The Peanut Farmer from Plains GA
Thursday, April 17, 2025
“We believe that the first time we’re born, as children, it’s human life given to us; and when we accept Jesus as our Savior, it’s a new life. That’s what ‘born again’ means.” – Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States
For the record, I don’t think Jimmy Carter was a very effective president. Yes, he did mediate the historic Camp David Accord between Israel and Egypt, but he also gave away the Panama Canal and allowed 53 American citizens to be held hostage by Iranian dissidents for 444 days. During his administration, inflation soared to double-digits and the Arab oil embargo resulted in high prices, long lines, and periodic shortages at the gas pump.
It's no wonder why most historians rank the peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia in the bottom half of our nation’s 45 different chief executives.
That being said, Jimmy Carter was a true Christian gentleman who wore his faith on his sleeve. His post-presidency work with the Carter Center, which helped to eradicate guinea worm disease in Africa while overseeing democratic elections throughout the world, was certainly laudable. So were his many years of volunteer service with Habitats for Humanity.
As a new believer in 1976, Jimmy Carter and Chuck Colson were the first two famous people I heard use the phrase “born again” and not apologize for it. For that, I will always be grateful to both of them.
I have only met one former president in my life, and it was James Earl Carter. After teaching Sunday School at the Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown, President Carter willingly posed for a picture with my family and me in the courtyard. What a precious memory!
We may not have seen eye-to-eye on some political issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage or even on some biblical issues such as the ordination of women, but it won’t matter when we meet in heaven. The only criteria for passing through the pearly gates is whether you have been born again.
Jimmy Carter was and so, I look forward to seeing him there!
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” John 3:3 (NKJV)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
