Colson Statement on the Death of Jack Kemp

Chuck Colson Recognizes Jack Kemp as One of the Nation's Most Effective Defenders of Economic Growth and Human Rights

LANDSDOWNE, Va., May 4, 2009—Prison Fellowship and BreakPoint Founder Chuck Colson released the following statement regarding the death of Jack Kemp:

Jack Kemp's death is a great loss to the nation; he was one of the most effective and articulate defenders of economic growth and human rights.  It's an even greater loss to me personally, because we were close friends and colleagues since he was first elected to Congress. 

A man of great talents and intellect and passion, his outstanding virtue was one that is in woefully short supply today-courage.  He showed it on the football field, in politics, and as he bravely fought the evil which had invaded his body.

What I most appreciated about Jack was his transparency.  What you saw was what you got.  He was the same person in private as he was in public.  He was also a man of passion and commitment.  He felt deeply about the same issues I do: the right to life, the importance of marriage, limited government, and human rights.

Unlike many contemporary conservatives, he had a heart for the same kind of people Prison Fellowship serves; the poor, the oppressed, and the downtrodden.  Best of all, Jack was not one to be quiet about the things in which he believed. 

Jack's wife, Joanne, has served on the Prison Fellowship board for 15 years.  Through her we have gotten to know the wonderful family Jack and Joanne brought into this world.  All believers, they are Jack and Joanne's greatest legacy.

Chuck Colson is the founder of PFM, a Christian non-profit organization comprised of Prison Fellowship, the world's largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families, and BreakPoint, which equips Christians to live out their faith in the culture. 

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