As you can probably tell, I’m not Chuck Colson. My name is Eric Metaxas, and you may know me as the author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy or Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery.
It was Chuck Colson who introduced me to the work of William Wilberforce. It was through him that I came to fully appreciate the difference committed Christians can make in their communities and beyond. I regard Chuck as not only a mentor, but a friend.
So when he asks me to do something, if it’s at all possible, I do it.
That’s how I came to emcee the recent Breaking the Spiral of Silence conference in late March. After I made some opening remarks, I introduced Chuck, who was greeted by thunderous applause. He then began to speak about my Bonhoeffer book, when suddenly I noticed that Chuck looked unsteady. Obviously, something was wrong.
We quickly got him into a chair, and within half an hour he was on the way to the hospital, then airlifted to another hospital. By now you’ve probably heard that he had surgery for an inter-cerebral hemorrhage. Thank God the surgery was successful. Please pray for Chuck, Patty and the rest of the Colson family.
The shock of watching my mentor and friend taken ill was followed by a shock of a different kind: later that weekend, the BreakPoint staff asked if I would carry on the broadcasts while Chuck recovers.
Frankly, nothing could honor me more. I was part of the BreakPoint team back in the 1990s, and it’s part of my DNA. I see my own recent efforts as a continuation of the work I began here at BreakPoint.
At the same time, I am humbled and daunted at the prospect of filling, however temporarily, shoes that can never be filled. So I ask you to pray for me and bear with me during this time.
I also ask you to understand that while the voice of BreakPoint has, for the time being, changed, the message remains the same.
That message is that worldview matters. A lot. How we see the world shapes how we live in it. At BreakPoint, seeing the world rightly begins with affirming the radical Judeo-Christian idea that man was created in the image of God. From that conviction flows the unshakeable belief in the sacredness of every human life and the dignity of every human being.
We will unapologetically defend human life from conception to natural death. And we will stand with those Jesus called “the least of these,” such as prisoners and the disabled.
And we will echo Chuck’s voice: Calling upon the church to break the spiral of silence by speaking out. To help the church meet this responsibility, I will spend the next few days telling you about the conference. I will share some of the highlights of what I heard and I will direct you to places that will equip you to break the spiral of silence where God has placed you.
Like I said, I’m not Chuck Colson. But I am committed to continuing what he started until he returns to this microphone. I hope and pray that you will join me.
For Chuck Colson and BreakPoint, this is Eric Metaxas.
Chuck Colson's daily BreakPoint commentary airs each weekday on more than one thousand outlets with an estimated listening audience of one million people. BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends via radio, interactive media and print.
Publication date: April 10, 2012
Photo courtesy of BreakPoint.
