Here is a taste of Daniel Silliman’s obituary at Christianity Today:
People had a lot of questions when they saw a hippie minister with slightly shaggy hair hauling a 12-foot cross with a wheel across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, hauling it down highways, up mountains, into deserts and jungles, through war zones, through cities and remote villages, and into countries where he did not know the language or understand the customs.
They asked what he was doing. Where he was going. And most of all, why.
Arthur Blessitt would answer with the gospel. He would say, âJesus, man, he loves you,â and tell them the cross was a sign of how much. He would say, âIf you would like to know Jesus and invite him into your heart, please pray this prayer with me now, Dear God, I need you âŚâ
Blessitt did that for 43,340 miles, by his count. Which worked out to about 86 million steps and shoes he had to resole or replace several times every year.Â
He started in Hollywood in an impractical pair of sandals that he quickly replaced and went across the country to Washington, DC, and then on to 323 other countries, island groups, and territories. He set a Guinness World Record for longest ongoing pilgrimage and kept going for several more decades after that. He carried his cross all over the world for more than 50 years.
Read the rest here.
Here is a taste of the first draft of my forthcoming book, tentatively titled, “Roads Not Taken: Evangelicals and Politics, 1998-2006”:
George W. Bush was an unlikely candidate to win the hearts and votes of so many on the Christian Right. He was raised in the Protestant mainline. His parents baptized him at Yaleâs Dwight Hall Chapel and dragged him and his siblings along to first Presbyterian Church in Midland, Texas, St. Martinâs Episcopal Church in Houston, and St. Annâs Episcopal Church in Kennebunkport, Maine. When Bush got to college at Yale, he stopped attending church. When he married Laura Welch in 1977, the newlyweds started going to Lauraâs First United Methodist Church in Midland.
Bushâs struggles with alcohol and his propensity for partying was well known. In 1976 he was arrested in Kennebunkport for driving under the influence. Laura had a stabilizing effect on his life, but Bush found it difficult to escape the bottle. When his drinking started to affect his ability to be a good husband and father, Bush sought answers to his problems in the teaching of evangelical Christianity. In April 1984, a traveling evangelist named Arthur Blessitt came to Midland to preach a series of revival meetings. When Blessitt arrived he had already preached the Gospel in 300 countries and walked more than 36,000 miles. Blessitt was no ordinary evangelist. He traveleved with a twelve-foot high wooden cross on his shoulder, and his wanderings around the globe earned him a spot in the Guiness Book of World Records for the âlongest walk.â
Bush had heard Blessitt preach on the radio and he requested a private meeting with him. They met at a local Holiday Inn and Blessitt claims that Bush looked him straight in the eye and asked, âI want to know how to know and follow Jesus Christ.â Blessitt led Bush in a prayer of salvation and when he was finished announced: âThere is rejoicing in heaven now! You are saved!â Bush tried to give Blessitt a check for $1000, but the evangelist did not take donations. Bush was insistent, so he gave it to Blessittâs wife. After the prayer, the cross-bearing evangelists asked Bush a version of a question made popular by D. James Kennedyâs Evangelism Explosion method of sharing the Gospel: âIf you died right now, would you go to heaven? Bush answered âyes.â Later Blessitt recorded in his diary: âApril 3, `1984. A good and powerful day. Led Vice President Bushâs son to Jesus today. George Bush Jr! This is great! Glory to God!
RIP, Arthur Blessitt.