In 1957 a panel of United States senators concluded that attorney Daniel Webster, a senator from Massachusetts in the first half of the 19th century who argued 223 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and won about half of them, was among the five greatest senators in our nation’s history. I will not detail his bonafides, suffice it to say he is an important figure in our nation’s history.
Webster once said, “Whatever makes men good Christians makes them good citizens.” No one could read Webster’s mind (most historical accounts say he was an orthodox Protestant), so we give him the benefit of the doubt and assume we are in agreement with “whatever makes a good Christian:” Repentant sinners placing their trust solely in Christ for salvation and eternal life, saved by His substitutionary death on Calvary’s cross and walking in newness of life in obedience to Him under the indwelling power and direction of the Holy Spirit and according to God’s Word. Based on this understanding, the second part of Webster’s statement is true as well.
When Missouri Southern Baptists gather at Tan-Tar-A for their 180th annual state convention Oct. 27-29, we will pause during the morning session on Oct. 29 to recognize two men who epitomize Webster’s declaration of ‘Whatever makes men good Christians makes them good citizens.” On occasion, the Missouri Baptist Convention’s (MBC) Christian Life Commission (CLC) chooses to recognize individuals for their service to the cause of Jesus Christ.
This year I am delighted the CLC has unanimously voted to present Outstanding Christian Service Awards to National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Famer Dick Bott and to Missouri Liberty Project founder Joshua Hawley. Both are committed followers of Christ and are model citizens most deserving of this recognition.
Bott bought his first radio station more than 50 years ago after he and his wife, Sherley, sold their house and belongings for $10,000 and took out three mortgages, ultimately building the company that is now the Bott Radio Network with more than 90 stations in 15 states (it blankets Missouri). The network, in obedience to The Great Commission, reaches nearly 50 million people throughout the nation with quality Bible teaching and Christian news and information. Much of Bott’s programming features Southern Baptists, like the late Adrian Rogers, Charles Stanley, Jack Graham, Robert Jeffress and my pastor, Monte Shinkle of Concord Baptist Church, heard on the Bott station in Jefferson City.
Bott has relinquished management of the network to the capable hands of his son, Rich, but continues to do his weekend interview show, “The Complete Story.” Dick Bott is a friend to Southern Baptists. He and his family attend Lenexa Baptist Church, a Kansas congregation that is dually affiliated with the MBC and the Kansas-Nebraska Baptist Convention.
One of the newest commentators on Bott Radio is Hawley, who was on the legal team that won the landmark Hobby Lobby religious liberty case heard at the U.S. Supreme Court. Hawley, 34, is a constitutional law professor at the University of Missouri Law School. A graduate of Stanford University and the Yale University Law School, Hawley clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
Hobby Lobby was not the first important religious liberty case Hawley has been involved in at the U.S. Supreme Court. He was on the legal team who won the important Hosanna-Tabor case at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 in which the court unanimously ruled that federal discrimination laws do not apply to religious organizations’ selection of religious leaders.
A native of Lexington, Hawley has befriended Missouri Baptists, accepting numerous invitations to speak at churches and association meetings. He will once again be a featured speaker at the MBC Worldview Conference at Hannibal-LaGrange University in April. He and his wife, Erin, also an attorney and professor at the University of Missouri, have a one-year-old son, Elijah. They attend The Crossing Church in Columbia.
The recognition of these Christian gentlemen is but one important task undertaken by your CLC led by Chairman Doug Austin, a member of Bethany Baptist Church, Cape Girardeau. The CLC is driven by the biblical mandate to be “salt and light” and seeks to assist Missouri Baptists by:
1. Being a voice in Jefferson City for the passage of sensible, value-oriented legislation, as well as protecting rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution.
2. Educating churches and individuals on the social issues of the day.
3. Befriending those who feel overwhelmed by the demands of Christian citizenship or need biblical insight on cultural struggles.
The CLC should be commended for its work this year.