From the Eye of the Storm: A Pastor to the President Speaks Out - Hardcover

Deals with issues raised in the impeachment controversy.
The book's subtitle is, "A Pastor to the President Speaks out," but I hasten to say that it does not betray pastoral confidences. I also want it understood that book royalties go to charities because I do not believe it is right to profit by this national tragedy. I hope it will help readers understand the deeper implications of the presidential impeachment controversy. As pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D. C., I have sometimes felt I truly was in the "eye of the storm." The book draws upon that experience, although it does not invade private pastoral conversations. I have taken up issues related to love and sex, repentance and forgiveness, and the relationship between personal character and public responsibility in political leaders. I have expressed my misgivings about the investigative process and the media's coverage. I have explored the strange fact that the president continued to have wide public support despite sharp criticism by influential "elites" in our society. In a concluding chapter, I say why I do not believe the president should be removed from office and why a Congressional reprimand--such as former President Ford has proposed-- would be far wiser. Above all, as a Christian pastor and long-time professor of Christian ethics, I have argued that moral renewal in our nation cannot be achieved in an unloving way. President Clinton is a gifted leader. He has acknowledged wrong-doing, as he should have, but we will be a far healthier country in the long run if we bring closure to this sad chapter in our history by forgiving and restoring his leadership for the remaining two years of his term of office. I have also expressed the hope that there truly will be a moral and spiritual renewal for this great and diverse country. In the end, we should express our better instincts of kindness.

J. Philip Wogaman is former Senior Minister at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. and former Professor of Christian Ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. Wogaman is a past president of the Society of Christian Ethics of the United States and Canada and the author of several books on Christian ethics.