Not Informing,
Colombian Leaders
By Randy Spacht, Executive Director of International Ministries, One Mission Society
highest number of votes in public elections.
He was unknown at that time among politicians, yet he was elected by the strong vote
of the Protestants in Colombia.
He was appointed to chair the first assembly of the Constitutional Congress,
tasked with writing the preamble of the
constitution. His first act as appointed chair
was to resign! He told the first assembly,
“In a republic like Colombia, the chair of the
most important assembly should not be an
appointment. It should be an elected position.” A former president of Colombia, also
a member of the first assembly, stood and
said, “I cast my vote for the only one among
us who would resign a prestigious position
because of his belief in the principles of
the constitution!” Jaime was unanimously
elected as the chair. The opening words of
Colombia’s constitution invoke God’s protection on the people of Colombia.
Jaime became a senator of the Republic
of Colombia after that and worked tirelessly
to infuse Colombian law with Christian principles. He continued to teach in the seminary
from time to time but was mostly known as
an example of a truly Christian politician.
When speaking as rector of the seminary, Jaime was quick to say that our goal
was not to inform students but to form
them. He guided the seminary in an educational philosophy that focused on the transformed life of the student as the basis for
his or her call to Christian ministry. I can still
remember releasing a student from seminary because of his behavior on the soccer field, totally unrelated to his academic
performance. That student later returned,
more mature, having experienced God