High School Graduate Doesn’t Get Diploma after Urging Audience to Seek Jesus

[Michie]

Kentucky high school student says he has yet to receive his diploma after he went off-script during his commencement speech and urged the audience to seek Jesus. Graduate Micah Price of Campbell County High School in Kentucky had received approval from school officials to thank his “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” at the beginning of his speech, according to WKRC Local 12, but he went further and spoke to the crowd.

“He is the Light, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life,” Price said. “Class, everyone in the audience today, I'm here to tell you if you don't have any of those things in your life [and] you can't seem to find the answer, then my Lord and Savior is your answer. He will give you the Truth, He will give you the Way and the Life.”

Price acknowledges that he deviated from the script. He also says he did not get his diploma.

“I am in the wrong technically, because I went against Campbell County code, the rules,” he said in a TikTok video.

Superintendent Shelli Wilson told WKRC that Price will receive his diploma following a meeting with the principal.

Continued below.

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[AlexB23]

Kentucky high school student says he has yet to receive his diploma after he went off-script during his commencement speech and urged the audience to seek Jesus. Graduate Micah Price of Campbell County High School in Kentucky had received approval from school officials to thank his “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” at the beginning of his speech, according to WKRC Local 12, but he went further and spoke to the crowd.

“He is the Light, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life,” Price said. “Class, everyone in the audience today, I'm here to tell you if you don't have any of those things in your life [and] you can't seem to find the answer, then my Lord and Savior is your answer. He will give you the Truth, He will give you the Way and the Life.”

Price acknowledges that he deviated from the script. He also says he did not get his diploma.

“I am in the wrong technically, because I went against Campbell County code, the rules,” he said in a TikTok video.

Superintendent Shelli Wilson told WKRC that Price will receive his diploma following a meeting with the principal.

Continued below.

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End times my friend.

2 Timothy 3:12 (NIV): "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted"

Rejected by the World for our Faith

Hello folks. Today, we will be covering rejection, as many Christians may be rejected by society for their unwavering faith in Christ. This is a companion post to: Christian Figures who were Rejected for their Faith Date May 27, 2024 | Rejected for our Faith Verse John 5:18-19 (NIV): "If...

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[Tropical Wilds]

“I did something wrong, but I don't understand why that means I’m being punished…”

 

[FireDragon76]

End times my friend.

2 Timothy 3:12 (NIV): "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted"

Rejected by the World for our Faith

Hello folks. Today, we will be covering rejection, as many Christians may be rejected by society for their unwavering faith in Christ. This is a companion post to: Christian Figures who were Rejected for their Faith Date May 27, 2024 | Rejected for our Faith Verse John 5:18-19 (NIV): "If...

www.christianforums.com

That's not persecution.

Aggressively trying to push your religion on other people is called proselytism and it's recognized by the Catholic Church as unethical. It is recognized as unethical in my church tradition, too. Jesus didn't teach the disciples to be religious salesmen offering the consolations of religion like they were cheapjack wares. He taught people to do good works for their neighbor so that God would be glorified through them.

 

[AlexB23]

That's not persecution.

Aggressively trying to push your religion on other people is called proselytism and it's recognized by the Catholic Church as unethical. It is recognized as unethical in my church tradition, too. Jesus didn't teach the disciples to be religious salesmen offering the consolations of religion like they were cheapjack wares. He taught people to do good works for their neighbor so that God would be glorified through them.

I do agree on most of this, even Matthew 23:15 says to not be a salesman.

Matthew 23:15 (NIV): "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are."

However, Mark 16:15 (NIV) says this: "He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'"

So, which is it? Matthew or Mark?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

I do agree on most of this, even Matthew 23:15 says to not be a salesman.

Matthew 23:15 (NIV): "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are."

However, Mark 16:15 (NIV) says this: "He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'"

So, which is it? Matthew or Mark?

Alex, that's not an actual paradox since the referent in Mark 16:15 isn't to be read independently of everything else that it is tied to within the entirety of the Gospel of Mark.

If I can find even one or two places in Mark where Jesus indicated something to the effect that we, as Christians, need to spread the Gospel with respect, care, compassion and some degree of mutuality with our audience, then there is no real conflict or contradiction posed by your selection of Mark 16:15.

So, it's not either/or in this case and that student should have remained on "the script" that he agreed to abide by when giving his speech. Going off of it and unexpectedly deviating shows a lack of integrity where mutuality is agreed upon. If he wanted to be heard for the additional comments he wanted to make, and did make, he could simply have invited folks from the audience to seek him out and hear out his extra Gospel message.

 

[BNR32FAN]

Kentucky high school student says he has yet to receive his diploma after he went off-script during his commencement speech and urged the audience to seek Jesus. Graduate Micah Price of Campbell County High School in Kentucky had received approval from school officials to thank his “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” at the beginning of his speech, according to WKRC Local 12, but he went further and spoke to the crowd.

“He is the Light, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life,” Price said. “Class, everyone in the audience today, I'm here to tell you if you don't have any of those things in your life [and] you can't seem to find the answer, then my Lord and Savior is your answer. He will give you the Truth, He will give you the Way and the Life.”

Price acknowledges that he deviated from the script. He also says he did not get his diploma.

“I am in the wrong technically, because I went against Campbell County code, the rules,” he said in a TikTok video.

Superintendent Shelli Wilson told WKRC that Price will receive his diploma following a meeting with the principal.

Continued below.

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I really don’t see a problem here. The article says that he will receive his diploma, he’s just going to receive a reprimand first for breaking the rules.

 

[BNR32FAN]

That's not persecution.

Aggressively trying to push your religion on other people is called proselytism and it's recognized by the Catholic Church as unethical. It is recognized as unethical in my church tradition, too. Jesus didn't teach the disciples to be religious salesmen offering the consolations of religion like they were cheapjack wares. He taught people to do good works for their neighbor so that God would be glorified through them.

That doesn’t constitute as “aggressive” or “pushing your religion on others” he has just as much a right to freedom of speech as those who promote ungodliness. School rules do not overrule the US Constitution. Jesus also taught to spread the gospel to all nations. What do you think He and His apostles were doing during and after His ministry? I bet if he had gave a woke speech you wouldn’t have a problem with it.

 

[AlexB23]

Alex, that's not an actual paradox since the referent in Mark 16:15 isn't to be read independently of everything else that it is tied to within the entirety of the Gospel of Mark.

If I can find even one or two places in Mark where Jesus indicated something to the effect that we, as Christians, need to spread the Gospel with respect, care, compassion and some degree of mutuality with our audience, then there is no real conflict or contradiction posed by your selection of Mark 16:15.

So, it's not either/or in this case and that student should have remained on "the script" that he agreed to abide by when giving his speech. Going off of it and unexpectedly deviating shows a lack of integrity where mutuality is agreed upon. If he wanted to be heard for the additional comments he wanted to make, and did make, he could simply have invited folks from the audience to seek him out and hear out his extra Gospel message.

Yeah, that works also. So, we must discernment when to preach the Gospel, from what I am getting.

 

[BNR32FAN]

I do agree on most of this, even Matthew 23:15 says to not be a salesman.

Matthew 23:15 (NIV): "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are."

However, Mark 16:15 (NIV) says this: "He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'"

So, which is it? Matthew or Mark?

Matthew 23 is about the Pharisees being hypocrites, it has absolutely nothing to do with spreading the gospel because that’s absolutely not what they were preaching. Now He did say to the apostles not to preach to anyone who wouldn’t receive them, but there’s no evidence that the audience was against his preaching, only the school board.

 

[AlexB23]

Matthew 23 is about the Pharisees being hypocrites, it has absolutely nothing to do with spreading the gospel because that’s absolutely not what they were preaching. Now He did say to the apostles not to preach to anyone who wouldn’t receive them, but there’s no evidence that the audience was against his preaching, only the school board.

I agree with you on that. If this kid really felt compelled to preach the Gospel, the board should have left him do his thing. No harm in preaching.

 

[BNR32FAN]

I agree with you on that. If this kid really felt compelled to preach the Gospel, the board should have left him do his thing. No harm in preaching.

I guarantee you that if the school board had said the same thing about a woke speech it would’ve been a huge catastrophe and they’d likely be facing a lawsuit for discrimination but unfortunately Christianity doesn’t carry the same weight as that topic in secular society.

 

[AlexB23]

I guarantee you that if the school board had said the same thing about a woke speech it would’ve been a huge catastrophe and they’d likely be facing a lawsuit for discrimination but unfortunately Christianity doesn’t carry the same weight as that topic in secular society.

If I was on the board, I'd be the one who would call out and denounce woke speeches, as schools are meant to be a place of learning how to live independently, use math, history and science, and have good social skills, not a place about spreading politics.

Hypothetical: Assume that I am a student graduating from high school in 2024. What if I wanted to be able to talk about my favorite Catholic scientist, Georges Lemaitre? Would the school board silence me, if I was a student talking about how faith and science go hand in hand?

 

[BNR32FAN]

If I was on the board, I'd be the one who would call out and denounce woke speeches, as schools are meant to be a place of learning how to live independently, use math, history and science, and have good social skills, not a place about spreading politics.

Hypothetical: Assume that I am a student graduating from high school in 2024. What if I wanted to be able to talk about my favorite Catholic scientist, Georges Lemaitre? Would the school board silence me, if I was a student talking about how faith and science go hand in hand?

Woke is the new preferred religion of secular society. Anyone who speaks out against it in a public school setting would be removed from their position.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

If I was on the board, I'd be the one who would call out and denounce woke speeches, as schools are meant to be a place of learning how to live independently, use math, history and science, and have good social skills, not a place about spreading politics.

Woke is the 2024 version of boogeyman… A scary thing that exists only in the mind of children, people who respond to fear based ideology, and those who don’t know any better.

Hypothetical: Assume that I am a student graduating from high school in 2024. What if I wanted to be able to talk about my favorite Catholic scientist, Georges Lemaitre? Would the school board silence me, if I was a student talking about how faith and science go hand in hand?

Why would that be a problem? It’s like asking if Is be allowed to quote Michelle Obama because she’s Christian. The dude is a priest and he also contributed to science and mathematics. The issue here isn’t they have a problem with his faith, it’s that they have a problem with his deceptiveness and going against what he was told (and agreed) to do.

Besides which, they simply didn’t hand him a diploma, which is a piece of paper that most people lose track of about a month after graduating. It really doesn’t matter.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

I agree with you on that. If this kid really felt compelled to preach the Gospel, the board should have left him do his thing. No harm in preaching.

So if the little brown kid said the same thing but about Islam and M instead, your sentiment would be to let them preach? What about if they’re Satanist and want to let you know that Satan’s blessings are upon you should you accept him? Totally cool? Or does the “let him preach” only apply to when we are preaching for the home team?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Yeah, that works also. So, we must discernment when to preach the Gospel, from what I am getting.

Yes. That's essentially what I'm saying.

 

[FireDragon76]

That doesn’t constitute as “aggressive” or “pushing your religion on others” he has just as much a right to freedom of speech as those who promote ungodliness. School rules do not overrule the US Constitution. Jesus also taught to spread the gospel to all nations. What do you think He and His apostles were doing during and after His ministry? I bet if he had gave a woke speech you wouldn’t have a problem with it.

"Woke speech" does violate the First Ammendment rights of others. In the US, we have no established religion, and it is a violation of students civil rights to subject them to proselytism.

 

[RileyG]

We have separation of Church and state for a reason. He should just apologize and get his diploma.

 

[RileyG]

I agree with you on that. If this kid really felt compelled to preach the Gospel, the board should have left him do his thing. No harm in preaching.

It might offend others that identify as secular. I could go on but that would be off topic.