Happy birthday, Ronald Reagan. February 6, 2011 is the 100th anniversary of the Gipper’s birth. He was arguably the best president of the 20th century.
         Many would disagree with that assessment and give that title to FDR. However, I would not because it was World War II---not FDR’s economic policies---that ended the Great Depression. In fact, some economists point out that the New Deal actually lengthened the financial crisis.
         Be that as it may, Reagan was certainly the greatest president in my life time.
         ·In one day, just by getting sworn in, he ended the Iranian hostage crisis (the Iranians knew enough not to fool around with at the helm);
         ·He played a critical role in ending the Cold War;
         ·He was the key architect of the longest peacetime expansion of the economy in our nation’s history, which lasted about two decades.
        Above all, he inspired hope---especially at a time we sorely needed it.
         What was the source of Reagan’s greatness? He managed to successfully pull together various factions. Leaders since his time have not done so well.
         Reagan was:
         ·conservative on defense;
         ·conservative on the economy;
         ·conservative on the social issues.
He combined these values in one man---and an articulate man at that. Reagan knew what he believed and why he believed it. Therefore, he was able to inspire members diverse groups to claim him as their own, thus, he created a great coalition.
         On the social issues, I remember to this day what Reagan said during a 1980 debate on abortion. A reporter asked him in a hostile way, as I recall, why he wasn’t pro-choice? He responded, "Well, first of all, I happen to notice that everyone who’s pro-choice has already been born."
         One source of Regan’s greatness is often overlooked. Call it the faith factor.
         I must credit Dr. Paul Kengor, professor at Grove City College, who wrote the book, God and Ronald Reagan for research on this point. Dr. Kengor once told me, "The great communicator found his first audiences in a church as a young man leading sunrise prayer services at Easter time, emceeing church-related events in northern Illinois, teaching a Sunday school class, learning, as he put it, ‘the value of parables.’" This was at First Christian Church on 123 South Hennepin Avenue in Dixon, Illinois. Kengor visited the church as he researched his book.
         Do you know what Reagan’s first experience at leadership was? Teaching boys younger than him Sunday school classes at his Dixon church. Kengor told me, "he taught that Sunday school class as a junior and senior in high school and did not miss a single class in almost two and a half years." He taught boys that were a few years younger than him. This is how one of the world’s great statesmen first cut his teeth of leadership.
         Reagan’s frather taught him how to tell stories well---a skill he used masterfully. His mother taught him the value of prayer, of dreaming big, and of having faith.
         Going to church was a lifelong habit for Reagan, except for when he was in office because of all the security issues---especially after he was shot.
         Another thing I learned from Dr. Kengor is that when Reagan was a young man and was baptized at the above-mentioned church, his mother gave him a book that helped set the direction of his life. The book was That Printer of Udell’s by Harold Bell Wright, a heavily religious novel, dated 1903.
         It’s essentially the story of a man who comes to have strong faith and who then sees himself called by the Lord to do something important for the world. So he runs for pubic office and eventually ends up in Washington, DC, as a successful statesman---a true public servant, doing much good for the world in his role in politics. This little-known book---at least little-known today---helped set the trajectory for one of our greatest presidents.
         So, happy birthday, Ronald Reagan. We’re so glad you went to Washington, DC, as an effective public servant.
         Reagan always reminded us to remember God, the ultimate source of America’s greatness as he saw it. He said, "America needs God more than God needs America. If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under."