President Carter reached the greatest qualities during his journey of life: Greatness and Immortality. President Carter’s life was not a “Crystal Stair.” He had to rise above the narrow boundaries of Sumpter County in Georgia. He lived in Plains, Georgia. He and Mrs. Rosalynn Carter lived four (4) history-bearing years at 1600 Pennsylvania, Avenue – The White House. He was our 39th U.S. President. His residence in the heart of children and adults was and remains global. There was a United Nations in his mind, soul and global reach.
President Carter had no control over his birth in 1924. He had limited control over his death date in 2024
but that little dash (-) in between, God gave to him. This affirmation is by no means original. I received it from the late Reverend Dr. Vernon Johns in a commencement Baccalaureate sermon in 1960.
I have tried to allow the above idea or concept to use me for over sixty plus years and invite everyone to do likewise.
President Carter spoke twice at the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church during my years as Senior Pastor. First as Candidate Carter… Second as President Carter. Following President Carter’s message in 1980, he sat in my office and made arrangements to visit Vernon Jordan in Fort Wayne, Indiana where Vernon was in intensive care after an attempted assassination. The late Vernon Jordan was everlastingly appreciative for this surprise visit by the President of the United States of America. President Carter could have sent an aide or made a personal phone call. But he chose to visit Vernon Jordan personally. This, in my opinion, was not a political visit but a personal, moral and spiritual visit.
In a visit with President Carter at Camp David, he talked about, among other things, the Camp David Accord led by President Carter. President Carter later detailed this experience in one of his many books.
President Carter lifted up the fact that during the above negotiations he had to stop meeting with the two of them together and President Carter would shuttle between the cabins of Sadat and Begin. He made a point of lifting up the excellent qualities of one in the absence of the other. Eventually, the tension and mistrust were broken and a lasting living Treaty between the two nations was reached… A Treaty that remains to this day.
The above Treaty was so impactful on the world stage that Begin and Sadat were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize! However, President Carter was not included. Almost 30 years later, President Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his great and enduring work throughout the world, especially in Africa.
Let me add that Mahatma Gandhi was one of the most remarkable human leaders in history. His work led India to independency and Pakistan becoming a new independent nation. Today, India stands as a nation of 1,326,093,247 people. Pakistan has a population of 241,499,431 as of 2023. Gandhi never received the Nobel Peace Prize.
I predict that across the next century, writers, scholars, historians, theologians and people around the world will celebrate and learn from the life of President Jimmy Carter. His mission is great. His deeds are immortal.
When President Carter spoke at our church, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in 1976, he was moved to tears as the choir sang: “Lord, I can’t Turn Back, Just because I’ve been Born Again.”
President Carter calls our nation to a new birth of faith, hope, love, justice, human rights, liberation and reconciliation. Amen.
Last updated on January 18, 2025
