D.C. Talk

When you want straight talk, conversation that cuts right to the heart of the matter without bias and hidden agenda, where better to find it than our nation's capital? At least for two days anyway.



The fact that there have been 51 National Prayer Breakfasts before this week tells me that this bounty of goodwill and nonpartisan fellowship probably won't last. But I must say I was impressed to learn one-fourth of the United States Senate meets every Wednesday morning for a bipartisan Bible study. That's more significant to me, for example, than seeing dozens of congressional leaders at a prayer breakfast, which is televised and could yield positive PR points in an election year. That weekly Bible study, on the other hand, isn't carried by C-SPAN. And greater love hath no one, as far as I'm concerned, than to get up earlier than normal to participate in something spiritual, especially when no one else knows about it.



I can only hope that a theme like this year's, "Lifting Up Jesus," will inspire our leaders to pledge allegiance first to Christ, then to family, then to country, then to political party if there's anything left at that point. The two-party system is probably here to stay. But how radical would it be to witness representatives from both sides of the aisle eschewing "party loyalty" in favor of asking, "What's best for the country?" then voting according to the answer God reveals to them? Of course, the chances of that happening are as likely as my having breakfast with the President.