"Actually, the seeds of my decision had been planted
the year before, by the Reverend Billy Graham. He
visited my family for a summer weekend in Maine. I saw
him preach at the small summer church, St. Ann's by the
Sea. One evening my dad asked Billy to answer
questions from a big group of family gathered for the
weekend. He sat by the fire and talked. And what he
said sparked a change in my heart. I don't remember
the exact words. It was more the power of his example.
The Lord was so clearly reflected in his gentle and
loving demeanor. The next day we walked and talked at
Walker's Point, and I knew I was in the presence of a
great man. He was like a magnet; I felt drawn to seek
something different. He didn't lecture or admonish; he
shared warmth and concern. Billy Graham didn't make
you feel guilty; he made you feel loved.
Over the course of that weekend, Reverend Graham
planted a mustard seed in my soul, a seed that grew
over the next year. He led me to the path, and I began
walking. It was the beginning of a change in my life. I
had always been a "religious" person, had regularly
attended church, even taught Sunday School and served
as an altar boy. But that weekend my faith took on a
new meaning. It was the beginning of a new walk where I
would commit my heart to Jesus Christ. I was humbled to
learn that God sent His Son to die for a sinner like
me. I was comforted to know that through the Son, I
could find God's amazing grace, a grace that crosses
every border, every barrier and is open to everyone.
Through the love of Christ's life, I could understand
the life changing powers of faith.
When I returned to Midland, I began reading the Bible
regularly. Don Evans talked me into joining him and
another friend, Don Jones, at a men's community Bible
study. The group had first assembled the year before,
in spring of 1984, at the beginning of the downturn in
the energy industry. Midland was hurting. A lot of
people were looking for comfort and strength and
direction. A couple of men started the Bible study as a
support group, and it grew. By the time I began
attending, in the fall of 1985, almost 120 men would
gather. We met in small discussion groups of ten or
twelve, and then joined the larger group for full
meetings. Don Jones picked me up every week for the
meetings. I remember looking forward to them. My
interest in reading the Bible grew stronger and
stronger, and the words became clearer and more
meaningful. We studied Acts, the story of the Apostles
building the Christian Church, and next year, the
Gospel of Luke. The preparation for each meeting took
several hours, reading the Scripture passages and
thinking through responses to discussion questions. I
took it seriously, with my usual touch of humor.
Laura and I were active members of the First Methodist
Church of Midland, and we participated in many family
programs, including James Dobson's Focus on the Family
series on raising children. As I studied and learned,
Scripture took on greater meaning, and gained
confidence and understanding in my faith. I read the
Bible regularly. Don Evans gave me the "one-year"
Bible; a Bible divided into 365 daily readings, each
one including a section from the New Testament, the Old
Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. I read through that
Bible every other year. During the years in between, I
pick different chapters to study at different times.
I have also learned the power of prayer. I pray for
guidance. I do not pray for earthly things, but for
heavenly things, for wisdom and patience and
understanding. My faith gives me focus and perspective.
It teaches humility. But I also recognize that faith
can be misinterpreted in the political process. Faith
is an important part of my life. I believe it is
important to live my faith, not flaunt it.
America is a great country because of our religious
freedoms. It is important for any leader to respect the
faith of others. That point was driven home when Laura
and I visited Israel in 1998. We had traveled to Rome
to spend Thanksgiving with our daughter, who was
attending a school program there, and spent three days
in Israel on the way home. It was an incredible
experience. I remember waking up at the Jerusalem
Hilton and opening the curtains and seeing the Old City
before us, the Jerusalem stone glowing gold. We visited
the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
And we went to the Sea of Galilee and stood atop the
hill where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. It
was an overwhelming feeling to stand in the spot where
the most famous speech in the history of the world was
delivered, the spot where Jesus outlined the character
and conduct of a believer and gave his disciples and
the world the beatitudes, the golden rule, and the
Lord's Prayer.
I could not be governor if I did not believe in a
divine plan that supersedes all human plans. Politics
is a fickle business. Polls change. Today's friend is
tomorrow's adversary. People lavish praise and
attention. Many times it is genuine; sometimes it is
not. Yet I build my life on a foundation that will not
shift. My faith frees me. Frees me to put the problem
of the moment in proper perspective. Frees me to make
decisions that others might not like. Frees me to try
to do the right thing, even though it may not poll
well. The death penalty is a difficult issue for
supporters as well as its opponents. I have a reverence
for life; my faith teaches that life is a gift from our
Creator. In a perfect world, life is given by God and
only taken by God. I hope someday our society will
respect life, the full spectrum of life, from the
unborn to the elderly. I hope someday unborn children
will be protected by law and welcomed in life. I
support the death penalty because I believe, if
administered swiftly and justly, capital punishment is
a deterrent against future violence and will save other
innocent lives. Some advocates of life will challenge
why I oppose abortion yet support the death penalty. To
me, it's the difference between innocence and guilt.
Today, two weeks after Jeb's inauguration, in my church
in downtown Austin, Pastor Mark Craig, was telling me
that my reelection was the first Governor to win back-
to-back, four-year terms in the history of the state of
Texas. It was a beginning, not an end. People are
starved for faithfulness. He talked of the need for
honesty in government. He warned that leaders who cheat
on their wives will cheat their country, will cheat
their colleagues, and will cheat themselves. Pastor
Craig said that America is starved for honest leaders.
He told the story of Moses, asked by God to lead his
people to a land of milk and honey. Moses had a lot of
reasons to shirk the task. As the Pastor told it,
Moses' basic reaction was, "Sorry, God, I'm busy. I've
got a family. I've got sheep to tend. I've got a life.
Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the
sons of Israel out of Egypt? The people won't believe
me," he protested. "I'm not a very good speaker. Oh,
my Lord, send, I pray, some other person," Moses
pleaded. But God did not, and Moses ultimately did His
bidding, leading his people through forty years of
wilderness and wandering, relying on God for strength
and direction and inspiration. "People are starved for
leadership," Pastor Craig said, "starved for leaders
who have ethical and moral courage. It is not enough
to have an ethical compass to know right from wrong.
America needs leaders who have the moral courage to do
what is right for the right reason. It's not always
easy or convenient for leaders to step forward.
Remember, even Moses had doubts."
"He was talking to you," my mother said later. The
pastor was, of course, talking to all of us,
challenging each one of us to make the most of our
lives, to assume the mantle of leadership and
responsibility wherever we find it. He was calling on
us to use whatever power we have, in business, in
politics, in our communities, and in our families, to
do good for the right reason. And his sermon spoke
directly to my heart and my life. There was no magic
moment of decision. After talking with my family during
the Christmas holidays, then hearing this rousing
sermon, to make most of every moment, during my
inaugural church service, I gradually felt more
comfortable with the prospect of a presidential
campaign. My family would love me and my faith would
sustain me, no matter what.
During the more than half century of my life, we have
seen an unprecedented decay in our American culture, a
decay that has eroded the foundations of our collective
values and moral standards of conduct. Our sense of
personal responsibility has declined dramatically, just
as the role and responsibility of the federal
government have increased. The changing culture blurred
the sharp contrast between right and wrong and created
a new standard of conduct: 'If it feels good, do it.'
and 'If you've got a problem, blame somebody else.'
The new culture has said that individuals are not
responsible for their actions, that we are all victims
of forces beyond our control. We have gone from a
culture of sacrifice and saving to a culture obsessed
with grabbing all the gusto.
We went from accepting responsibility to assigning
blame. As government did more and more, individuals
were required to do less and less. The new culture
said: if people were poor, the government should feed
them. If someone had no house, the government should
provide one. If criminals are not responsible for their
acts, then the answers are not prisons, but social
programs.
For our culture to change, it must change one heart,
one soul, and one conscience at a time. Government can
spend money, but it cannot put hope in our hearts or a
sense of purpose in our lives. Government should
welcome the active involvement of people who are
following a religious imperative to love their
neighbors through after school programs, childcare,
drug treatment, maternity group homes, and a range of
other services. Supporting these men and women, the
soldiers in the armies of compassion, is the next bold
step of welfare reform, because I know that changing
hearts will change our entire society. During the
opening months of my presidential campaign, I have
traveled our country and my heart has been warmed. My
experiences have reinvigorated my faith in the
greatness of Americans. They have reminded me that
societies are renewed from the bottom up, not the top
down. Everywhere I go, I see people of love and faith,
taking time to help a neighbor in need.
These people and thousands like them are the heart and
soul and greatness of America. And I want to do my
part. I am running for President because I believe
America must seize this moment, America must lead. We
must give our prosperity a greater purpose, a purpose
of peace and freedom and hope. We are a great nation
of good and loving people. And together, we have a
charge to keep."