Antidote for Potomac Fever

“Rubbergate” (as this year’s congressional bad-check scandal has been called), charges of drug dealing in the House post office, and the subsequent Capitol Hill perk wars have highlighted the temptations political figures face. Senate Chaplain Richard Halverson has observed those pressures first-hand. He talked with CT about how some elected officials fight temptation by keeping their faith vital.

I once heard former senator John Stennis of Mississippi address a group of junior senators the day before they were to be sworn in. “Young men,” he said (it happened there were only men in this group), “some men come here and grow; others just swell.”

The senator identified a key issue for elected officials. Some people here talk about “Potomac Fever,” which refers to the heady, contagious sense of power that tempts those who come to Washington. It’s not difficult to imagine how that can spoil a person if he or she is not very careful, and protected by the Lord. How do those who come to Washington keep their spiritual edge? How do they avoid “swelling,” and ensure that they grow spiritually?

I have observed senators do so in several ways. Many, of course, attend church. A number of churches have tended over the years to draw a significant number of senators: Columbia Baptist, McLean Presbyterian, McLean Bible, New York Avenue Presbyterian, National Presbyterian, Fourth Presbyterian, National Christian, National Baptist, Saint John’s Episcopal, National Cathedral, and Foundry Methodist.

And there are a number of resources on or near Capitol Hill: Every Wednesday morning there is a Senate prayer breakfast, which involves about a third of the senators. And there’s a little group that gathers on Tuesday afternoons for inductive Bible study. Another Bible class meets Wednesday afternoons and is held in the office of the senator who sponsors it. And for years, I’ve been having lunch every Thursday with a group of senators, Republican and Democrat; in addition to talking about business, they pray and think about spiritual things. Also, a joint committee of the House and Senate sponsors the National Prayer Breakfast once a year here in Washington. Some of these groups are relatively young, but the Senate and House prayer breakfasts have been going since the early forties.

Interestingly, political differences in these bipartisan groups seem not to enter very much into the discussions. They may joke about these, but their disagreements are never an issue when they are together. I remember hearing John Stennis say in 1956 that the senators who attended the Senate prayer breakfast tended to listen to each other when they were on the floor of the Senate. When they sit down and pray, it is amazing how open and vulnerable they are with a person they may be debating with—or even running against some day. They talk about their families and their needs, they acknowledge their vulnerability, which is something the public won’t allow them to do. It is very biblical and Christ centered.

Leaders in Washington are also helped by the ministry of certain individuals and groups. Doug Coe is a good example. He has a tremendous behind-the-scenes ministry. I met Doug in 1953 when he was a student at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, the same time Mark Hatfield was the dean of students there. After I had been full-time with the National Prayer Breakfast here in Washington for two-and-a-half years and felt led to go to Fourth Presbyterian as pastor, we persuaded Doug to come and be associated with the prayer breakfast. He came in 1959.

God has used him ever since. The best way to describe what he does is to point to Young Life’s approach to reaching youth. He does the same kind of work among national leadership.

In addition to people such as Doug Coe, the Navigators, Campus Crusade for Christ, and similar groups help leaders keep their spiritual edge. But they all try to keep their work invisible.

Walking The Senate Floor

People often ask me what my role is, beyond giving the invocation each day the Senate is in session. In terms of pastoral contact, I spend as much—if not more—time with Senate staff people as with the senators themselves. But I find opportunities on the floor of the Senate or walking with senators to their offices. Sometimes they invite me to drop in and spend a few minutes, or they drop by my office.

I could work here 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I have several counseling appointments every afternoon. I attend the Senate prayer breakfast on Wednesdays and occasionally the House prayer breakfast on Thursdays. I also write a pastoral letter once every six weeks. I write to ten senators and their wives every week, telling them that I’m remembering them daily in prayer. Then I carry that list in my pocket—right over my heart.

When I visit with senators, I often urge them to take the first five minutes of the day in their office, without any kind of an interruption, just to read the Bible or pray or think about God and their moral responsibility. And they’ve been very responsive to that.

I have observed that many who come to Washington manage to grow in their power and influence without becoming controlled by that power. For the most part, those who know Christ take seriously his control of them. And that makes all the difference.

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