Faith and Faithfulness on Capitol Hill

 “Oh, what a night” could have been the soundtrack for Faith and Law’s Evening Forum on May 6, when friends and supporters gathered at the Museum of the Bible to celebrate another year of faithful ministry to Capitol Hill. 

Following a prayer by former congressman Joe Pitts (PA), a panel of current Members of Congress spoke about what guides them as they seek to integrate their faith and vocation on Capitol Hill. For Rep. Chris Smith (NJ), Jesus’ command to care for the “least of these” has been the foundation of his pro-life position for decades. For Rep. Cathy McMorris Smith (WA), it is her passion for prayer. She recounted how on the night before leading her Energy and Commerce committee to vote on the Tik-Tok bill, she had dared to pray for a unanimous committee vote. She got it! Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL) reflected on the difficult trade-off of the vote on funding for Ukraine. While recognizing the need to rein in a burgeoning budget deficit, Rep. Aderholt could not forego the need to uphold American democratic values abroad.

House Speaker Mike Johnson received Faith and Law’s Chuck Colson award for public service. “Chuck Colson was a hero of mine,” said Johnson. “It was probably a quarter century ago that I read [Colson’s] How now shall we live? and it changed my life.”Earlier that day, Speaker Johnson introduced a tribute into the Congressional Record to another hero, Dr. Os Guinness.Os Guinness has dedicated his life to thinking, critiquing, writing, and speaking about the times during which we live in the context of a Judeo-Christian worldview, providing thought leadership both within the U.S. Capitol and with leaders and laymen worldwide. I have been personally impacted by the life of Os Guinness and challenged to live for an “Audience of One,” a term he coined and is for me a constant reminder to lay down one’s own life God and for others, to love one’s enemies, and to promote justice and the flourishing of all human beings.

“Your program and the speakers were all fascinating,” wrote an attendee the next day. “Speaker Johnson was just amazing. We learned a lot. The whole experience gave us some real hope for Congress and this city – and for humanity itself.”