[This testimony of the new American President's journey of faith been
has widely circulated on the Internet. We long that his faith grow and
he become a courageous and wise leader of the greatest nation in the world.]
Actually, the seeds of my decision had been planted by the Reverend Billy
Graham. He visited my family for a summer weekend in Maine. I saw him
preach at the small summer church, St. Ann's by the Sea. We all had lunch
on the patio overlooking the ocean. One evening my dad asked Billy to
answer questions from a big group of family gathered for the weekend.
He sat by the fire and talked. And what he said sparked a change in my
heart. I don't remember the exact words. It was more the power of his
example. The Lord was so clearly reflected in his gentle and loving demeanor.
The next day we walked and talked at Walker's Point, and I knew I was
in the presence of a great man. He was like a magnet; I felt drawn to
seek something different. He didn't lecture admonish, he shared warmth
and concern. Billy Graham didn't make you feel guilty; he made you feel
loved.
Over the course of that weekend, Reverend Graham planted a mustard seed
in my soul, a seed that grew over the next year He led me to the path,
and I began walking. It was the beginning of a change in my life had always
been a "religious" person, had regularly attended church, even
taught Sunday School and served as an altar boy but that weekend my faith
took on a new meaning. It was the beginning of a new walk where I would
commit my heart to Jesus Christ.
I was humbled to learn that God sent His Son to die for a sinner like
me. I was comforted to know that through the Son, I could find God's amazing
grace, a grace that crosses every border, every barrier and is open to
everyone. Through the love of Christ's life, I could understand the life-changing
power of faith.
When I returned to Midland, I began reading the Bible regularly. Don Evans
talked me into joining him and another friend, Don Jones, at a men's community
Bible study. The group had first assembled the year before, in Spring
of 1984, at the beginning of the downturn in the energy industry.
Midland was hurting. A lot of people were looking for comfort and strength
and direction. A couple of men started the Bible study as a support group,
and it grew. By the time I began attending, in the fall of 1985, almost
120 men would gather. We met in small discussion groups of ten or twelve,
then joined the larger group for full meetings. Don Jones picked me up
every week for the meetings. I remember looking forward to them. My interest
in reading the Bible grew stronger and stronger, and the words became
clearer and more meaningful. We studied Acts, the story of the Apostles
building the Christian Church, and next year, the Gospel of Luke. The
preparation for each meeting took several hours, reading the Scripture
passages and thinking through responses to discussion questions. I took
it seriously, with my usual touch of humor....
Laura and I were active members of the First Methodist Church of Midland,
and we participated in many family programs, including James Dobson's
Focus on the Family series on raising children. As I studied and learned,
Scripture took on greater meaning, and gained confidence and understanding
in my faith. I read the Bible regularly. Don Evans gave me the "one-year'
Bible, a Bible divided into 365 daily readings, each one including a section
from the New Testament, the Old Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs I read
through that Bible every other year. During the years in between, I pick
different chapters to study at different times.
I have also learned the power of prayer. I pray for guidance. I do not
pray for earthly things, but for heavenly things, for wisdom and patience
and understanding. My faith gives me focus and perspective. It teaches
humility. But I also recognize that faith can be misinterpreted in the
political process. Faith is an important part of my life I believe it
is important to live my faith, not flaunt it.
America is a great country because of our religious freedoms. It is important
for any leader to respect the faith of others. That point was driven home
when Laura and I visited Israel in 1998. We had traveled to Rome to spend
Thanksgiving with our daughter, who was attending a school program there,
and spent three days in Israel on the way home. It was an incredible experience.
I remember waking up at the Jerusalem Hilton and opening the curtains
and seeing the Old City before us, the Jerusalem stone glowing gold. We
visited the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. And we
went to the Sea of Galilee and stood atop the hill where Jesus delivered
the Sermon on the Mount. It was an overwhelming feeling to stand in the
spot where the most famous speech in the history of the world was delivered,
the spot where Jesus outlined the character and conduct of a believer
and gave his disciples and the world the beatitudes, the golden rule,
and the Lord's Prayer.
Our delegation included four gentile governors - one Methodist, two Catholics,
and a Mormon, and several Jewish-American friends. Someone suggested we
read Scripture. I chose to read "Amazing Grace," my favorite
hymn. Later that night we all gathered at a restaurant in Tel Aviv for
dinner before we boarded our middle-of-night flight back to America. We
talked about the wonderful experiences and thanked the guides and government
officials who had introduced us to their country. And toward the end of
the meal, one of our friends rose to share a story, to tell us how he,
a gentile, and his friend, a Jew, had (unbeknownst to the rest of us)
walked down to the Sea of Galilee, joined hands underwater, and prayed
together, on bended knee. Then out of his mouth came a hymn he had known
as a child, a hymn he hadn't thought about in years. He got every word
right:
Now is the time approaching,
By prophets long foretold,
When all shall dwell together,
One Shepherd and one fold.
Now Jew and gentile, meeting,
From many a distant shore,
Around an altar kneeling,
One common Lord adore.
Faith changes lives. I know, because faith has changed mine.
I could not be President if I did not believe in a divine plan that supersedes
all human plans. Politics is a fickle business. Polls change. Today's
friend is tomorrow's adversary. People lavish praise and attention. Many
times it is genuine; sometimes it is not. Yet I build my life on a foundation
that will not shift. My faith frees me. Frees me to put the problem of
the moment in proper perspective. Frees me to make decisions that others
might not like. Frees me to try to do the right thing, even though it
may not poll well. The death penalty is a difficult issue for supporters
as well as its opponents. I have a reverence for life; my faith teaches
that life is a gift from our Creator. In a perfect world, life is given
by God and only taken by God. I hope someday our society will respect
life, the full spectrum of life, from the unborn to the elderly. I hope
someday unborn children will be protected by law and welcomed in life.
I support the death penalty because I believe, if administered swiftly
and justly, capital punishment is a deterrent against future violence
and will save other innocent lives. Some advocates of life will challenge
why I oppose abortion yet support the death penalty. To me, it's the difference
between innocence and guilt.
Two weeks after Jeb's inauguration, in my church in downtown Austin, Pastor
Mark Craig, was telling me that my re-election was the first Governor
to win back-to-back, four-year terms in the history of the State of Texas.
It was a beginning, not an end... People are starved for faithfulness.
He talked of the need for honesty in government. He warned that leaders
who cheat on their wives will cheat their country, will cheat their colleagues,
will cheat themselves. Pastor Craig said that America is starved for honest
leaders. He told the story of Moses, asked by God to lead his people to
a land of milk and honey. Moses had a lot of reasons to shirk the task.
As the Pastor told it, Moses' basic reaction was, "Sorry, God, I'm
busy. I've got a family. I've got sheep to tend. I've got a life. Who
am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out of
Egypt? The people won't believe me," he protested. "I'm not
a very good speaker. Oh, my Lord, send, I pray, some other person,"
Moses pleaded. But God did not, and Moses ultimately did His bidding,
leading his people through forty years of wilderness and wandering, relying
on God for strength and direction and inspiration. "People are starved
for leadership," Pastor Craig said, "starved for leaders who
have ethical and moral courage. It is not enough to have an ethical compass
to know right from wrong," he argued. "America needs leaders
who have the moral courage to do what is right for the right reason. It's
not always easy or convenient for leaders to step forward," he acknowledged.
"Remember, even Moses had doubts."
"He was talking to you," my mother later said. The pastor was,
of course, talking to all of us, challenging each one of us to make the
most of our lives, to assume the mantle of leadership and responsibility
wherever we find it. He was calling on us to use whatever power we have,
in business, in politics, in our communities, and in our families, to
do good for the right reason. And his sermon spoke directly to my heart
and my life.... There was no magic moment of decision. After talking with
my family during the Christmas holidays, then hearing this rousing sermon,
to make most of every moment, a family who would love me, my faith would
sustain me, no matter what.
During the more than half century of my life, we have seen an unprecedented
decay in our American culture, a decay that has eroded the foundations
of our collective values and moral standards of conduct. Our sense of
personal responsibility has declined dramatically, just as the role and
responsibility of the federal government have increased. The changing
culture blurred the sharp contrast between right and wrong and created
a new standard of conduct: 'If it feels good, do it.' And 'If you've got
a problem, blame somebody else'. 'Individuals are not responsible for
their actions,' the new culture has said. 'We are all victims of forces
beyond our control.' We have gone from a culture of sacrifice and saving
to a culture obsessed with grabbing all with gusto. We went from accepting
responsibility to assigning blame. As government did more and more, individuals
were required to do less and less. The new culture said: if people were
poor, the government should feed them. If someone had no house, the government
should provide one. If criminals are not responsible for their acts, then
the answers are not prisons, but social programs.
For our culture to change, it must change one heart, one soul, and one
conscience at a time. Government can spend money, but it cannot put hope
in our hearts or a sense of purpose in our lives. But government should
welcome the active involvement of people who are following a religious
imperative to love their neighbors through after school programs, child
care, drug treatment, maternity group homes, and a range of other services.
Supporting these men and women - the soldiers in the armies of compassion
- is the next bold step of welfare reform, because I know that changing
hearts will change our entire society.
I have traveled our country and my heart has been warmed. My experiences
have reinvigorated my faith in the greatness of Americans. They have reminded
me that societies are renewed from the bottom up, not the top down. Everywhere
I go, I see people of love and faith, taking time to help a neighbor in
need. These people and thousands like them are the heart and soul and
greatness of America. And I want to do my part. I believe America must
seize this moment, America must lead. We must give our prosperity a greater
purpose, a purpose of peace and freedom and hope. We are a great nation
of good and loving people. And together, we have a charge to keep.
