Most of us are too young to remember Chuck Colson in Richard Nixon's administration. Colson was Nixon's Special Counsel during the Watergate scandal, and pled guilty to obstruction of justice. In 1974 he served seven months in prison.
As described in Colson's memoir Born Again, between his indictment and imprisonment a friend gave him a copy of CS Lewis' Mere Christianity. Colson was deeply persuaded by Lewis' arguments for Christianity, and became a strong evangelical from which he didn't deviate through the remainder of his life. Observing injustices and the deep needs of prisoners during his own incarceration, he founded the organization Prison Fellowship in 1976, a multi-branched outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families. Colson also was deeply involved in social commentary and reached out to political leaders, always with the Christian message. Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman quoted Colson in his 1994 Heaven in the Real World:
Where is the hope? I meet millions of people who feel demoralized by the decay around us. The hope that each of us has is not in who governs us, or what laws we pass, or what great things we do as a nation. Our hope is in the power of God working through the hearts of people. And that's where our hope is in this country. And that's where our hope is in life.
Colson wrote many brilliant books describing how to maintain a Christian worldview in the face of a turbulent, anti-God world. While giving a speech at a Christian worldview conference in Virginia, he experienced an intracerebral hemorrhage and was rushed to the hospital, undergoing surgery. Three weeks later, on April 21, he died.
Colson had an amazing life. From being at the right hand of the USA President, to jail, to a leader in Evangelical communities, he knew high highs and low lows. His last work, stemming from his worst disaster, was best.
I remember when I picked up Colson's book Born Again. I'm notorious for not finishing books--I either read until I've gleaned what I need (nonfiction) or I lose interest. I remember making a decision that I was going to read his book and I did. I've followed him, loosely, since. I have been involved with an organization named Jericho Commission that supplies mentors for those coming out of incarceration in hopes of helping them successfully re-enter society and not go back behind the walls. I'm very familiar with Prison Fellowship and their great work. Chuck certainly left a legacy.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Tom Blubaugh,Author
Night of the Cossack
http://nightofthecossack.com
It's amazing to me that Chuck Colson's biggest fall -- guilty and jailed in such a big-name scandal as Watergate -- became his greatest legacy. There's a lesson in there somewhere for us.
ReplyDeleteJericho Commission sounds really interesting! I bet you have many stories about this.
I had not heard this. :( A huge loss for this world.
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI heard someone on the radio mention a memorial to Chuck Colson and said, what??? His views were always insightful. He is in a better place now, though.