Methodist Minister and Rabbi Reconcile Following Baccalaureate Rift

Should a rabbi be permitted to speak from a Christian pulpit? Where does a church draw the boundary between "non-sectarian" and "non-Christian"? Thousands in the Atlanta area wrestled with such questions throughout the past week, after a Methodist minister barred a rabbi from giving a baccalaureate address in his church.

The Rev. Randy Mickler of Mount Bethel United Methodist Church says he banned Rabbi Steven Lebow of Temple Kol Emeth in Cobb County from speaking directly from the pulpit at Walton High School's baccalaureate service because Lebow's Jewish faith conflicts with Christian doctrine. Mickler says he offered to let Lebow speak from a lectern, but not the pulpit.

"He can speak, he just cannot be the sermon giver," Mickler said in a statement to the media. "To have a person who is a nonbeliever of Christ is, in a sense, dishonoring Christ."

Walton High School has used Mount Bethel as the baccalaureate site for seven years. But having a "sermon" delivered by a non-Christian man of the cloth was not what Mickler envisioned as leader of the host facility. "Nondenominational," Mickler said in a sermon to his congregation Sunday, does not mean "non-Christian."

The controversy arose after the school's baccalaureate committee chose Lebow without Mickler's permission. "This year, as in past years, Mount Bethel was again assured by the Walton High School PTSA that in accordance with that seven-year tradition the church would have the final say regarding the primary sermon-giver and would also be involved in the planning of that event," Mickler explained.

According to Mickler, on April 18, that agreement was indirectly compromised when it was announced by a Walton student that she had already invited her rabbi to preach the sermon. During the meeting, it was further suggested by some of the students that Mount Bethel should place a shroud over the cross of Christ and refrain from mentioning the name of Jesus during the service.

"Some of the students even expressed the view that if the rabbi, a non-believer, could deliver the sermon, then their own faiths, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Wiccan, should also be included. At this point, we suggested that the service be relocated to a neutral facility so that all major religious faiths in the world could be represented," Mickler said.

He went on to say he was pleased when Walton High's baccalaureate committee decided to move the May 22 ceremony from Mount Bethel to the Cobb Civic Center. "I offer no apologies for my behavior, nor my faith or the words I've spoken," he added. Nevertheless, he said he "deeply regretted this unnecessary, painful and avoidable incident."

What troubled him, he said, was that Buddhists, Hindus and Wiccans were all looking to keep the baccalaureate as inoffensive as possible and were crushing all Christian context. Some, he said, were opposing everything from the name of Christ being spoken in Scripture to the presence of Christian symbols.

"When it comes to denying who we are, that's where we draw the line," he said. "This is not anti-Semitic. It's pro-Christ."

Mickler's position insulted many in Atlanta's Jewish community and, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, several Jews with a connection to Mount Bethel are cutting ties. Jewish participants in the church's popular sports program are ending their participation. Five coaches have quit and several parents have removed their children from teams.

A news conference organized by students at Walton High School Tuesday to dispute Mickler's comments evolved into an impasse between two groups of students, each split in their support. "It's become Methodists versus Jews," said Chris Knowles to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Knowles, a member of the Walton High baccalaureate committee, added: "There's divisiveness that's unnecessary."

Many in Atlanta's faith community agree. Methodist churches have no policy excluding speakers of other faiths, says Bishop Lindsey Davis of the church's North Georgia Conference. Pastors, he said, are given "significant discretion" about who is allowed to speak.
"There have been occasions in community services where people of different faiths have spoken together," the bishop says. "Baccalaureates have traditionally had a variety of persons." Baccalaureate services are optional ceremonies for seniors, and the nondenominational event is based on spirituality but not specific religious beliefs, he adds.

The two men at the center of the storm agreed to meet Tuesday at the request of Bishop Davis, and in the presence of the Rev. Al Turnell, supervisor of the Atlanta-Marietta District.

Turnell issued a statement afterward that expressed cooperation and conciliation, indicating that Lebow and Mickler will work together on a home for Habitat for Humanity. "Both of these men expressed a deep appreciation and respect for each other. Beyond this issue, however, these men are concerned that we acknowledge the pain caused by the events of the last few days, that we acknowledge our inability to heal the brokenness by continuing to blame each other; and that we acknowledge the prominent place of forgiveness and redemption that both of these historic faiths bring to the table."

Lebow wrote in a commentary to the Atlanta Journal Constitution Wednesday, "The time has come for the Rev. Randy Mickler and me to publicly acknowledge that we share common goals, a common God and a common Scripture. As a Jew, I believe in the eternal love that God has for all people: African-American and white, Protestant and Catholic, Buddhist and Hindu.

"As an American, I believe in acknowledging and respecting honest religious differences. Mickler has every right to structure what goes on in his sanctuary and what may be said from his pulpit ... I firmly believe Mickler is not anti-Semitic.

"Now that we have met face to face, in a place unencumbered by rhetoric or distrust, I believe that we will live out the biblical promise of Psalm 133, 'Behold how good and how sweet it is, when brothers can sit together in peace.'"

Mickler told his congregation Sunday: "Mount Bethel, I want you to understand, that never would I do anything to embarrass you or our non-Christian friends. I am sorry if there is anything that I have done to add to your frustration or your confusion over the course of the past few days. At no time would I ever want our Jewish friends to feel slighted, hurt or embarrassed. I thank God for our Jewish friends' participation in this church. I would do nothing to cause you to think for a moment that you are not loved or appreciated.

"To my Christian friends," he added, "I remind you of the words of John Wesley. When he sent the Methodist minister to America he said simply, 'Preach Christ.' Political correctness was not in his vocabulary."