Confirmation has been received that Chuck Colson, Founder of Prison Fellowship, died from complications following a brain hemorrhage three weeks ago. His family had been called to his bedside on Thursday. The official time of death was just after 3:00PM Saturday afternoon EDST.

Stoyan Zaimov, a reporter for Christian Post gathered comments from religious leaders on Thursday which praise Colson for his legacy of ‘Moral Courage, Biblical Insight’. Following are extracts from that article.

From Rob Schwarzwalder, Senior VP of Family Research Council: “For nearly four decades, Chuck Colson has been used greatly by God to advance the Gospel, comfort prisoners and show compassion to their families, and stand for truth in the public arena. Few Christian leaders have built a ministry with the reach and effectiveness of Prison Fellowship, Breakpoint, the Centurion program and many other initiatives.”‘

Tom Minnery, Senior Vice President of Focus on the Family: “We sincerely hope that God blesses us with more years of Chuck Colson’s service to people. He has built a legacy that will continue to grow and we need him on the scene in today’s troubled age more than ever.

“Great leader, great thinker, great Christian, great friend. Well done, faithful servant,” wrote apologist author Lee Strobel, who has published over 20 books. “Would love to eavesdrop on conversation between Chuck Colson & Jesus if Chuck passes,” he added.

“A sinner saved by grace who became a great man of God. Christianity will miss his faith and work,” wrote Pastor Mark Decker from CrossWalk Worship Center in Enon, Ohio. Source

Mindy Belz of WORLD Magazine provided this brief biography of Colson:

Colson founded Prison Fellowship in 1976, just over a year after serving a seven-month prison sentence on obstruction of justice charges stemming from his role in the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974. As special counsel under Nixon, Colson became known as the “hatchet man” for his role in vilifying others to cover up illegal White House activities.

Colson resigned from the Nixon White House in 1973 and converted to Christianity after reading C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity.” In 1974 he was indicted on the Watergate-related charges and pleaded guilty. He received a one-to-three-year sentence and served seven months at the Maxwell Federal Prison Camp in Alabama. When word of Colson’s conversion to Christianity reached the press, The Boston Globe reported, “If Mr. Colson can repent of his sins, there just has to be hope for everybody.”

As his official Prison Fellowship biography notes, Colson never really left prison. Upon his release he founded the prison outreach organization that today serves in 113 countries ministering to prisoners and their families. It spawned Justice Fellowship, a public policy organization that lobbies for criminal justice reform, and BreakPoint, a radio ministry heard daily on 1,200 stations with a weekly listening audience estimated at 8 million.

In 2009 Colson participated in the drafting and became a lead signatory of the Manhattan Declaration, a statement on conscience and marriage endorsed by Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and evangelical leaders. Today the pronouncement’s online petition has half-a-million signatures and has become a foundational statement for groups that support traditional marriage and religious liberty.
@Copyright 2012 WORLD Magazine – used with permission