Chuck Colson Remembered
Yesterday evening I received this email from Breaking Christian News announing Chuck Colson’s death. That broke my heart because Chuck Colson was a spiritual giant and a champion for religious freedom. While I was deeply saddened by this news, I rejoice knowing he left a plan of succession.
From: Breaking Christian News
Date: Sat, Apr 21, 2012 at 8:51 PM
Subject: Chuck Colson Dies at 80 Years Old
To: Joseph PeckChuck Colson of Prison Fellowship Dies at 80 Years Old
Julie A. Smith – Breaking Christian News/Chuck Colson and Prison Fellowship Ministries
One of the most wonderful things about being a Christian is that I don’t ever get up in the morning and wonder if what I do matters. I live every day to the fullest because I can live it through Christ and I know no matter what I do today, I’m going to do something to advance the Kingdom of God. -Charles Colson
Editor’s note: Let’s be praying for the legacy of this national evangelist to live on through his mission to “proclaim to inmates the love and the power of Jesus Christ” and let’s lift up the Colson family in their time of loss. -Julie A. Smith, BCN
Charles W. “Chuck” Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship and the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, died this afternoon from complications of a brain hemorrhage. Colson was 80 years old and was surrounded by his wife Patty and family as he graduated to Heaven. (Photo: Christian Post)
According to chuckcolson.org, “Colson spent the last years of his life in the dual role of leading Prison Fellowship, the world’s largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families, and the Colson Center, a teaching and training center focused on Christian worldview thought and application. Colson maintained that the greatest joy in life for him was to see those ‘living monuments’ to God’s grace: Prisoners transformed by the love of Jesus Christ.”
Colson was involved in the Watergate scandal in the early 70s, which lead him to spending a year in federal prison. It was there where his ministry and legacy was birthed. After being released, Chuck founded Prison Fellowship in 1976 to “proclaim to inmates the love and the power of Jesus Christ.” In 1977, he started a Biblically-based teaching seminar in prison which paved the way for hundreds of thousands of prisoners to receive Bible studies across the nation and has spread worldwide ever since. Prison Fellowship relies on more than 20,000 volunteers nationwide and is also an international ministry in more than 100 countries worldwide through the work of Prison Fellowship International.
From chuckcolson.org: The Colson family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Charles Colson Legacy Fund. Condolence cards may be sent to Prison Fellowship Ministries, 44180 Riverside Parkway, Lansdowne, VA 20176.
For more information visit chuckcolson.org and prisonfellowship.org.
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This morning as I was preparing this message to share with the world, I was led to do more research about Chuck. Here are some of the heart-grabbing resources I was led to:
Mission/Vision//Values of Prison Fellowship
More than 30 years ago, Charles W. Colson was not thinking about reaching out to prison inmates or reforming the U.S. penal system.
In fact, this aide to President Richard Nixon was “incapable of humanitarian thought,” according to the media of the mid-1970s.
Colson was known as the White House “hatchet man,” a man feared by even the most powerful politicos during his four years of service to President Nixon.
When news of Colson’s conversion to Christianity leaked to the press in 1973, the Boston Globe reported, “If Mr. Colson can repent of his sins, there just has to be hope for everybody.”
Colson would agree. He admits he was guilty of political “dirty tricks” and willing to do almost anything for the cause of his president and his party.
In 1974, Colson entered a plea of guilty to Watergate-related charges; although not implicated in the Watergate burglary, he voluntarily pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the Daniel Ellsberg case.
He entered Alabama’s Maxwell Prison in 1974 as a new Christian and as the first member of the Nixon administration to be incarcerated for Watergate-related charges. He served seven months of a one-to-three year sentence before being released.
But Colson never really left prison. Haunted by the desperation and hopelessness he saw behind bars, Colson knew he had to do something to help the men he left behind. In fact, he had a promise to keep.
Chuck Colson Remembered
Amazing Grace was one of Chuck Colson’ favorite songs, especially when he visited prisons. Here is a video with Wintley Phipps sharing the history of Amazing Grace and then signing that famous song. This will touch your heart. Wintley Phipps is President of the US Dream Academy, an organization for children of prisoners.
Amazing Grace and It’s History – Wintley Phipps
Chuck Colson, Former Watergate Figure, Dies (Associated Press)
Chuck Colson on Religious Freedom and Possible Necessity of Civil Disobedience
Chuck Colson speaks on the urgency of protecting our religious freedom and freedom of conscience. He addresses the present crisis stemming from the Department of Health and Human Services and Obama administration mandate to the Catholic church to include mandatory services in their health insurance, which go against Catholic teaching and conscience. He refers to the Manhattan Declaration as a platform for firm resistance and urges all to sign it and send links to others.
Sign the Manhattan Declaration today
Blessings to honor this great man legacy someway, somehow!
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