Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street. Sir Isaac Newton, in a letter written in 1675 to fellow scientist Robert Hooke, wrote this, quote, If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. Chuck Colson loved that quote, and he was one of those giants for so many of us. That's why it's our privilege to steward his legacy each and every day at the Coulson Center.
In fact, Chuck Coulson believed that his most important legacy, more than any organization that he created or any book that he wrote, would be people. That's why he started what he called at the time the Centurions Programme, something that now continues under a different name, the Coulson Fellows Programme. Years ago, Chuck Coulson, in his own words, described the important vision that he had for founding this program. Here's Chuck Coulson. I have a burning passion.
It's the first item on my prayer list every day. And that's to see a movement of Christians raised up from the churches to defend truth in the marketplace of ideas and to live out the gospel. Nothing less than this kind of an awakening can possibly save our quickly deteriorating culture. That's why I'm now spending all of my time working at Breakpoint and the Coulson Center. One of my major projects is developing Christian leaders who can understand and defend a biblical view of all of life.
We call this the Centurions Program. For the past six years, we brought 100 of the best and brightest into this year-long teaching effort to study under some of the best minds in the Christian world. It's demanding. We read books together, review movies, critique them, do a lot of teaching online, and have three residencies during the year in Lansdowne, Virginia, near our offices. Our Centurion graduates are like the Marines or Navy SEALs.
They're on the front lines, the next wave of leaders. Can this work? Just two weeks ago I was in Albuquerque, New Mexico for a rally on behalf of the Manhattan Declaration. It was organized by the Catholic Archbishop Michael Sheehan and a former congressman named Bill Redmond, who's a Centurion graduate. You can imagine my thrill when I walked into the convention center to see 1,600 participants, and they were on fire.
They were there to learn biblical worldview, how to defend the sanctity of human life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty, to learn how to become activists. There were representatives from across the denominational spectrum.
Southern Baptists, Nazarene, Assemblies of God, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, the church had come together. And all this was organized by one gutsy archbishop and one centurion graduate. They in fact had built a powerful network across the state of New Mexico.
So yes, it can be done. And our centurions are doing a whole variety of important tasks right across the spectrum, like John Blankemeyer, who founded a safe home for girls rescued from forced prostitution. Jose Delgado, a hospital chaplain who teaches emergency medical technicians how to build stronger marriages. Kathy Peel, who founded a group to help mothers under distress, and so many more. By the time they're certified, centurions know how to write, discuss, and teach Christian worldview in all sorts of settings.
They know how to create God-honoring culture through the arts, media, literature, and business. They're able to debate ethical challenges with medical professionals, advocate human rights, and develop tomorrow's leaders by raising children grounded in biblical values. In short, they learn to defend truth in an age in which many believe such a thing does not exist. Look folks, the reason the church today is having so little impact is too many Christians view their faith only in terms of a personal relationship with Jesus. But Christianity doesn't stop with salvation.
That's only the beginning. We've got to learn how to present our worldview in a winsome way. And if we don't do this, it simply dooms our churches to isolation and irrelevance, just when our culture desperately needs the hope of the gospel more than ever. When Chuck passed away in 2012, the program that he started as a centurion's program was renamed the Colson Fellows Program. I think Chuck would be absolutely ecstatic that this past year, over 1,500 Christians from across the country, even around the world, studied worldview, theology, and culture in the Colson Fellows Program.
And they're now planning to apply what they've learned in the time and place where God has called and placed them. If you desire to make a similar impact in your community for Christ and to better understand what's happening in today's world through the lens of a Christian worldview, consider studying with the Colson Fellows Program this coming year. As a Colson Fellow, you'll find a deeper understanding of truth. You'll be better equipped to live out your faith in this cultural moment, wherever God has placed you. Applications are still being accepted for this year's program until the end of this month.
So, for more information and to apply, visit colsonfellows.org. That's colsonfellows.org. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. For a version of this commentary that you can print out or share with others, visit us at breakpoint.org.
