Guest: Chuck Colson
On today's Family Talk, Dr. James Dobson pays tribute to his dear friend, Chuck Colson. From his days in the Nixon White House to the founding of Prison Fellowship Ministries, hear how the Gospel of Jesus Christ changed his life and spurred him to helping those who needed it the most. Charles (Chuck) Colson is the founder of the non-profit organization, Prison Fellowship, which works to provide spiritual and emotional support as well as minister to those in prison. Because of his work, he has receive 15 honorary doctorate degrees and also won the Tempelton Prize (a $1 million cash prize given to an individual who has done the most for the advancement of religion) in 1993. Colson was also awarded the Humanitarian Award by Dominos Pizza Corporation (1991), The Others Award by The Salvation Army (1990), and The Outstanding Young Man of Boston by the Chamber of Commerce (1960). However, Charles is also known as the chief counsel for President Richard M. Nixon from 1969 to 1973. Although he was part of the Watergate Seven, he was never charged or prosecuted for any crime related to the Watergate scandal. Instead, he struck a deal with the Leon Jaworski, the Special Prosecutor of the scandal, and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in an entirely unrelated case. He was sentenced to one to three years in jail but was released after seven months. It was after he was released that he began Prison Fellowship. Since then, he has worked to rehabilitate prisoners and reform the United States prison system. Today, Prison Fellowship has grown into a U.S. ministry of over 50,0000 volunteers and has spread to more than 50 countries Colson served as President of Prison Fellowship until 1984, and now serves as Chairman of the Board. He is a contributing editor at Christianity Today, sharing shares the "back page" editorial duties with Philip Yancey. Colson is the host of the nationally syndicated radio broadcast, "BreakPoint" He has also authored 23 books since 1976, when his first book Born Again was published. His other titles include Life Sentence, Kingdoms In Conflict Evangelicals and Catholics Together: Toward a Common Mission, How Now Shall We Live?, and The Good Life. He has sold more than 5 million copies of his 23 books and all the royalties are given to Prison Fellowship. Chuck Colson went to be with the Lord Saturday, April 21, 2012