Letters Welcomed
Has God touched your life through Coral Ridge Ministries? If so, please let us know. Your testimony, shared in Impact, can be a source of courage and strength to others.
Send your letter to:
Dr. Kennedy
Coral Ridge Ministries
P.O. Box 1940
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33302
or email us at:
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Honored: Rep. Marilyn
Musgrave, the Center for
Christian Statesmanship’s
2005 Distinguished Christian
Statesman. |
Forgiveness Not
Optional for Colorado Congresswoman
Rep. Marilyn
Musgrave has been in the media spotlight
from her first days on Capitol Hill.
Newsweek featured her as a “Rising
Star” in the House of Representatives
and National Journal recognized
her as an outstanding congresswoman
in her freshman year.
But media attention has not diverted this mother of
four and grandmother of five. After
voters in Colorado’s eighth
congressional district first sent her to
Washington in 2002, she quickly became
known and respected by both sides of the
aisle for her boldness and tenacity. She
raised eyebrows by introducing a
constitutional amendment to limit
marriage to one man and one woman. Now
in her second term, she has not stopped
fighting for the principles she holds
dear.
“Honored to Serve”
“I feel very honored to serve in Congress. It’s
something that I never saw coming in my
life,” Rep. Musgrave told a crowd
of 200 on Capitol Hill, where she
received the Center for Christian
Statesmanship’s Distinguished Christian
Statesman Award for 2005.
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Statesman Award: Rep.
Marilyn Musgrave with George
Roller, Center for Christian
Statesmanship Executive
Director. (John Hartman
Photography) |
“It was just amazing to me when people started talking
to me about running for Congress. I
couldn’t believe that I’d made it into
the state legislature,” recounted
Musgrave. “I was one of those activists,
and the pundits tell you that if you’re
that high profile, you’ll probably never
make it if you run
for public office. But I am very
grateful that I have had the
opportunity.”
Musgrave served on her county school board for two
years, then campaigned for the Colorado
House of Representatives. She was
elected and served four years as a state
representative. In 1998, she was elected
to the Colorado Senate, winning 63
percent of the vote. Capitol Hill was
next on the agenda.
Now, as the tenth recipient of the Distinguished
Christian Statesman award, Musgrave said
that though she feels honored to serve
on Capitol Hill, her service comes with
its challenges.
“I talked to some of my colleagues today, and we were
just saying the Hill can be the
loneliest place in the world sometimes,
because you don’t have time to develop
friendships with other people,” said
Musgrave as she accepted the award.
“You’re busy, you’re running all day, and it can be
very lonely, and you have to be firmly
grounded [in your faith] when you’re
here.”
When speaking with the Center before the award
presentation, Musgrave said that a
stable family and support group are
important too.
“Rough and Tumble Arena”
“In this political arena, very often you have
opportunities to be bitter. You have
opportunities to be angry. When you’re
in political office, not everyone tells
you how pretty you are every day. It can
be a very rough and tumble arena. So …
forgiveness is not optional.”
George Roller, executive director of the Center, says
that he was thrilled to present the
award to a woman whose Christian
character and integrity are proclaimed
both by her lifestyle and by her words,
calling her one of the leading statesmen
of our time.
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Rep. Musgrave, shown
with Coral Ridge
Ministries Executive
Vice President Tom
Rogeberg, said that much
of her inspiration to
enter politics came from
Dr. Kennedy. He was, she
said, “a minister of the
Gospel that said what
was right and what was
wrong, and what our
responsibility was as
Christians in this great
nation.” |
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As he addressed the crowd on Capitol Hill, he mourned
that the elements of today’s politics
have begun to make government leaders
look like laughing stocks in Washington
and throughout the world.
“All too often in politics today,” said George, “we
watch in dismay as politicians seek
their own self-glory and gratification,
not the preservation of the Constitution
and its freedoms that they have sworn an
oath to serve, protect, and defend.”
“That’s a shame, because though many try to deny it,
America is a nation that looks to its
leaders for inspiration. Our vision for
personal or national success comes from
those heroes who inspire us.”
George believes that a nation governed by Christian
leaders will help bring honor,
commitment, and morality back into the
political sector. He qualifies that by
saying that many Christian leaders are
standing firm in Washington.
“Fortunately, we still have men and women in government
today who possess Christian qualities as
guiding principles for the policies that
they enact and support—leaders such as
Representative Marilyn Musgrave. Those
leaders set a standard today for future
politicians,” said George.
The Center’s founder, Dr. D. James Kennedy, was unable
to attend the event. Greetings were
brought from Dr. Kennedy by Tom Rogeberg,
Executive Vice President of Coral Ridge
Ministries.
Inspired by Dr. Kennedy
Musgrave said much of her inspiration to enter politics
came from Dr. Kennedy. “When I first
started listening to D. James Kennedy on
Truths That Transform,” she said,
“I was so encouraged that there was a
minister of the Gospel that said what
was right and what was wrong, and what
our responsibility was as Christians in
this great nation.”
“Those kind of things just grew in me through the
years, and then, here I am [today]
voting on moral issues. I just want to
say to the Christian Statesman staff,
Dr. Kennedy is a hero for me.”
Musgrave also encouraged guests at the event to think
about eternal things, saying, “No matter
whether we’re a congressman, or whether
we’re a mom, or whether we’re a farmer,
or a doctor, or whatever, we need to
think eternally. The Lord has given us
our position in life to make a
difference
in this world.”
Said George, “I’m convinced that God raised Marilyn up
for just such a time as this.”
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Today on
Truths That Transform
The Biblical Basis for Our Constitution (Part 2)
Why is America the freest nation in history? Because our Founding Fathers knew that the Bible said, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17). That is just one of the many Bible truths they used to frame our Constitution! Learn the others on with Dr. D. James Kennedy. |
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