Rett Hatcher & Company

By Brian Hindman

My wife and I are still bummed about Mike Huckabee losing the Republican Primary. We campaigned for him as much as we could squeeze into our busy lives. My wife and I blogged, contributed, put up signs, annoyed friends and neighbors, you know, the whole “grassroots” thing. My wife made hundreds of phone calls into primary states. I even got to meet Mike and shake his hand (while my wife parked the car — I don’t think I’m out of the dog house yet for that one). Heck our kids even got involved. Cadence (my youngest daughter) would pray for him every night at dinner. It’s funny because now she prays “…help Mike Huckabee get a job”. Aria, my oldest daughter, cried for at least 20 minutes straight when she learned that Mike was pulling out of the race (she heard his concession speech). It’s amazing as parents to see what kind of affect our choices have on our children. They saw us rooting for Mike Huckabee when he didn’t have a prayer (a 1% second-tier candidate). I got behind him in August, right before the Ames, Iowa, straw poll. I introduced him to my family and extended family. My wife came around a few weeks later after hearing YouTube debate snippets. We then watched him slowly but surely creep up in the polls and eventually take the frontrunner status in November. What a roller coaster for us. I’m glad, though, that my kids saw us engaging in the political realm. We did more than vote this time. We led. We paved the way for something. Here’s one of my favorite Mike Huckabee quotes: “We cannot change the world if we refuse to participate in the institutions of society that dictate its direction.” My children saw their parents try to change the world, and that to me is a proud moment in my life.

So, now what? In our sadness, where do we go from here? My answer is simple: we look for a Wilberforce. What is a Wilberforce? Wow, where do I start? If you don’t know who led the world to abolish slavery, and was one of the greatest Christian politicians and scholars of all time, then you should get out more (or maybe stay in and read more). William Wilberforce became a Christian while a member of the British parliament (he called his conversion the “Great Change”). He threatened to give up his post and quit politics altogether and become a minister, but with the encouragement of two people, he stayed in and as a result changed the world. John Newton (the ex slave trader who wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace”) wrote to a friend “… I hope the Lord will make him a blessing both as a Christian and a statesman. How seldom do these characters coincide! But they are not incompatible.” William Pitt (prime minister) wrote to Wilberforce after he asked for guidance if he should drop out of parliament “But forgive me if I cannot help expressing my fear that you are nevertheless deluding yourself into principles which have but too much tendency to counteract your own object, and to render your virtues and your talents useless both to yourself and mankind….Surely the principles as well as the practice of Christianity are simple, and lead not to meditation only but to action…”

So, how long did it take Wilberforce to abolish slavery in the British empire? 30 years. He provided a constant, steady, compassionate, engaging moral voice. He did this without starting a Civil War. He achieved in those 30 years not just the abolishment of the slave trade, but also educational reform, better working conditions, legislation for the poor, the founding of many charitable oganizations. His charitable interests numbered in excess of 70 entities.

I see glimpses of Wilberforce in Mike Huckabee. He is passionate about changing the world. He would like to change his country’s attitude concerning the sanctity of life (from fetus to final stages). I think it can be done in a most beautifully compassionate way. For the unborn, let us lift up the cause of adoption, of providing abortion alternatives, and finally amending the constitution. For those who want to come into this country, let us provide a legal, safe, fair, compassionate way to citzenship. For those in the final stages of life, let us find ways to care for them with respect and dignity.

Finally, let’s desperately seek a Wilberforce at all levels of government…