Washington, D.C. -- A presidential candidate finds himself in hot water over controversial statements by his pastor. The candidate: Bob Dole. Back in the early 90s, Conservative pundit Cal Thomas, aided by opposition researcher Mark Tooley, launched an attack on Bob and Elizabeth Dole's then-pastor (and my dear friend, former professor and mentor) J. Philip Wogaman. Thomas accused Wogaman of being an advocate for gay rights, a vocal critic of unrestrained capitalism and greed, and generally left of center. Wogaman, it must be said, was guilty as charged. Under pressure, Dole left the congregation.
Fast-forward to 2008. The more things change, it seems, the more they stay the same. Barack Obama finds himself in similar hot water--only this time, there's video evidence. Obama, like Dole, has no choice but to distance himself from his pastor.
As a pastor in the same denomination as Jeremiah Wright, I think it's too bad that political expediency demands Obama reject his pastor. First of all, our denomination traces its roots back to the Pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower and has a strong tradition of freedom of the pulpit stretching back hundreds of years. Pastors in our tradition are expected to speak their minds and have no expectation that parishioners will agree with everything they say like a flock of mindless sheep. A preacher like Wright doesn't last in our denomination unless he is willing to see his sermons as part of an ongoing dialogue with the congregation, rather than pronouncements from on high.
Next, while I may not agree 100 percent with everything Jeremiah Wright says, I applaud his moral courage in consistently speaking what he sees as truth to power. The reason most educated, intelligent people stay away from church in droves is that most sermons are the aural equivalent of pudding--sweet and bland, with nothing to chew on. Jeremiah Wright isn't perfect, but he takes seriously the prophetic tradition of our faith, the calling to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Biblical prophets did little else but point Israel's flaws out to her citizens. In the same way, Rev. Wright no doubt feels called to point out what he sees as America's wrongs to his flock. As long as he is calling on them to actively seek to right those wrongs, to be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem, I support his right to express his opinion and to express it forcefully and dramatically.