Mike Huckabee photo

Huckabee Campaign Press Release - Commander In Chief or Minister In Chief?

January 15, 2016

By Brad Sherman

I was invited to a private meeting with one of the Republican Candidates and his wife. A couple of staffers were also present. Not wishing to be disingenuous, I made it clear at the onset of the meeting that I was supporting Mike Huckabee, but appreciated the opportunity to meet. During the discussion, the wife commented regarding Huckabee (who was a Christian minister before he was Governor of Arkansas for more than 10 years, "We need a Commander in Chief, not a Minister in Chief." I assume the candidate/husband, who said nothing, holds the same view.

As a Christian who understands the spiritual significance of our nation's founding and the necessity of spiritual virtue to maintain our freedom, I take issue with the notion that having been a Christian minister is somehow a negative and that it cancels out a successful political career. Consider this:

The nation is like a ship sailing toward a destination. The president and other political leaders are like the captain and crew of that ship. The people are the wind. When the captain and the crew understand the destination (destiny) of the ship (nation) and when the wind (people) is blowing toward the destination, all is good.

But when the wind blows another direction, as it inevitably will, it is more important than ever for the captain and crew to know the destination of the ship - and if need be, go against the wind. This is the difference between a democracy and a republic. In a democracy, the wind of the people is the final word. In a republic, we recognize that 51% can be wrong and the law of the land is the final authority.

The problem with our nation right now is that most of our political leadership (on both sides of the aisle) have no idea of the spiritual destiny of our nation. As a result, the captain of the ship has steered away from our destiny - sailing with the wind of a people who also do not understand the destiny of the nation. Neither do most of the political leaders that we Christians consider "good," and their efforts only slow the ship down instead of changing the direction of the ship toward the proper destination.

Yes, we need a spiritual revival. But we also need a captain and crew who understand spiritual destiny. We need a captain who is a good communicator - who can speak to the wind and convince it to blow in the right direction. This is primarily the job of church leaders, but church leaders who will speak to the people regarding politics, are relatively few. We need a captain and crew who will drop the sails, man the oars and fight the wind. We need a president who will speak to the people and teach them the destiny of the nation.

Do we need a Minister in Chief or Commander in Chief? Why not both? Having been a pastor and a governor, Mike Huckabee has the experience to be both. I suppose there is a reason why some nations refer to their primary leader as the Prime Minister.

Mike Huckabee, Huckabee Campaign Press Release - Commander In Chief or Minister In Chief? Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/316496

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