 2011, Burleson was briefly jailed in Mexico after causing a traffic collision that injured two. Burleson retired from Lead Pastor at Emmanuel Enid in 2022.

Bibliography

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burleson, Wade 1961 births Baptists from Oklahoma Baylor University alumni Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Christian bloggers East Central University alumni Living people Southern New Hampshire University alumni Writers from Enid, Oklahoma