March 14, 2012 - Chuck Colson

Read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Charles Colson served as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 until 1973, during which he became involved in the Watergate scandal. The story of his experiences in prison and his ministry after his release is fairly well known. This story, from his biography, talks about a day where Colson's conversion began, before his imprisonment.

The story begins in the offices of Raytheon, a defense contractor, which was considering whether to hire Colson's firm after he left the White House in 1973, and before his indictment. Tom Phillips, Raytheon's president, was at the center of a strong internal debate on whether to hire him. Phillips later recalled:

It was a fight between Mr. Practical and Mr. Integrity, and it was creating a major breach within the company. I thought Colson could deliver the results we wanted but I was also nervous that taking him on we might risk getting dragged into the Watergate affair. At the time I was a relatively new Christian. So this breach inside the company came into my prayers every day. Basically I prayed, "Please, God, make Colson go away." I said this many times until one night I thought I heard a voice saying, "No, tell Chuck Colson about me."

Later, Colson and Phillips would meet about the work. Colson had been warned before the meeting that Phillips might talk about religion, but the subject did not come up until Colson asked about it.

"Tom -- uh -- Brainerd tells me that you have become involved in some religious activites," he said.

"Yes, that's true, Chuck. I have accepted Jesus Christ. I have committed my whole life to Him and it has been the most marvelous experience."

For all his fine words, Phillips did not succeed in making his experience sound marvelous. His body language sent all the wrong signals to his guest. "Tom looked very embarrassed and uncomfortable," recalled Colson. "He didn't make eye contact with me. He looked away, gazing up at the clock on the wall. I wasn't impressed." In addition to feeling underwhelmed by Tom Phillip's declaration, Colson was baffled by it, for he had no idea what the words he had just heard really meant.

Colson made his excuses and left. Initially, he did not intend to follow up on this conversation. But the more he reflected on it, the more he became intrigued with what he had seen and heard. The biggest surprise had been the change he noticed in Tom Phillips. The harried, overworked chief executive he remembered from previous encounters had been replaced by a warmer, more radiant, and more serene human being. "There was a new compassion in his eyes and a gentleness in his voice," recalled Colson. At the same time he could not begin to understand how Phillips could possible say his life wasn't worth anything when he was president of the biggest corporation in New England, enjoying a #250,000-a-year salary, big bonuses and stock options, a beautiful home, and a happy family life. Yet there was one point of contact that did touch a raw nerve with Colson. Phillips had spoken of the emptiness of his pre-Christian life. Colson was feeling the pangs of a similar emptiness. The comparison nagged away within him as he returned to Washington. For his part, Tom Phillips had a quiet certainty that his conversation with Colson about religion would soon be resumed. "I was pretty sure he would call," he said. "He may not have known it himself, but to me it was clear that he was both hurting and seeking. So yes, I thought he would get back in touch."

The summer of 1973 was a turbulent time for Colson as the legal problems for him and the Nixon administration mounted. Colson recalled this springtime conversation with Tom Phillips many times over that summer and eventually led Colson to call Tom Phillips. That conversation will be the topic of another devotional.

The text is drawn from Charles Colson: A Life Redeemed by Johnathan Aitken, published by Waterbrook Press in 2005. The book consists of 448 pages and this story appears on pages 192-194.

Prayer: Dear Lord, sometimes it is difficult and awkward when we try to tell your story, but we are thankful that your Spirit prevails in spite of our shortcomings. We ask for your strength and assurance as we work to spread your word in our words and our deeds. Amen.

Prayer Concern: those who bear witness.