In October 1977, the adult Sunday School class of a church in the heart of the nation’s capital held their annual banquet.
At the event, one of the class members stood up to give the following remarks: “You have made our lives normal lives. You have given us stability in a position that is inherently sometimes unstable … You have taken us in, and we are indebted to you.”
The church was the First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C. (FBCDC). The person delivering the remarks was nine months into his term as President of the United States, Jimmy Carter.
The quote inspired the title of Christi Harlan’s second book about Carter’s relationship with the congregation, “Normal Lives: President Jimmy Carter and His Church,” which is available now on Amazon.
Harlan’s first book, “Mr. President: The Class Is Yours,” chronicled the (at least) seventeen times Carter led the Sunday School class as a substitute teacher.
“Normal Lives” widens the focus of the former peanut farmer’s relationship with the church that became his and his family’s home congregation during their four-year stint in Washington.
Drawn from first-person accounts from members, documents from reporters, and the diary of a church usher, the book is a collection of short pieces designed to illuminate the reciprocal admiration between Carter and his church.
Harlan is a member of FBCDC. During her two-decade journalism career, her articles appeared on the front pages of the Wall Street Journal, Dallas Morning News and Austin American Statesman.
Senior Editor at Good Faith Media.
