It is now time to sit and have a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, for the next installment of this book report. Tell ya what, let's go out on the front porch and have a cup of sweet tea. If ya forgot your guitar grab "Stella" and guitar pick on the front porch as I read this book report.* It is just too dang hot to sit in front of the fireplace with a hot beverage.
If you are new to this blog or missed previous book reports go to Intro, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 3 and read first.
I have decided to install a new feature to me book reports. "I Heart Huckabee." Don't worry, I'm not the "Obama stalker girl." Nor will I give a link to that nasty asty video. What I will do is this, whenever there was something Mike Huckabee wrote in his book Character Makes a Difference that I felt like pointing to and saying I love that, that is awesome, I will add this symbol 
to the beginning and end of the statement.
Well, on with the book report. No, the title of this post is not a typo. That is the actual title Mike chose for Chapter 4. You may be wondering why a former Baptist Preacher, turned Republican politician would choose such a title. Read on and you will figure it out.
The premise of this chapter is about Mike Huckabee went from a church career to a political career and how there are some similarities in the two. Shocking, huh? That's what I thought, too. If you stayed awake through all that, let's get on with the book report.
As a teenager Mike was more interested in politics than pastoring. He did not see himself in the traditional pulpit ministry of pastoring. He wanted to fulfil a ministry in communications. His pastoring experience included six years at Immanuel Baptist Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. And another six years at Beech Street Baptist Church in Texarkana, Arkansas.
In 1980 He was invited to be a speaker at Immanuel Baptist. He eventually worked his way up to being full time pastoring. His time in Pine Bluff was rather unconventional. The church was into advertising, a radio program called "Positive Attitudes", TV stations in Pine Bluff and Texarkana. The TV stations broadcast both religious and local isssues.
In 1989 he was elected president of the Arkansas State Baptist Convention. He was the youngest person to hold this position. At this there was quite a bit of church politics. Mike credits the church politics for paving his way into governmental politics. There was quite a bit of media attention on the church politics.
Mike became interested in Republican politics when he was in high school. He had gotten involved with Boys State, a program designed to help young men in high school to become civic minded. When he was a pastor he did not get involved with party politics. He would speak and pray at political dinners and meetings, but that was as far as he took it.
In 1991 a friend he had met through Boys State encouraged him to run in the US Senate. At this time he was getting frustrated, not angry or bitter, with the way things were going in church. During his early years of ministry he felt that the congregation was looking for a "captain of warship leading God's warship into battle to change the world." He had become convinced that they wanted him to be captain of the Love Boat. While Mike was concerned with social issues such as marriages, teen drug problems and teen pregnancies, they were more concerned with menus, colors of softball jerseys, coffee pots, etc.
Mike was at a crossroads, wondering what to do. He calls Janet his best friend.** One night the two of them took a long walk around the neighborhood to talk about what he should do. That night he made a decision to run for Senate. The following Sunday he made the announcement to the congregation.
Senator Dale Bumpers was up for re-election. Mike knew it be difficult for a Republican to be running against an incumbent Democrat, but he was willing to give it a try anyways. At the time the Arkansas view of Republicans was that they were the wealthy and privileged few. Arkansans viewed Democrats as the party of the working man.
Mike realized that even when the parishioners get upset with the pastor, they don't go public with their grievances. After he announced candidacy, he realized, that he was fair game in regards to public criticism. Through this process friendships were unraveled. Many times he would be scheduled to speak at Southern Baptist Churches to speak. Just the week before the scheduled speaking engagements the pastor would call him and cancel the event. These were same churches that he would speak at when he was president of the ABSC. In the book Mike notes four similarities between pastors and politicians, other than (in his words) a closet full of dark suits. Those things are;
- The ability to communicate a message effectively.
- The ability to motivate volunteers
- A clear understanding of the media
- The ability to raise money
He also talks about good stewardship in both church and government. He realizes that pastors and elected officials should use other peoples money wisely. When he was a pastor he wanted to honestly be able to tell the widows who tithed with their Social Security checks that the money was spent wisely. Pastors and politicians need the ability to persuade people without holding a hammer over their heads. Neither pastors nor politicians can please everyone. Both pastors and politicians are living in "public fishbowls." Outside of their personal quarters their lives are on display for all to see.
I think there is difference between role-playing and role-living. Role-playing is a sham; role-living is being comfortable with who you are anytime an observe walks up to the fishbowl for a look.
Let me be clear. The Republican Party is not "God's party" either. God doesn't join our organizations. He asks us to join his. Political parties are simply vehicles to help us get to the place of changing public policy, and some vehicles drive better than others because of their features.
* Stella is the name of my guitar.
**While I usually say, "eww yuck, how phony" whenever politicians start talking about their wives and kids. With Mike and Janet Huckabee I think they truly love and care about each other without pandering to the public's sensibilities.
In my attempt to butcher the Beverly Hillbillies closing credits, written by Paul Henning and sung by Jerry Scroggins:
- Now it's time to say goodbye and read the next chapter
I would like to thank you folks for kindly reading this
You're all invited back again to this blog
To have a heaping helping of this hospitality
(Hillbilly that is. Set a spell. Take your shoes off. Y'all come back now, ya hear?)
God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!
I will try harder to get these book reports out faster.
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