Or, How Bill Clinton Taught Me True Grace.

I remained a good little Republican boy throughout the 90′s. However, 8 years of the Clinton presidency somewhat muted my enthusiasm for politics.

Sure, I had that momentary feeling of euphoria when the GOP “cleaned house” during the 94 mid-terms. However, that was short-lived.

After all, Bill Clinton was still in office.

Where I come from, hatred of Bill Clinton runs deep. The animus between many conservative Christians, in my experience, is not due to political differences.

It is not disagreement with his positions or ideologies.

It is hatred, pure and simple. Bill Clinton was the poster boy for all that is “wrong with America.”

In 1996, I stumbled a little bit. I made some mistakes, committed some sins, and left ministry. I wandered for a while before I made my way back home.
To come home, I needed grace. I needed forgiveness.  Thankfully, I received that.
During that process of returning, I met my beautiful wife, Tracy. She, too, had the Republican pedigree: actively involved in the Arkansas GOP, a delegate to the 1996 Republican National Convention. We were kindred spirits in more ways than one.
We married in 1998 around the same time a name entered into the vernacular: Monica Lewinsky. I was shocked and outraged at these charges, as was the rest of the country.

Of course, Clinton initially denied the allegations of sexual affairs in the White House. But when the truth emerged, he confessed and repented.

Yet, for many, there was no way he could be sincere. “The only reason he is sorry is because he got caught” was a chorus I heard over and over.

I struggled greatly with the Christian community’s reaction to all of this. I, too, had needed grace and received it. Why would we withhold it from Clinton?

My frustration finally bubbled over one Sunday night when we had a guest speaker at our church. He was a prominent man in our community of Albuquerque. A portion of his sermon was a diatribe against Bill Clinton.

He said, “The Bill Clinton mess is the perfect opportunity to teach our children about sin and about God’s judment on those who persist in such wicked living.”

I was boiling. Where was the grace? Bill Clinton had repented. He had asked forgiveness and prayers. He had asked three Christian leaders to minister to him and hold him accountable. But that wasn’t enough for many of us.

It wasn’t repentance we demanded of Bill Clinton. For so many, the only way Bill Clinton could redeem himself would be to change his political affiliation.  It wasn’t Jesus that Bill Clinton needed to square himself with, it was Newt Gingrich.
That was the first time I felt like abandoning my political party.

When I got to our teen devo that night I said, “The Bill Clinton affair is the perfect opportunity to teach our children about God’s grace and mercy. It is the perfect opportunity to teach that we can find forgiveness no matter who we are, no matter where we have been.”

My years as a Clinton-basher ended that night.

He asked for forgiveness.

It was not my place to doubt his sincerity, question his motives, or withhold forgiveness.

It was my job to forgive.

And to love.  Even Bill Clinton.

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