The Rev. Robert Golson says he’s going to be a healer.
Good thing. The wounds at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Akron were nearly fatal.
A long-running dispute over the church’s veteran pastor, the Rev. Luther C. Cooper, so divided the congregation that shouting matches, police appearances and lawsuits had conspired to drop church membership from 400 to less than 100.
The situation boiled over in March, when a Sunday service was canceled over fears that violence would erupt between the two factions.
Despite being fired six days earlier and being locked out of the church, Cooper showed up that morning and held an impromptu half-hour service on a veranda during a rainstorm. About 40 soggy loyalists attended.
Cooper has enthusiastically and relentlessly fought his dismissal, at one point filing a suit against the chairman of the trustee board.
But a couple of weeks ago, the church hired a new pastor, Golson. He delivered his first sermon Sunday.
The Akron native was chosen after the church brought in a series of visiting ministers — nine of them — who essentially were trying out for the spot. The field was whittled to four. In the end, Golson was “far and away the best candidate,” according to prominent parishioner Virgil Brown.
Golson is not exactly a newcomer to this place, a handsome structure northwest of St. Thomas Hospital on Cuyahoga Street.
“I’ve always referred to Mt. Zion as ‘Big Mama’s House,’ because I was a child when I started here,” he says, sitting behind his desk in an office that already is filled with his personal touches.
“Mt. Zion has always been my home church. I’m happy to be home.”
His homecoming took 17 years. After being ordained and licensed at Mt. Zion, Golson served as an associate pastor there before taking the reins at First Baptist Church in Orrville, where he stayed for nine years. He then took over Prince of Peace Missionary Baptist Church in West Akron.
Golson, 63, admits the decision to leave Prince of Peace and return to his embattled church was not an easy one. He prayed about it for weeks.
“This is home for me, but I had to have God confirm whether or not he wanted me to come here.”
He says the message was loud and clear.
“One of the reasons why God sent me here is for healing and reconciliation to take place. The church has never been a place that should become a battleground for anything. We’re here to worship and praise God, and we’re here to learn and be instructed.”
Golson says he doesn’t know much more about the controversy than the general public — by design.
“There are some things I didn’t want to know,” he says. “I didn’t want to get involved with it, and it didn’t have anything to do with me.”
His only focus is the future.
“We’re going to reach out into the community, and we’re going to rebuild our congregation. ... We’re looking to be a blessing, not just to this community but to the city.”
Meanwhile, attorney Ed Gilbert, who has represented Cooper, says the deposed minister is “still reviewing his options.” Cooper has not ruled out pursuing additional legal action, Gilbert says, but he also has been scouting locations for a potential new ministry.
The dispute began more than two years ago when Cooper was accused of misappropriating funds, namely the purchase of a personal car with church money; hiring an expensive accounting firm for an audit without proper approval; and hiring the high-priced Gilbert to go after his opponents.
Cooper, a fixture at the church since 1975, characterized the dispute as “a power play” and said the vote to expel him was improperly taken. He filed a lawsuit against Lamont Wilson, chairman of the trustee board, claiming Wilson failed to pay Cooper and other church employees and refused to show Cooper the books.
A court injunction forced Wilson to give the books to two other church members. But today Wilson’s side is obviously back in control.
Here’s hoping Golson can rebuild Mt. Zion — and that Cooper and his avid followers can find a new place and a new peace.
There are lots of good people on both sides of this conflict, people who are passionate about their church and their faith but simply couldn’t connect on one important issue.
Whether Golson can remove the scars at Mt. Zion remains to be seen. His enthusiastic return is reason for optimism.
Golson is married and has two daughters. He and his wife, Edith, will celebrate their 30th anniversary next month.
How did they meet?
“Here!” Golson replies. “In Sunday school. Right upstairs.”
Jokes parishioner Brown, sitting nearby: “That’s the fear of all Baptist parents.”
Finally, some levity in a place that badly needs it.
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com. He also is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bob.dyer.31