Why Some Young Evangelicals Still Find Inspiration in Former Nixon Aide Chuck Colson

Even among young evangelicals, more contemporary religious thinkers — Karen Swallow Prior or Rachel Held Evans — might be viewed as more accessible. But Colson’s intense activism, which supporters contend advocated issues and not political parties, seems to appeal to some in a generation seeking a course correction from the likes of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. That activism found its first expression in the ministry that became Prison Fellowship. Though Colson’s time in jail was relatively brief, he was moved by the experience and by those of the men he met behind bars.