Christian intellectual Michael Cromartie dies

WASHINGTON—Christian intellectual Michael Cromartie passed away Monday. He was 67. Cromartie spent more than 30 years at the intersection of faith and politics, helping give credence to evangelicals in the nation’s capital. Born in Charlotte, N.C., Cromartie first came to Washington in 1978 working as a research assistant for Chuck Colson’s then-new ministry, Prison Fellowship. Cromartie went on to edit 15 books on faith and politics and served as the vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. In 1999, he started the first Faith Angle Forum programs, with which he aimed to strengthen media reporting and commentary on how Christians have an impact on U.S. public policy. Former President George W. Bush appointed Cromartie to a six-year term on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in 2004. Last month, Politico asked Cromartie what he does for his morning routine. “Pray. Read the news. Then pray all the more!” he said. In 2015, Cromartie had surgery to treat cancer in his colon. He told WORLD at the time his declining health helped refocus his priorities: “I’m now living every day with a sense of urgency and gratitude, because now the verse of Psalm 90:12 is really meaningful. Your days are numbered. You may have gotten off now, but you don’t know how much more time you have.” Cromartie leaves behind his wife, Jenny, and their children.