This past week, political leader and former professional football player Jack Kemp died of cancer at age 73.
After a successful career as the starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, leading the team to consecutive American Football League championships in 1964 and 1965, Kemp decided to try his hand at elective politics. In 1970, at the age of 35, he was elected to a seat in Congress, representing Buffalo. But Kemp was more than just an ex-jock catapulted to office on the basis of his gridiron fame. Over the next 18 years, he 
proved to be one of the most effective and influential members of the U. S. House of Representatives, although he never held a major leadership position in the House. A voracious reader with a keen mind, Kemp—a physical education major in college—developed into one of Washington’s brightest thinkers and most knowledgeable students in regard to economic and fiscal issues. (My, how we could use him now!)
Kemp, whose tax-cutting philosophy significantly influenced the thinking of Ronald Reagan, was almost chosen to be The Gipper’s running mate in 1980. (He was 24 years Reagan’s junior.) In the end, however, he was passed over for George H. W. Bush. In 1988, Kemp made his own brief run for the White House, but his campaign never got off the ground. In 1989, he was named Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development (HUD) which to me seemed not the best use of his abilities. (Treasury Secretary seemingly would have been a better cabinet position for him.) By the time he assumed the leadership at HUD, however, the most influential period of his political career was already behind him. When in 1996 he was finally named to run for Vice President on his party’s ill-fated national ticket, that was sort of his political swan song.
I always liked Jack Kemp. I think, if given the chance, he may have been a good president but, obviously, we’ll never know that. I do have a special memory of Jack Kemp, however, that I’d like to share with you.
In 1992, I was part of a group of Southern Baptists convening for a conference in our nation’s capital. The highlights of the week included a congressional prayer breakfast on the top floor of the Dirksen Senate Office Building where we were addressed by two Southern Baptists then serving in the U.S. Senate, one from each party. Perhaps you’ve heard of them. There was a young whippersnapper from Tennessee named Albert Gore, Jr. and some good ole boy from Mississippi named Trent Lott. Talk about diversity. Hmm.
The other major happening of the week was being invited to the Old Executive Office Building (now the Eisenhower building) adjacent to the White House for a special White House briefing. And who spoke to our group on behalf of the Bush 41 Administration? None other than then-HUD secretary Jack Kemp. I was impressed with Kemp, not only because of his articulation of political issues and public policy from a conservative perspective, but also because it was on that day that I first learned of his personal faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, as he spoke of how he incorporated his Christian faith into his political life, he also made a humorous statement I’ve never forgotten. He said that the Old Testament figure Nehemiah, who was both a builder of walls and a builder of people, was actually the very first secretary of Housing and Urban Development! (I loved that, and actually wrote that quote in the margin of my Bible.)
The other day, when I heard that Jack Kemp had passed away, it was a very busy week, but I took time to read just one of the many Internet news articles reviewing Kemp’s career and evaluating his legacy. Afterward, I was glad that I read the one article I did. Written by Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard, it was entitled “What Jack Kemp Accomplished”. After reviewing the achievements of Kemp’s political career, Barnes ended the article with one highly unusual and totally unexpected paragraph tagged on the end. It said this:
“Kemp died on Saturday at 73. He leaves a large family and a wife, Joanne, who has been enormously influential in her own way, conducting a weekly Bible study in their home for more than 30 years and leading an untold number of people to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.”
Wow! I was amazed. Not by the Kemp family’s authentic faith in Christ, mind you—I already knew about that—but by the fact that this wonderful statement was published in a secular political newsmagazine. I was so impressed, in fact, that I immediately emailed Fred Barnes and commended him for his courage in closing his story with this beautiful little paragraph, which brought glory to God.
Truly, of all the things the article talked about, those closing sentences were the most important. For in the final analysis, it’s not the accolades and achievements we attain here on earth that matter. It’s how we personally respond to our Creator and it’s the spiritual treasures we subsequently lay up in Heaven. When it’s all said and done, knowing Christ and serving Him is what it’s all about.
Thanks, Jack, for a job well done.
Pastor Danny
After a successful career as the starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, leading the team to consecutive American Football League championships in 1964 and 1965, Kemp decided to try his hand at elective politics. In 1970, at the age of 35, he was elected to a seat in Congress, representing Buffalo. But Kemp was more than just an ex-jock catapulted to office on the basis of his gridiron fame. Over the next 18 years, he 
proved to be one of the most effective and influential members of the U. S. House of Representatives, although he never held a major leadership position in the House. A voracious reader with a keen mind, Kemp—a physical education major in college—developed into one of Washington’s brightest thinkers and most knowledgeable students in regard to economic and fiscal issues. (My, how we could use him now!)
Kemp, whose tax-cutting philosophy significantly influenced the thinking of Ronald Reagan, was almost chosen to be The Gipper’s running mate in 1980. (He was 24 years Reagan’s junior.) In the end, however, he was passed over for George H. W. Bush. In 1988, Kemp made his own brief run for the White House, but his campaign never got off the ground. In 1989, he was named Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development (HUD) which to me seemed not the best use of his abilities. (Treasury Secretary seemingly would have been a better cabinet position for him.) By the time he assumed the leadership at HUD, however, the most influential period of his political career was already behind him. When in 1996 he was finally named to run for Vice President on his party’s ill-fated national ticket, that was sort of his political swan song.I always liked Jack Kemp. I think, if given the chance, he may have been a good president but, obviously, we’ll never know that. I do have a special memory of Jack Kemp, however, that I’d like to share with you.
In 1992, I was part of a group of Southern Baptists convening for a conference in our nation’s capital. The highlights of the week included a congressional prayer breakfast on the top floor of the Dirksen Senate Office Building where we were addressed by two Southern Baptists then serving in the U.S. Senate, one from each party. Perhaps you’ve heard of them. There was a young whippersnapper from Tennessee named Albert Gore, Jr. and some good ole boy from Mississippi named Trent Lott. Talk about diversity. Hmm.
The other major happening of the week was being invited to the Old Executive Office Building (now the Eisenhower building) adjacent to the White House for a special White House briefing. And who spoke to our group on behalf of the Bush 41 Administration? None other than then-HUD secretary Jack Kemp. I was impressed with Kemp, not only because of his articulation of political issues and public policy from a conservative perspective, but also because it was on that day that I first learned of his personal faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, as he spoke of how he incorporated his Christian faith into his political life, he also made a humorous statement I’ve never forgotten. He said that the Old Testament figure Nehemiah, who was both a builder of walls and a builder of people, was actually the very first secretary of Housing and Urban Development! (I loved that, and actually wrote that quote in the margin of my Bible.)
The other day, when I heard that Jack Kemp had passed away, it was a very busy week, but I took time to read just one of the many Internet news articles reviewing Kemp’s career and evaluating his legacy. Afterward, I was glad that I read the one article I did. Written by Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard, it was entitled “What Jack Kemp Accomplished”. After reviewing the achievements of Kemp’s political career, Barnes ended the article with one highly unusual and totally unexpected paragraph tagged on the end. It said this:“Kemp died on Saturday at 73. He leaves a large family and a wife, Joanne, who has been enormously influential in her own way, conducting a weekly Bible study in their home for more than 30 years and leading an untold number of people to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.”
Wow! I was amazed. Not by the Kemp family’s authentic faith in Christ, mind you—I already knew about that—but by the fact that this wonderful statement was published in a secular political newsmagazine. I was so impressed, in fact, that I immediately emailed Fred Barnes and commended him for his courage in closing his story with this beautiful little paragraph, which brought glory to God.Truly, of all the things the article talked about, those closing sentences were the most important. For in the final analysis, it’s not the accolades and achievements we attain here on earth that matter. It’s how we personally respond to our Creator and it’s the spiritual treasures we subsequently lay up in Heaven. When it’s all said and done, knowing Christ and serving Him is what it’s all about.
Thanks, Jack, for a job well done.
Pastor Danny
