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When a DC congregation had to vote for one of their own – Baptist News Global
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When a DC congregation had to vote for one of their own – Baptist News Global

During the four years of his presidency, Jimmy Carter was an active member of the First Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., worshiped at least 75 times in the sanctuary a mile north of the White House and, on at least 17 Sundays, led Bible studies with the class of church couples .

President Carter joined First Baptist DC three days after his inauguration in January 1977, which meant that in the 1980 presidential election, congregation members were voting for one of their own.

Carter lost in a landslide to Ronald Reagan on November 4, 1980. The defeat sparked the Christian concern of Carter’s church family, which responded not with stews but with another vote. The church’s top lay leader delivered the results on Nov. 16, 1980, just before Carter took the lectern to lead the Sunday school class.

“Last Wednesday afternoon At our quarterly business meeting, our church members passed a resolution unanimously,” said moderator Frank Ed McAnear. “That message is titled ‘A Message of Love and Support for President and Mrs. Carter.’ And I would like to read it to you right now.”

McAnear went on to read a five-paragraph message with two unequivocal points: 100% of First Baptist DC members supported Carter as a brother in Christ and far less than 100% supported him as president. But the message was very well written.

100% of First Baptist DC members supported Carter as a brother in Christ and much less than 100% supported him as president.

To be clear, Carter had not campaigned in the church. In fact, in the 14 known recordings of his lessons with the Couples Class, he rarely mentioned events from his presidency, much less politics. The only reference to a campaign came at the end of a lecture on September 24, 1978, and was delivered with the wry humor he usually displayed. In it, he summarized Philippians 4:19.

“God will supply all your needs of his unlimited riches in glory through Christ Jesus,” Carter said. “That’s a good promise. That’s a good campaign slogan, right? “It’s so good that a lot of people don’t believe it, but we know it’s true.”

A little more than two years later, the defeated president accepted First Baptist’s resolution of support with aplomb and more humor: “I’m not going to get excited because we’re going to be here two more months, and I can’t hold it that long. “a long time,” he said, and then paused.

“It’s always remarkable when Baptists approve something unanimously,” he said with a laugh. “That makes a beautiful message and proclamation even more dear to us because it is so rare.”

Carter then went on to teach his penultimate Sunday School class, drawn primarily from Luke 5 and titled “Grace for Sinners.”

As for the congregation’s message, Carter wrote a formal note of thanks to First Baptist members on November 25, 1980, two days before Thanksgiving. A facsimile, complete with the president’s distinctive signature, filled the front page of the church bulletin on Christmas Eve 1980:

Rosalynn joins me in thanking you for your thoughtful message. We value the camaraderie and friendship we have enjoyed with you over the past four years.

Your prayerful support and ‘the ties that bind our hearts together in Christian love’ will be remembered, along with your many kindnesses, long after we have returned to our home in Georgia.

With our warmest regards to each of you, Sincerely, Jimmy Carter.

A message of love and support for President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter

Almost four years ago, you became members of the body of Christ with us in this place. Although none of us could begin to realize the tremendous burden of your public office, we all joined together in a continuing communion of prayer for you and for our nation’s first family, for you and for the members of our congregation. This love and care continues even until now.

We wanted to share with you the resources of faith and devotion to a cause that transcends all political parties: the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. Being good Baptists, we have been aware that our freedom to differ politically has not destroyed the most fundamental Christian commitment we all share. You have given our diverse congregation appreciation for the presence of Christian brothers who give themselves to the political leadership of the nation.

Now, none of us can imagine the feelings in their hearts after the election, but still all of us, devout citizens of many political persuasions, understand the meaning of the apostle’s command to “bear one another’s burdens and thus fulfill the law of Christ.”

Therefore, we wish to tell you simply and directly that our love and prayerful support is with you. Even those who have differed from you on political issues will value the partnership with you during these years together and will commit to continually working with you in spreading the gospel of our Lord.

We pray for you—and for ourselves—that we may achieve the peace that surpasses understanding and the joy that can illuminate each day in Christ our Lord.

Your friends and partners in the gospel,

The First Baptist Church of Washington, DC

christina harlan is the author of Mr. President, the class is yourscontaining the first transcripts of 14 Sunday school lessons taught by Jimmy Carter at First Baptist DC. Your next book, Normal Lives: President Jimmy Carter’s Churchdraws on interviews, contemporary news accounts, and a church usher’s diary to tell stories of First Baptist, a president, and the people who shared the pews with him. Available soon in your favorite bookstores.