{"id":303956,"date":"2016-04-14T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-14T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/who-was-chuck-colson\/"},"modified":"2016-04-14T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-04-14T15:00:00","slug":"who-was-chuck-colson","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/who-was-chuck-colson\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Was Chuck Colson?"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Owen Strachan joins Dennis Rainey in remembering the life of Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson, who died in April of 2012.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2016-04-14.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"27.93M","filesize_raw":"29288080","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2906,2821],"tags":[4846,5988,5989],"podcast_series":[8137],"cwp_profile":[9369],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-303956","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-becoming-a-christian","category-reaching-out","tag-chuck-colson","tag-prison-fellowship","tag-prison-ministry","podcast_series-the-colson-way","cwp_profile-owen-strachan","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/303956\/who-was-chuck-colson","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/303956\/who-was-chuck-colson","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"1GQSHbX6yi\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/who-was-chuck-colson\/\">Who Was Chuck Colson?<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/who-was-chuck-colson\/embed\/#?secret=1GQSHbX6yi\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Who Was Chuck Colson?&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"1GQSHbX6yi\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Owen Strachan joins Dennis Rainey in remembering the life of Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson, who died in April of 2012.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2016-04-14.pdf","transcript_content":"<strong>Bob: <\/strong>In the early 1970s, every day, your newspaper had an article about Watergate. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Anchorman: <\/strong>It began before dawn Saturday when five intruders were captured by police inside the offices of the committee in Washington. Mr. Nixon made these points\u2014he admits that overzealous workers in his own reelection committee may have been involved in the Watergate bugging caper.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>President Nixon: <\/strong>The easiest course would be for me to blame those to whom I delegated the responsibility to run the campaign, but that would be a cowardly thing to do. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Reporter: <\/strong>The President is gambling\u2014gambling that the Congress doesn\u2019t have the courage to impeach. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>President Nixon: <\/strong>And I want you to know that I have no intention, whatever, of ever walking away from the job that the people elected me to do for the people of the United States. [Applause]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chairman: <\/strong>The committee will be in order. In pursuant to the rule, we will proceed to the consideration of the proposed Articles of Impeachment.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>1:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Clerk: <\/strong>Twenty-seven members have voted, \u201cAye.\u201d\u00a0 Eleven members have voted, \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Newsman: <\/strong>Tonight, the world waits to hear from President Nixon. All indications are that he will announce his resignation as the 37<sup>th<\/sup> President of the United States. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>President Nixon<\/strong>: I shall resign the presidency, effective at noon tomorrow. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Thursday, April 14<sup>th<\/sup>. Our host is the President of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Dennis Rainey, and I\u2019m Bob Lepine. We\u2019ll spend time, today, learning about a man who went from the center of a scandal to the arms of the Savior\u2014Chuck Colson. Stay tuned. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>2:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThanks for joining us. Do you remember the first time you met Chuck Colson?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dennis: <\/strong>That\u2019s a good question. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Was it when we had him here for <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, or had you met him before?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>I think I\u2019d met him before; but certainly, when he came here and we had him out to the house for dinner\u2014both he and his daughter\u2014had one of the most entertaining, educational\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>I\u2019ve heard you talk about that night. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Oh goodness!\u00a0 I mean, there are some interesting dinner party guests. Have you ever heard the question about, \u201cWho would you have at your dream dinner party?\u201d\u00a0 Well, I\u2019d have Chuck Colson. I\u2019m going to tell you\u2014he could tell some stories all the way back to the White House. As is obvious, he went to jail for some of the things that took place back then. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWell, we have a guest who has written a book about Chuck Colson. It\u2019s called <em>The Colson Way<\/em>. Owen Strachan joins us on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. Owen, welcome to the broadcast. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Owen: <\/strong>Thank you so much for having me, Dennis\u2014great to be here. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>It\u2019s great to have you back. You\u2019ve written a dozen books now. You and your wife Bethany, along with your three children, live in Kansas City, which has that other baseball team across the state from the St. Louis Cardinals. [Laughter] \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>3:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou are a professor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou start the book with a story about how you started working in Washington, DC, in the State Department. Why did you start the book with <em>that<\/em> story?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Owen: <\/strong>I started the book with that story because that was my entr\u00e9e into Washington, DC, personally. Now, of course, like so many folks out there \/ so many listeners, I had seen DC\u2014the halls of power\u2014on the nightly news. So, I was acquainted with Washington, DC of course; but when I worked at the Department of State in 2004 as an intern in the Office of White House Liaison\u2014that was during the presidency of George W. Bush\u2014I found myself confronted with power\u2014face to face, though. This wasn\u2019t on the news at night \/ this was walking the halls of State; for example, I rode the elevator with world leaders\u2014not because I was important \/ I was a lowly intern\u2014but because they were coming to State for legitimate global business. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>4:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOne day, I was down in the State Department cafeteria, getting some good pasta\u2014randomly, there was a really nice pasta station there\u2014just so you know. I came around the corner\u2014almost nobody was in the cafeteria at this time. I don\u2019t know why\u2014and I almost bumped into a very straight-walking man\u2014impressive with all sorts of military decorations on his person. It was none other than Colin Powell\u2014this was when he was Secretary of State. He looked at me and said, \u201cHello.\u201d\u00a0 I looked at him and said, \u201cHello, sir.\u201d\u00a0 And that was it. That was our\u2014the sum total of our transaction \/ our conversation; but that was a little microcosm, for me, of just how up-close-and-personal you could be to genuine global power in DC. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAs somebody who had never been there, I think my experience is similar to that of many Christians, today\u2014we look at DC on the nightly news, or whatever \/ on our iPad\u2014and it seems far off; but in reality, Christians do have connections now to global power \/ to national power. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>5:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYet, many of us feel uncomfortable, today. The political climate has become more hostile to Christian beliefs. So, we feel like we\u2019re in this political climate, but not of it. We\u2019re confused today, and <em>The Colson Way<\/em> is my attempt to reckon with that state of affairs. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Dennis and I were around when Watergate happened. We remember Chuck Colson on the nightly news being taken to jail. We remember hearing that he\u2019d been born-again. We remember the cynicism about: \u201cIs this just a way to kind of get a shorter jail sentence, and is he going to live out time in a country club prison?\u201d and \u201cWas there something, really, that happened in his spiritual life?\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI remember seeing him, 25 years later, on Larry King\u2019s show, and I thought, \u201cToday, he is known more for the work he\u2019s done pouring into the lives of prisoners than he is for his own White House liaison.\u201d\u00a0 What a testimony\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>6:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>\u2014to a life that shows what redemption can do; right?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Owen: <\/strong>That\u2019s exactly right. That\u2019s why I wanted, really, anybody in the church\u2014but especially men and women of my generation \/ the millennial generation\u2014to come into contact with this hero, who so powerfully evidences the reality of conversion. I mean, you can\u2019t explain the Colson story without at least some grasp of this doctrine of conversion and how God upends our lives and puts them to work for His glory. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, I wanted my peers to recognize that conversion is real \/ that it really does transform us\u2014as it did for Chuck Colson\u2014and we could talk more about that in terms of the details\u2014and that you don\u2019t need to have worked for Richard Nixon, or for a president, or be a global celebrity to be salt and light in a Matthew 5 sense, right here and right now. So, that\u2019s really my goal with <em>The Colson Way<\/em>. It\u2019s not simply to gaze at this museum piece and say: \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>7:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cWow! What an impressive person.\u201d\u00a0 He was impressive, but I want to fire up the church today\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Owen: <\/strong>\u2014to go and do likewise. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>So, tell anybody, who is 45 or under, who Chuck Colson was during his time in the White House\u2014what happened, how he wound up in jail, and how his life was turned around. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Owen: <\/strong>Yes; so, Chuck Colson is from hard-scrabble Boston\u2014he is a Swamp Yankee. That\u2019s what he called himself all his life\u2014he wasn\u2019t high-born or something like this. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>I didn\u2019t think the Yankees had anything to do with Boston. [Laughter]\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>It\u2019s not that kind of Yankee. You\u2019re still thinking about baseball here. [Laughter]\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Owen: <\/strong>We just lost half our listeners, here, thanks to me. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, he ends up doing very well in school. He turns down Harvard University\u2014sits across the desk from a Harvard admissions counselor and says he doesn\u2019t want to go to Harvard. There was this streak in Colson\u2014in his psychology\u2014that always seemed to own being an underdog. That\u2019s going to really come into play in his life later on. We\u2019ll see that worked out in his story. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>8:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe ends up going to Brown University\u2014so he gets an Ivy League University\u2014that\u2019s part of his pedigree\u2014becomes a Marine \/ loves the Marines. This is era of Chesty Puller\u2014when Chesty Puller\u2019s this kind of this figure who symbolizes that the Marines are not going to take anything from anybody. They will advance no matter the obstacles. He, then, goes into procurement for the Navy and ends up working in politics. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tLong story short, he ends up sitting across the desk from Richard Nixon in 1969, and Nixon offers him the position of Special Counsel to the President. Colson serves in that role for three-and-a-half years, and he really does the dirty work for the Nixon Administration\u2014at least some of it. There was plenty of dirty work to go around, but he is called Nixon\u2019s Hatchet Man. That becomes a very famous descriptor of him that takes him a lifetime to live down, really. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br>In 1973, as you have mentioned, he\u2019s implicated in Watergate. He ends up going to prison in 1974. He\u2019s released in \u201975. Just before he goes into prison\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>9:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014in \u201973, he\u2019s converted. So, when he gets out of prison, he\u2019s got this new purpose \/ this new reason to live. That shapes the rest of his life. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dennis: <\/strong>And Owen, as you were talking, I was thinking: \u201cWait a second. We interviewed Chuck\u201d\u2014Bob, you remember\u2014\u201cback in 2005\u201d\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>\u2014\u201chere on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 I think we ought to listen back to his description of his conversion. It was a profound moment. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Previously Recorded]\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck: <\/strong>I would sit in my office and look out over the beautifully-manicured lawns of the south lawn of the White House and think about: \u201cBoy, this is pretty good\u201d; you know?\u00a0 \u201cGrandson of immigrants, comes to this country, rises to the top, earns a scholarship to college, has been a success at everything he\u2019s ever done\u2014and here I am. What\u2019s it all about?\u201d\u2014and had this incredible period of emptiness. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThen, I went to Boston one day. After I left the White House, I went back to my law firm\u2014had a meeting with the President of Raytheon, one of the largest corporations in America, because I was once again to be their counsel\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>10:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014I\u2019d been counsel before I went to the White House. Now, I was going back to be counsel again. And he, Tom Phillips, the President, just seemed so different. He was calm, and he was peaceful. We had a great conversation. He started asking me about me and my family and how I was weathering in Watergate. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI said: \u201cTom, you\u2019ve changed. What\u2019s happened to you?\u201d\u00a0 He said, \u201cYes, I\u2019ve accepted Jesus Christ and committed my life to Him.\u201d\u00a0 He kind of looked away when he did that, almost like he was embarrassed to say it; but he shocked me. I took a firm grip on the bottom of the chair. I\u2019d never heard somebody say something like that\u2014that boldly. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Now, wait a second!\u00a0 You hadn\u2019t grown up in the church, then?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck: <\/strong>Oh no. I\u2019d been in church twice a year, if that, and would say I was a Christian because I grew up in America. It\u2019s a Christian country, and I wasn\u2019t Jewish\u2014so, I must be a Christian. I had no idea what a Christian was\u2014no clue!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd he said to me, \u201cI\u2019ve given my life to Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 It was shocking words. But over those next several months, I began to think about that conversation and wondered what he really meant and why he was so peaceful and why his personality had changed so dramatically. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>11:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, in the summer of 1973\u2014in the darkest days of Watergate \/ the world caving in\u2014I went back and spent an evening on his porch of his home outside of Boston\u2014hot August night. He witnessed to me\u2014told me what had happened to him \/ told me his story. It was an amazing story. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe, also, read to me a chapter out of C.S. Lewis\u2019s book, <em>Mere Christianity<\/em>, about the great sin\u2014the great sin, pride. It was me Lewis was writing about. I realized that my life I thought was idealistic\u2014I was trying to do all these things\u2014my family \/ I was trying to serve my country\u2014it was all about me, and it was pride. I didn\u2019t give in. He wanted to pray with me \/ he led a prayer, but I didn\u2019t\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>You resisted?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck: <\/strong>I resisted; sure. I\u2019m too proud\u2014big-time Washington lawyer, friend of the President of the United States. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>You didn\u2019t want to bow to anybody; huh?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Chuck: <\/strong>That\u2019s right! \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>12:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI went out to get in my automobile and started to drive away. I got about a hundred yards and had to stop the car\u2014I was crying too hard\u2014called out to God. I said: \u201cCome into my life. If this true, I want to know you. I want to be forgiven.\u201d\u00a0 That was the night that Jesus came into my life. Nothing\u2019s been the same since \/ nothing could ever be the same again. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Studio]\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Well, that, again, is Chuck Colson sharing about how he came to faith in Christ. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re talking to Owen Strachan who has written a book called <em>The Colson Way<\/em>. And of course, you read Chuck Colson\u2019s book, <em>Born Again<\/em>. Had you ever heard him tell that story?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Owen: <\/strong>I had not heard it. In his book, he says that he multiple times repeated this to God: \u201cTake me. Take me.\u201d\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know the language of Christian doctrine \/ he didn\u2019t know much about theology, but he knew that coming to Christ was fundamentally being taken by God. That\u2019s key for our understanding of Christianity today and being converted. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>13:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>And listening to him retell that story\u2014again, I go back to the dinner where Barbara and I had him and his daughter in our home. It was fascinating for him to describe what a thug he was. The concept of Hatchet Man\u2014to someone who has not been in Washington\u2014I think we have kind of a cleansed version of Hatchet Man, like it\u2019s dipped in mercurochrome. He did a bunch of dirty things. He described himself in pretty earthy language in terms of what he was like. He was not\u2014he said, \u201cI would not have been someone you would have wanted to be anywhere around.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Well, and one of the evidences that this was, in fact, a genuine conversion and not a foxhole moment of desperation for Chuck Colson\u2014when he found himself in prison, rather than sitting in a cell, thinking: \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>14:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cHow can I maneuver my way out of here?\u201d or \u201cHow can I get favors?\u201d he started to really develop compassion for his fellow prisoners. That birthed in him what would become his lifelong mission following his conversion. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Well, now, wait a second, Bob. I just want to check with the guy who wrote the biography of Chuck Colson. [Laughter]\u00a0 Here is a guy, who\u2019d been used to getting his way\u2014and just because you are transformed, doesn\u2019t mean all the bad habits die. Some of them die a hard death. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>That\u2019s true. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Did he try to make some power plays to get out of prison?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Owen: <\/strong>That is a great question; and he, in fact, did the opposite. The reason he ended up going to prison is because he had his lawyer\u2014this is really unusual\u2014he had his lawyer craft a plea of guilty to obstruction of justice. He didn\u2019t think the judge was going to receive it, but the judge did. Again, the irony here is that Chuck Colson essentially put himself in prison because he recognized, after his conversion, he had to be honest that he had planted stories against opponents of Nixon. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>15:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe had played hardball as we were talking about earlier. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tEven though Colson did not do a fraction of what was alleged he did during his days under Nixon\u2014he didn\u2019t try to fire-bomb the Brookings Institution or something like this, like his critics said\u2014he still was guilty \/ he was a sinner, and he had an attack of conscience after coming to faith. So, he did serve his time in prison. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIn prison, he did not try to get out of the hard work that prisoners had to do, but he did see\u2014I\u2019ve got to tell this quick story. He did see a prisoner named Rodriguez, for example, who was a man who suffered from seizures and had a very hard life. He picked fights with bigger inmates and prison guards and all this awful stuff. It was hard to read this story in Colson\u2019s autobiography\u2014it\u2019s so sad. <br>\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tRodriguez, one day, got beaten to a pulp by a much stronger inmate. He was left on the ground, bleeding. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>16:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tColson wanted, desperately, to help Rodriguez. This guy was in a separate cell. He couldn\u2019t reach him, and this man was crying for hours. Finally, guards came and took Rodriguez away. Colson never heard from him again \/ tried to find him\u2014\u2014never could find him. All that was left on the ground was blood\u2014the blood of Rodriguez. That stayed with Chuck Colson for years. That was part of the reason why, after prison, he goes into prison ministry\u2014to help men just like that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Interesting you should tell that story because one of the last times I was with Chuck Colson was here, at FamilyLife. We had done the interviews. I had grabbed him on his way out of the office; and I said: \u201cChuck, I have one last place on this document that we created, back in 1992. It\u2019s called the Family Manifesto. Over 2,000 Christian leaders from around the world have signed this document, and it hangs in the rotunda downstairs, here in our office.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>17:00<\/strong> \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI said: \u201cI\u2019ve got one last spot \/ one last blank place that holds hundreds of signatures. Would you sign it?\u201d\u00a0 And he said, \u201cOf course!\u00a0 Where\u2019s the pen?\u201d\u00a0 So, I got the facilities crew to come take it off the wall, break down the Family Manifesto, rip it out of its\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>\u2014out of the frame. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>\u2014out of the frame. And I was so disappointed because you can\u2019t read his signature. [Laughter]\u00a0 I mean, it\u2019s\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Owen: <\/strong>Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dennis: <\/strong>\u2014\u201cC, slash; C, slash.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>And it\u2019s like: \u201cOh, I need to put a Post-it note here: \u2018Chuck Colson closed this baby out here.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHere\u2019s my great regret\u2014as he was walking out of the door, he was on his way to a prison\u2014never been there\u2014but he decided he was going to visit some prisoners south of our headquarters here\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>18:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201460\/75 miles. He said, \u201cHey, you want to go with me?\u201d\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know about it in advance\u2014didn\u2019t have the margin in my schedule\u2014but I\u2019ve got to tell you\u2014I wish \/ I wish I\u2019d had a chance\u2014shall I say it?\u2014to go to prison with Chuck Colson the second time because he loved prisoners. He loved prisoners, and his life truly was transformed by Jesus Christ. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMaybe, there is a listener, right now, who, maybe, your big problem is pride\u2014and by the way, if you don\u2019t know that it is,\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>\u2014it is. [Laughter]\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>\u2014it is. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>It is yours, it\u2019s mine, it\u2019s Owen\u2019s, it\u2019s Bob\u2019s. Owen, what would you say to that person, right now, who is listening and been convicted like Chuck Colson? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>19:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMaybe, they are not weeping and having to pull off to the side of the road, but they know it\u2019s time to do business with God. What would you say to them?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Owen: <\/strong>I would say: \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow is the hour of salvation. There is no time like now. Confession and repentance is the very gateway to life and to joy. So, right now, wherever you are \/ whatever you are facing, turn to Christ, just like Chuck Colson\u2014cry out to God. It doesn\u2019t have to be fancy. It doesn\u2019t have to be formal\u2014Christianese. Cry out to God: \u201cTake me!\u00a0 Take me!\u201d\u00a0 Ask Jesus to save you and wash you clean of all your sin.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd here is the thing\u2014you can know for certain He will wash you white as snow. He will put you to work in His Kingdom. He will give you purpose and meaning. You don\u2019t have to be a celebrity like Chuck Colson. You don\u2019t have to be talked about on a radio show like we are now, but you can know that God will give you a reason to exist and a cause to serve. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>20:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>The promise of the gospel is: \u201cSin is forgiven. Our lives can be transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit, and we have a hope that we didn\u2019t have before.\u201d\u00a0 And Chuck experienced all three of those promises as a reality in his life. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Here is the hope that you have and these are the words of Jesus in John, Chapter 5, verse 24\u2014Jesus said: \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life.\u201d\u00a0 That describes Chuck Colson, dramatically, and describes me, dramatically. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Well, and it describes the path that is in front of every person too. There are, in fact, two ways to live\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>21:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014you can live a self-directed life or you can live a God-directed life. And Chuck Colson was living the self-directed life until God got his attention and turned him in a whole different direction. On our website, at FamilyLifeToday.com, there is a link called \u201cTwoWaystoLive.\u201d Just ask yourself the question: \u201cRight now, today, which path am I on?\u00a0 How am I living?\u201d\u00a0 Again, our website is FamilyLifeToday.com. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThere is also information on that website about the book that Owen Strachan has written, called <em>The Colson Way: Loving Your Neighbor and Living with Faith in a Hostile World<\/em>. What can you learn from the life of Chuck Colson about how we should be living as followers of Jesus?\u00a0 That\u2019s what Owen has captured in this book, and you can order copies from us\u2014again, the website, FamilyLifeToday.com; or call to order at 1-800-358-6329. That\u2019s 1-800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>22:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, we have some friends who live in Boise, Idaho, who are celebrating today their 27<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary as husband and wife. John and Gail Blattler said, \u201cI do,\u201d on this day in 1989. \u201cCongratulations!\u201d to John and Gail. We think anniversaries are important. We think they matter because each one is a milestone in building a legacy\u2014something you\u2019ll pass on to the next generation about faithfulness, about love, about perseverance, about marriage by God\u2019s design. That\u2019s what you guys are living out; and it\u2019s what we\u2019re all about, here at FamilyLife. We want to be providing practical biblical help and hope each day to keep you on the right path and to keep you celebrating anniversaries. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br>And we want to say, \u201cThanks,\u201d to those of you who partner with us in helping to make all of this happen\u2014those of you who are financial supporters of this ministry. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>23:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you\u2019re able to help today with a gift to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, we\u2019d like to respond with a gift to you\u2014Barbara Rainey\u2019s brand-new book, which is called <em>Letters to My Daughters: The Art of Being a Wife<\/em>. It\u2019s our thank-you gift when you go to FamilyLifeToday.com to make a donation; or call 1-800-FL-TODAY\u2014make a donation over the phone\u2014or mail your donation to us at <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> at PO Box 7111, Little Rock, AR; and our zip code is 72223. And let me just say, \u201cThanks,\u201d in advance, to those of you who do get in touch with us and make a donation. We appreciate your partnership with us. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOne final note\u2014and that is\u2014if you\u2019ve got an anniversary coming up, we\u2019d love to help you celebrate this year. We\u2019ve got some suggestions \/ some ideas that we\u2019ll send to you by text or by email as your anniversary approaches. We just need to know the date. So, go to FamilyLifeToday.com and leave us your anniversary date; or call 1-800-FL-TODAY and tell us when you\u2019ll be celebrating and whether you\u2019d prefer text messages or emails. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>24:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019ll get those ideas out to you as part of our campaign to celebrate anniversaries in 2016. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd we hope you\u2019ll be back with us again tomorrow. We\u2019re going to continue to look at the life of Chuck Colson. Owen Strachan will be here\u2014hope you can be here as well. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, along with special help from Mark Ramey. On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I\u2019m Bob Lepine. We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas. Help for today. Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2016 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/303956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303956"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303956"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=303956"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=303956"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=303956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}