7 MAY 09: Left? Right? Left?

Today is the National Day of Prayer. But don't expect Columbus's "guest minister of the week" to be at the Government Center. He has a morning flight out of Atlanta - and local conservatives will want to know he DOES already have a ride out of town.

BLOG EXCLUSIVE: Expect controversial preacher Jeremiah Wright to return to Columbus in 2010. The board of St. John A.M.E. Church voted Wednesday night to invite him back for next year's revival. The vote was unanimous - but then again, it was done in the sanctuary as everyone attending a revival service watched. And no one moved earlier when a minister asked "all the gossipers" to stand up.

Yes, your blog went to the final night of the four-night revival meeting with Jeremiah Wright. To be honest, that was my plan all along - stopping Sunday to check for protesters, then returning on the last night to hear him speak. That's because I've heard traveling evangelists use the theory that "I can say whatever I want, because I'm leaving town...."

But surprisingly, the minister who did the most "unloading" Wednesday night was NOT Jeremiah Wright. It was St. John A.M.E. Pastor Debora Grant. She admitted in closing remarks that some of the calls she took from "Christians" about Wright last year "made you want to throw up." Simply because they're called "fundamentalists" does not mean they're always fun.

It was Pastor Debora Grant who revealed she asked all members of St. John A.M.E. Church to give a 75-dollar offering for the revival. That comes to about 19 dollars for each of Jeremiah Wright's four sermons - or you could save money, and buy a sermon on CD in the narthex for ten. (True!)

It was Pastor Debora Grant who actually encouraged worshipers to take out their cell phones and invite people to the revival meeting - after the meeting had started. Men were urged to say, "There are gorgeous sisters in the house." That's the way to get your mind off a potentially controversial sermon....

And it was Pastor Debora Grant who thanked "our brothers and sisters" in the Nation of Islam. A few of them stood up-front during the service, presumably doing security duty. What did those Muslims think when the combined choir sang "The Solid Rock" - and repeated the words "On Christ" about a dozen times?

But here's the amazing thing: Jeremiah Wright was NOT all that controversial in his final sermon of the revival. The former Marine never came close to cursing our country. And when he referred to a Bible passage about men desiring sex with a man, he noted an objector "didn't call them perverts...." Wright stopped there -- but I thought for a second he might actually say something conservative.

Jeremiah Wright's closing sermon only dipped into political waters a couple of times. He made a passing sarcastic reference to Jena, Louisiana - a "nice town as long as the dark-skinned folks are kept in their place." Wright could have changed that to Auburn very easily, but he didn't....

It was "Ladies Night" at the revival, and Jeremiah Wright turned to what he admitted is a difficult chapter of the Bible. He said Judges 19 shows a woman treated by men as the "slaveholders who founded our country in 1787" treated slaves. Yeow - I thought slaves helped build the U.S. Capitol, instead of spending steamy nights with Dolly Madison.

Beyond those occasional moments, Jeremiah Wright stuck to Biblical points - and did it with a little mimicking of soul singers, some well-placed humor, and one sign he's learning to speak Southern. That sign came when he had everybody repeat the word, "urr-body."

Jeremiah Wright's sermon title borrowed from a phrase of Archbishop Desmond Tutu: "When the Church Fails Its Women." No, he did NOT speak out against congregations which fail to offer day care centers....

Jeremiah Wright offered three take-home lessons from Judges 19. The first one was: "Don't confuse the man of God with the will of God." I think plenty of conservatives who heard Wright's controversial clips on YouTube would say "amen" to that one.

Only a couple of local celebrities were in the audience for the final night of the revival meeting. Pastor Deborah Grant introduced State Rep. Carolyn Hugley - yes, the wife of the City Manager. No, I did NOT stick around to try for the "money shot" of Hugley shaking Jeremiah Wright's hand. Some Republican should have shown up to take this on their own.

Another local figure who was NOT introduced was former Columbus NAACP President Bill Madison. He attended with his reportedly ailing wife - but the only prayer for healing focused on victims of abusive relationships. Madison went to the altar for that prayer, but I don't know if he prayed for the NAACP Board or not.

When the benediction music ended around 9:30 Wednesday night, I admittedly was surprised. The only really objectionable thing I heard from Jeremiah Wright came when he criticized men who say women shouldn't preach. This comment may explain why the son of a Baptist minister is now part of the United Church of Christ.

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E-MAIL UPDATE: Today is also the "Big Gun Shoot" at Fort Benning, which we mentioned here Monday. A reader has a comment about that....

WTF are they thinking? Sounds fun until someone goes crazy as h**l.

Sam

But look on the bright side, Sam. Those makeshift state militia groups which want to protect us from Muslim sleeper calls need all the training they can get.

Now for other news from a day when it was hard to keep your powder dry....

+ An afternoon thunderstorm brought a mix of bad weather to the Columbus area. There was strong rain, pellets of hail and patches of heavy fog -- the heavy fog occurring in my car, as I tried in vain to get the defroster to clear my windshield.

(After the storms passed, the late-night news showed tape of a rainbow over the Aflac tower. Maybe it IS safe to move your investment money there again.)

+ Gas prices jumped above two dollars a gallon across Columbus. That hasn't been the norm since mid-November. And it may scuttle those plans to take an oil executive out, for a nice thank-you dinner.

+ The evening news reported Whittlesey Road between Veterans Parkway and Whitesville Road might not be widened from two lanes to four until 2012. Before rumors start - no, the city is NOT waiting for the Phenix City Streetscape crew to get finished.

(Have you noticed "Whittlesey" is a Boulevard east of Veterans Parkway, around Columbus Park Crossing - but west of there, it's simply a Road? But then again, Bay Avenue downtown isn't exactly near a bay....)

+ David Hall was named Columbus Police Department Officer of the Year. WRBL noted Hall is in charge of the police recruitment campaign - so this is a little like a sports team giving the "most valuable performer" award to a ticket salesman.

(The Courier's "Street Committee" claimed a few weeks ago that 90 percent of the newly-hired Columbus police officers are white. Come to think of it, Mayor Wetherington talked about improving security at places such as the Riverwalk and parks - but NOT Cusseta Road.)

+ Instant Message to the producers of Jeopardy: Thanks for letting a college student from Eufaula play Wednesday night. But if your crew can't spell Eufaula correctly, maybe someone on your staff needs to, well, get a clue.

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