Remembering Schaeffer and Colson

50 years ago, two books were published that shaped the evangelical conscience. First, Presbyterian pastor and apologist Francis Schaeffer released How Should We Then Live?, which was released both as a book and a companion film series. Schaeffer, who with his wife Edith begin the ministry L’Abri in the mountains of Switzerland, had previously written The God Who Is There (1968), Escape from Reason (1968), and He Is There and He Is Not Silent (1972) critiquing the West’s abandonment of the moral framework that produced the freedoms it so readily took for granted. But How Should We Then Live?, which sold millions of copies, was widely read by pastors, church leaders, and ordinary lay people. This book urged Christians to abandon a pietistic approach to faith that ceded cultural influence to malign forces and perverse ideologies.

What’s more, Schaeffer helped generations of Christians begin to understand that every human being approaches life with a “worldview,” a set of presuppositions and lenses through which he or she sees the world. Schaeffer said, “Most people catch their presuppositions from their family and surrounding society, the way that a child catches the measles. But people with understanding realize that their presuppositions should be chosen after a careful consideration of which worldview is true.” His later Whatever Happened to the Human Race? is credited for awakening the pro-life conscience of evangelicals.

Schaeffer, whose volume of work touched on the range of scriptural and cultural issues, not only urged a vocal, prophetic, spirit-filled church but, till the day he died, lamented the lack of unity among Bible-believing Christians. In one of his final works, The Mark of the Christian, he asserted that our genuine love for one another was the “final apologetic.”

One leader greatly influenced by Schaeffer was a disgraced former White House staffer who had experienced a dramatic conversion to Christianity. Charles Colson, a Marine officer who was one of Richard Nixon’s top lieutenants, was sentenced to seven months in federal prison for crimes committed during Watergate. Just before his imprisonment, Colson, at the urging of a friend, read a copy of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. This hardened political operative—who had bragged that he’d “run over his grandmother” if it meant achieving political victory—had his heart transformed by the Spirit of Christ.

Time in prison gave Colson’s life new meaning and purpose. He would later write, “For the rest of my life I would know and feel what it is like to be imprisoned, the steady, gradual corrosion of a man’s soul, like radiation slowly burning away tissue. Just as God in the Person of Christ was not ashamed to call us his brothers, so it was that I should not be ashamed to call each of these fellow inmates my brothers. Furthermore, I was to love each one of them. And would I—if I had not been here? Never, I admitted to myself. Out of these startling thoughts came the beginning of a revelation—that I was being given a prison ministry, both inside while serving as a prisoner and then someday later on the outside!”

In 1976, 50 years ago, he released his memoir, Born Again. Different than a typical tell-all or a sensational post-White House book, Colson told the story of his life transformation, of his newfound faith in Christ, and of his mission to help bring the gospel to incarcerated men and women everywhere. He launched Prison Fellowship, today the most prominent and largest Christian prison outreach ministry in the world. He also became an advocate for fair sentencing and just treatment of prisoners.

Colson became one of the most articulate voices among Christian conservatives, urging believers both to commit faithfully to their local churches but also to be active in bringing their values to bear in shaping the culture. Always wary of the temptations of power, he nevertheless didn’t believe Christians should retreat from the culture. He made a forceful argument for this active Christianity in his books, How Now Shall We Live?, dedicated to his mentor and friend Francis Schaeffer, and God and Government. He was a beloved, sought-after voice for both pastors and presidents alike until his death in 2012. As a young man in my formative years, I remember reading Born Again and listening to Chuck’s distinctive voice in short radio commentaries on the way to and from school.

Schaeffer and Colson were gifts to the body of Christ in the 20th century and their impact is still being felt today. While each had distinctive ministries, what they shared in common was an evangelist’s heart, a love for the people of God, and a fervent belief in the church’s vital place in influencing society. We’d be wise to heed them.

Fifty years after these books were released, they are still worth reading and applying. We should thank God for giving us Francis Schaeffer and Chuck Colson. May we live similar lives of purpose and service to Christ’s kingdom.