No. 27

I loved No. 27 - Against the Grain, Reflections of a Rebel Republican.

I've long admired Mark Hatfield for his work for Oregon and for our country, but I didn't know a lot about the senator. I knew he opposed Vietnam, he was very moderate and worked for bipartisanship and he was a Christ follower.

When he died in August, I was prompted to read his autobiography and learn more about the statesman.
I am fascinated by his story - his growing up, his family, his political career, his experiences. What a brilliant, kind man full of compassion and integrity. Other politicians should read his book and take notes. Heck, we could all learn something.

There were lots of takeaways from the the book, but I particularly liked the portion at the end when he spoke about his faith.
A highlight:

"To identify any political agenda with Christianity is a miscommunication of the Gospel, plain and simple. Instead, we would all do well to infuse our personal, spiritual ethics into politics, rather than bringing more politics into our religion."

Go check this one out at the library today! :)