CHARLES
W. COLSON
Present:
Founder, Prison Fellowship
Syndicated Columnist
Author of 24 books
International Speaker
Radio Commentator, "BreakPoint,"
nationally syndicated daily broadcast
Born:
Boston, Mass.- October 1931
Education:
- B.A., Brown University-1953
- J.D. with honors, George
Washington University-1959
Vocational:
Captain, U.S. Marine Corps-1953-55
Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy-
1955-56
Admin. Asst. to U.S. Sen. Leverett Saltonstall
(R-Mass.)-1956-61
Partner, Gadsby and Hannah Law Firm-1961-69
Special Counsel to President Richard M. Nixon-1969-73
Partner, Colson and Shapiro Law Firm-1973-74
Founder & Chairman of the Board, Prison Fellowship
and Prison Fellowship International -1976-2006
Watergate:
Served seven months of a one- to
three-year federal
prison sentence after pleading guilty to a
Watergate-
related charge in 1974.
Conversion to Christianity in August 1973,
documented in the book
Born Again and film
(produced by Avco Embassy) of the same name.
Colson used the royalties from the book to begin
Prison
Fellowship, an outreach organization assisting
prisoners,
ex-prisoners, victims, and affected families.
Selected Honors:
$1 million Templeton Prize for
Progress in Religion-1993
(prize money donated to Prison Fellowship)
Humanitarian Award, Dominoes Pizza Corporation-1991
The Others Award, Salvation Army-1990
Honorary doctorates, various colleges and
universities-1982-95
Outstanding Young Man of Boston, Chamber of
Commerce-1960
Books:
Over the last 20 years, nearly 5
million copies of Chuck Colson's 23 books have been sold in the U.S.
Colson donates the royalties from these books to Prison Fellowship.
Born Again (Chosen Books) 1976
Life Sentence (Chosen Books) 1979
Loving God (Zondervan) 1983
Who Speaks for God? (Crossway Books) 1985
Kingdoms in Conflict (Zondervan/ Morrow) 1987
Convicted, with Dan
Van Ness (Crossway Books) 1989
Against the Night (Servant) 1989
The God of Stones and Spiders (Crossway Books) 1990
Why America Doesn't Work, with Jack Eckerd
(Word) 1991
The Body, with Ellen Santilli Vaughn (Word) 1992
Dance With Deception (Word) 1993
A Dangerous Grace, with Nancy Pearcey (Word) 1994
Evangelicals & Catholics Toward a Common Mission Together, with
Richard John Neuhaus (Word) 1995
Gideon's Torch, with Ellen Santilli Vaughn (Word) 1995
Burden of Truth, with Anne Morse (Tyndale) 1997
The Line Between Right and Wrong (Barbour) 1997
Faith on the Line 1994
How Now Shall We Live? with Nancy Pearcey
(Tyndale) 1999
Answers To Your Kids Questions, with Harold Fickett
(Tyndale)
2000
Chuck Colson Speaks (Barbour) 2000
Justice That Restores (Tyndale) 2001
Being the Body (W Publishing) 2003
The Good Life (Tyndale) 2005
The Faith, Jan/Feb 2008
Beyond Watergate
Charles W. Colson - 28 years in
prison Thirty years ago, Charles W. Colson was not thinking about
reaching out to prison inmates or reforming the U.S. penal system.
In fact, this aide to Richard Nixon was "incapable of humanitarian
thoughts," according to the media of the mid-seventies. Colson was
known as the White House "hatchet man," a man feared by even the
most powerful politicos during his four years of service to
President Nixon. When news of Colson's conversion to Christianity
leaked to the press in 1973, the Boston Globe reported, "If Mr.
Colson can repent of his sins, there just has to be hope for
everybody." Colson would agree. He admits he was guilty of political
"dirty tricks" and willing to do almost anything for the cause of
his president and his party.
In 1974 Colson entered a plea of
guilty on Watergate-related charges; although not implicated in the
Watergate burglary, he voluntarily pleaded obstruction of justice, a
felony, based on his general participation in White House "dirty
tricks." He entered Alabama's Maxwell Prison in 1974 as a new
Christian and as the first member of the Nixon administration to be
incarcerated for Watergate-related charges. He served seven months
of a one- to three-year sentence. Soon after his release in 1975,
Colson and three friends launched Prison Fellowship in a small,
rented Washington, D.C., office. Today, Colson serves as chairman of
the Board of Prison Fellowship, one of the largest volunteer
organizations in the world.
In the last 28 years, Colson has
visited more than 600 prisons in 40 countries and, with the help of
nearly 50,000 volunteers, has built Prison Fellowship into the
world's largest prison outreach, serving the spiritual and practical
needs of prisoners in 93 countries including the U.S. Colson's
vision has grown to include ministering to the families of
prisoners, to ex-prisoners, to victims of crime, and reforming the
criminal justice system.
In recognition of his work, Colson
received the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion
(in 1993). The $1 million prize, which Colson accepted on behalf of
Prison Fellowship, was added to Prison Fellowship's Endowment Fund.
Chuck Colson is considered one of
America's leading authorities on the causes of and responses to
crime. He has addressed nearly half the state legislatures in
America and has met with a majority of governors. He is a syndicated
columnist and has contributed articles to magazines and newspapers
such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Washington Post and
the Chicago Tribune. Colson provides a daily radio commentary to a
weekly listening audience of five million people and is a
sought-after speaker. Born Again, Colson's first book, was published
in 1976 and became an international bestseller. Since then, he has
written 22 other books, the royalties of which he donates to Prison
Fellowship. Chuck's "How Now Shall We Live", released in September
1999, helps equip Christians to articulate the truth of the gospel,
live it accordingly, and give a defense of the truth to unbelievers.
Being the Body, the updated and expanded edition of Colsons 1993
book The Body, was released in April of 2003 and issues a new and
urgent call for the church to be light in the darkness.
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