Editorial: Pawlenty's pastor unfairly maligned

While George W. Bush campaigned for office and after he became president of the United States, his Methodist pastor in Dallas refused to talk with the news media. Why? He put serving the spiritual needs of his flock first, and that meant not exploiting a high-profile church member for a moment of fame.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's pastor, well-known evangelist Leith Anderson of Eden Prairie, is less low-profile, but still usually balks at talking about politics with the media. That's been true even though he's president of the National Association of Evangelicals and serves on a faith-based advisory council to President Obama.

The NAE is a coalition of nearly 40 conservative Christian denominations not usually associated with the extreme right wing of the evangelical Christian movement. These are the Billy Graham, Salvation Army, Presbyterian Church in America evangelicals, not those along the vein of nutty televangelist Pat Robertson or the late Jerry Falwell, the vitriolic gas bag who insisted the children's Telebubbies character Tinky Winky was gay.

Unfortunately, some in the media, failing to grasp those nuances, are unfairly painting Anderson as baggage to Pawlenty's presidential bid. The blogger behind RedState.com recently predicted: "Tim Pawlenty's preacher is going to cause him some problems in the primary."

Soon after, a headline on the liberal website Salon.com blared: "Tim Pawlenty has his own Rev. Wright." The article made a ridiculous comparison between the soft-spoken Anderson and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the liberal minister whose biting persona and alienating rhetoric led church member Obama to sever ties during his 2008 presidential campaign.

Wright and Anderson couldn't be more different. Anderson, a trailblazer in developing congregations, has written numerous ministry books, including the ever-popular "A Church for the 21st Century." As his Wooddale Church grew into a megachurch, he was on the forefront of developing contemporary worship services to keep young people engaged. He also forged partnerships to mentor other pastors and churches from a wide spectrum of denominations.

In other words, his focus has been on ministry. On a national level, he was tapped by the NAE to take over the organization when another leader was ousted for making controversial statements. Some political commentators speculate that Pawlenty will face hurdles drawing wide Republican support precisely because his pastor isn't from the far-right. Ironically, during the last presidential election, analysts ripped John McCain for his associations with far-right pastors.

But the NAE differs from the far right on key issues. For instance, the NAE distinguished itself to the larger American public last summer when it became the first religious organization to denounce a right-wing evangelical Florida pastor for threatening to burn Qur'ans.

More recently, the NAE lobbied for passage of the DREAM Act, the immigration legislation that fell short of votes in December because of large Republican opposition. The fact that the NAE and Anderson don't fall lockstep with the right-wing on climate change (along with other high-profile moderate evangelicals) will be a bigger problem for Pawlenty, some analysts predict. Many moderate evangelicals not only accept climate change but view it as a critical social justice issue because of the impact on impoverished people.

Presidential candidates rarely agree with every position taken by their religious denominations. Numerous Catholic candidates differ from their church on abortion, for example, and in 2008, Obama thought the United Church of Christ's stance on Israel was too harsh.

Pawlenty's presidential ambitions may or may not have a prayer, but that should not be because of his pastor.

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