25
"There are a lot of reasons that in-depth Bible studies are important
to political leaders. Let me start with the most obvious one, and that
is fellowship itself. You can have fellowship over at the bar or the gym
and a lot of places, but for people who profess a common faith in
Jesus Christ, the opportunity to fellowship together in His name while
studying His Word is extremely important, especially for government
leaders because there are so many other things that don't bring us
together. They emphasize where we're different, particularly in this
culture we are living in now, so there is this incredible benefit of being
with brothers and sisters who you grow to love and who you share
intimate things with, who you love but who hold you accountable,
that is invaluable to our political process, in my view, today.
But more in particular in the Senate Bible study, we drill down pretty
deep. We spend weeks if not on a single verse, then on a single chapter,
and several weeks on a specific passage to begin to understand
intellectually. Because we are intellectual people, as politicians and
government officials, we are naturally intellectually curious. And so,
to be able to take that natural intellectual curiosity and apply it to
Scripture with the benefit of good teaching and the additional benefit
of collective wisdom of the participants is very rich. And it also allows
us to drill down on theology and doctrine and application of Scripture
rather than laws and regulations and other things, and there is therapy
in that too. Perhaps the most important thing is at the end of the day
we have a source of encouragement and a source of direction and a
source of correction that is really important to the decisions we make
as individuals and as an institution."
Kevin Cramer
U.S. Senator, North Dakota
25
