The Hatchet Man

Chuck Colson has died.

If that name doesn't ring a bell, you should know that Colson was a senior official in Richard Nixon's White House.  He was dubbed "Nixon's Hatchet Man", which should give you a hint as to his character back then.  He was later sent to prison for his role in the Watergate scandal.  As it happens, it was the best thing that ever happened to him.  For there, in the depths of humiliation and despair, Chuck Colson met the Lord Jesus Christ.

If there was ever a vivid example of the power of the gospel to change a man, Colson was it.  Released from prison in 1975, he never stopped going back.  He began a ministry called Prison Fellowship, which now operates in over 115 countries around the world.  He was a tireless advocate for prison reform, and he loathed bureaucracy.  His "Angel Tree" ministry touches 1,000s of inmates' kids each Christmas.  Put simply, he had lots of good ideas, and the results to prove it.

But Colson did more than just try to change a bloated and inefficient penal system.  For years he produced a 5 minute radio spot called "Breakpoint".  It was provocative, and unfailingly intelligent.  Colson would mention some cultural trend or other, and then, with the skill of a surgeon, explain the worldview behind it, and the likely results of embracing it.

I had the privilege of hearing him speak live at a couple of conferences.  He was an engaging speaker, but more importantly, a prophetic voice to a church weakened by bad theology and distracted with trivialities.  He knew, perhaps better than most, that ideas have consequences, so it is vital that one have the right ideas.  For no President, or political party, can save a nation that is intent on destroying itself.

Charles Wendell "Chuck" Colson was 80 years old.