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• George
W. Bush Testimony
Actually, the seeds of my decision had been planted the year
before, 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 or 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. I 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 powers 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. Faith changes lives. I know,
because with it it has changed mine. I could not be governor
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. Today, 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 save 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, during my inaugural church service,
I gradually felt more comfortable with the prospect of a presidential
campaign. My family 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 the 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. During the opening months of my presidential
campaign, 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 am running for President because 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.
George W. Bush
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