The Movement Must Go On I read in the April 19, 2012 issue of USA Today that Charles Colson was gravely ill and near death. By the time you read this, he may have already passed from this world into eternity. Charles Colson is the famed Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon, who was sent to prison for Watergate crimes. He discovered the Gospel prior to his sentencing, and knowing that he was a sinner in need of a Savior, he became a Christian. Following his release from prison, he began a very effective ministry to those incarcerated, called Prison Fellowship. As a Christian, he has been outspoken on issues of faith and morality in America. He began a movement that has made a major contribution to the cause of Christ in our time. I call it “the worldview movement.” Chuck Colson is the Augustine of our time. Augustine, whose name is commonly preceded by “Saint”, was a notorious person in his younger days. A person you would have warned your family members to avoid. But in his adulthood, the man became a Christian – and a mighty influence for Christ. He is called by most scholars “the greatest of the Latin Fathers of the church.” Chuck Colson has become one of “the greatest of the 20th Century spokesmen of the church”, certainly. His web site, www.colsoncenter.org is a tremendous resource. His lectures and writings on worldview are without parallel; the individuals he invites to contribute to the web site are outstanding in their own fields. The man and the movement he has spawned are unquestioningly loyal to the cause of Christ. While I will never meet Colson in this life, I hope to have that opportunity in the age to come. These thoughts all lead up to a question: who will follow Chuck Colson in providing worldview leadership to the church of Christ? Of course there are those who will pick up his mantle in the immediate future. But what about long-range? And even if none of us are either young enough or skilled enough to take up Colson’s mantle and continue the movement he began, what are we doing to make sure it happens? Right now, for example, our church is recruiting adults to teach Sunday School. We have several very bright and eager-to-learn children who attend Sunday School. Their minds are capable of easily grasping the basic truths of scripture and theology. The church provides sound literature to assist in this task, making the preparation and presentation of a lesson as simple as possible for a teacher and effective as possible for the child. Some of these children are of whiz-kid caliber who, if challenged properly, could be the next Colson or Martin Luther. Colson became a prolific leader when a friend challenged him to read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. The challenge led him to Christ and to a leadership position in the church. Take up the charge to follow Christ. Become a leader in your home, church, community and world. Challenge others: the neighbors through a home Bible study, the children in Sunday School and the teens in youth group. Chuck Colson began a movement. The movement is greater than the man and… the movement must go on.