participation in this church. IrnuoLild do nothing to cause you tornthink for a moment that voi arcrnnot loved or appreciated.rn”To my Christian friends,” Micklerrnadded, “I remind you of the words ofrnJohn Wesley. Wlien he sent the Methodistrnministers to America he said simply,rn’Preach Christ.’ Political correctness wasrnnot in his vocabulary.”rnMeanwhile, with the support of the localrnUnited Methodist bishop, Micklerrnmet with Rabbi Lebow to discuss theirrndifferences. They agreed to meet againrnfor a game of golf And Mickler sat behindrnthe podium when Lebow gave hisrnbaccalaureate address at the ci ic center,rnhi his speech, Lebow praised Mickler asrnone of his “heroes of democracy” Hernadded: “Good and decent people can disagreernand still respect each other for thernpassion and strength of their convictions.”rnAfter the speech, Mickler kissedrnLebow on the head.rnMickler’s church and Lebow’s svuagoguernwill also work together to build arnhouse for Habitat for Humanih’. Lebowrnwrote in an op-ed that:rnAs an American, I believe in acknowledgingrnand respecting honestrnreligious differences. Mickler hasrneven,’ right to structure what goesrnon in his sanctuary and what mayrnbe said from his p u l p i t . . . I firnilvrnbelieve Mickler is not anti-Semitic.rnThe furor again,st Mickler subsided.rnHowever, Walton High School’s baccalaureaterncommittee had in ited Micklerrnto deliver the invocation at their ciiccenterrnceremony. Complaints fromrnsome parents prompted the committee torndecide there would be no inxoeation.rnRabbi Lebow was, in fact, tiie service’srnonly speaker. His speech, tiiough gracious,rnwas a feel-good, civic booster shot,rnlargely shorn of any theological contentrnthat might offend anyone, Baptist or W’iccan.rn”I am amazed at the pow er ot tiic 21strncentur”s other deih. Political Correctness,”rnMickler concluded in a summationrnof the contro’ersy. “The questionrnfor the church, as I see it, is where doesrnP.C. stop? Do we preach Christ or PoliticalrnCorrectness?”rnMickler’s largely liberal-led denominationrnis hardly known as a bastion ofrnfundamentalism. That a United Methodistrnminister was targeted by a multiculturalistrnintjuisition because of the standardsrnhe applies to his own church building isrnreealing. In the multicvilturalist isionrnof a “di’erse” and “inclusie” America,rnorthodox monotheism, especially (butrnnot cxelusivelv) Christianih”, is not simplyrneradicated from the public square; itrnis curbed within the confines of its ownrnreligions institutions.rnPolitically, tiie Mickler episode showsrnthe authoritarian — if not totalitarianimpulsesrnof the demands for “tolerance.”rnSociallv, it is a sad comnicntarv on howrnfractured America is, that even an overwhelminglyrnChristian and rclativelv conscrrnatie eomnunih’ is unable to organizerncommon cixie ecnts that are notrndivisie. Spiritually, the episode indicatesrnthat Elijah may have been rightrnwhen he warned that Baal and Jehovahrnare not compatible.rnMark Tooley is a research associate at thernInstitute on Rehgion and Democracy inrnWashington, D.C.rnHASrnChroniclesrnDISAPPEAREDrnFROM YOURrnLOCAL NEWSSTAND?rnSince we have just switched distributors, we wantrnto make sure that Chronicles is carried byrnnewsstands and bookstores all across the country.rnPlease send the name, address, and phone numberrnof any potential retailers in your town to:rnCindy Link, Circulation ManagerrnChroniclesrn928 N. Main St.rnRockford, IL 61103rnSubscriptions@ChroniclesMagazine.orgrnEvery month, we will draw the name of one readerrnwho has sent us the name of a store.rnThe lucky winner will receive a free one-yearrnextension to his subscription.rn48/CHRONICLESrnrnrn