[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 30, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10451-S10452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE MEMORY OF DR. WILLIAM R. BRIGHT

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 206, which was 
submitted earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will state the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       S. Res. 206, honoring the memory of Dr. William R. ``Bill'' 
     Bright, commending his life as an example to succeeding 
     generations.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the memory of one 
of the great spiritual leaders of the twentieth century, Dr. William R. 
Bright. Dr. Bright, or Bill, as a number of us in this Chamber knew 
him, was a man of great faith, great heart, and great strength. Bill 
Bright's passing on Saturday, July 19, 2003, leaves a hole in my heart 
and the hearts of the many individual lives he touched. For this 
reason, I would like to take a few moments to remember the life and 
work of Dr. Bright.
  Bill was born in Coweta, Oklahoma, in 1921. He graduated from 
Northeastern State University in Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Arts 
degree in economics and a minor in sociology. While a student, Bill 
already showed promise as an energetic community leader. He served as 
editor of the university yearbook, was elected student body president, 
was chosen as a member of Who's Who in American Colleges and 
Universities, and was selected by students and faculty as the year's 
outstanding graduate. After graduation, he joined the extension faculty 
of Oklahoma State University for a time, and then moved to Los Angeles 
to launch a business career.
  While in California, Bill attended the First Presbyterian Church in 
Hollywood, where he became a Christian in 1945 and began an intensive 
study of the Bible. Never one who lacked commitment to those endeavors 
he felt were of great importance, Bill engaged in 5 years of graduate 
work at Princeton and Fuller theological seminaries, while still 
continuing his business interests. During his studies at Fuller, young 
Bright became convinced that he personally needed to be working to help 
fulfill Christ's Great Commission to spread the Gospel to those around 
him. Looking for opportunity to act on this calling, Bright began by 
sharing his faith in Christ with students on campus at UCLA, and 
activity which gave birth to the present worldwide ministry of Campus 
Crusade for Christ International.
  Bill worked faithfully to lead Campus Crusade for Christ from its 
infancy in 1951 to its current size. Campus Crusade has grown to be one 
of the world's largest Christian ministries, serving individuals in 191 
countries through a staff of 26,000 full-time employees and more than 
225,000 trained volunteers. What began as a campus ministry now covers 
almost every segment of society with more than 70 special ministries 
and projects which reach out to students, inner cities, governments, 
prisons, families, the military, executives, musicians, athletes, and 
many others.
  In addition to touching so many lives by the work of Campus Crusade, 
Bright reached out to others through the print and visual media. Bill 
authored more than 100 books and booklets, as well as thousands of 
articles and pamphlets, which have been distributed by the millions in 
most major languages. In particular, his 1956 booklet title The Four 
Spiritual Laws has been printed in over 200 languages and distributed 
to mre than 2.5 billion people. Bright also commissioned the JESUS 
film, a documentary of the life of Christ, which has been viewed by 
over 5.1 billion people in 234 countries and has been translated into 
786 languages.
  While Bill focused on serving others and would not like attention to 
be drawn to himself, he could certainly not avoid attracting praise for 
his great works of religious and community service. Dr. Bright held six 
honorary doctorate degrees: a Doctor of Laws from the Jeonbug National 
University of Korea, a Doctor of Divinity from John Brown University, a 
Doctor of Letters from Houghton University, a Doctor of Divinity from 
the Los Angeles Bible College and Seminary, a Doctor of Divinity from 
Montreat-Anderson College, and a Doctor of Laws from Pepperdine 
University. In 1971, he was named outstanding alumnus of his

[[Page S10452]]

alma mater, Northeastern State University. He is listed in Who's Who in 
Religion and England's Who's Who in Community Service, and has received 
numerous other recognitions. Among the most prestigious of these awards 
was the Templeton Prize for Prgress in Religion in 1996, which is worth 
over $1 million. Bill, in his charity, donated all of this prize money 
to ministries training Christians internationally in the spiritual 
benefits of fasting and prayer.
  Bill Bright was a man of determination and spiritual vigor, a man who 
had great faith, great hope, and great love for his Lord and for his 
fellow man. He was a man worthy of respect and emulation. I, and I know 
many of my colleagues in this Chamber, extend our deepest condolences 
to Bill's wife, Vonetta, his sister, Florence, his brother, Forest, his 
two sons, Zachary and Brad, and his four grandchildren. We know that 
Bill is now in a place of greater peace than ever he was on earth. We 
commend him to his eternal rest and we thank him for his many years of 
faithful service.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the matter be 
printed in the Record as if read.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 206) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 206

       Whereas Dr. Bright died on July 19, 2003, at age 81 in 
     Orlando, Florida from complications related to pulmonary 
     fibrosis, a lung disease for which there is no known cure or 
     effective treatment;
       Whereas Dr. Bright was an agnostic humanist and 
     materialist, and successful Hollywood businessman, until he 
     became ``overcome by the love of our great Creator God and 
     Savior'' in 1945, whereupon he spent 5 years in theological 
     studies at Princeton and Fuller Theological Seminaries;
       Whereas Dr. Bright, with his wife Vonette, in 1951 founded 
     Campus Crusade for Christ International, which now serves 
     people in 191 countries through a staff of 27,000 full-time 
     employees and up to 500,000 trained volunteers;
       Whereas his life focus was on students and laypersons, and 
     from the first he emphasized the role of women as full 
     partners in leadership in the various ministries;
       Whereas Dr. Billy Graham, a long-time friend of the 
     Brights, has said: ``He is a man whose sincerity and 
     integrity and devotion to our Lord have been an inspiration 
     and a blessing to me ever since the early days of my 
     ministry'';
       Whereas Dr. Bright lived simply, owning neither houses nor 
     land, and receiving no honoraria or donations for his 
     thousands of appearances across the world, and the scores of 
     writings and video presentations he developed;
       Whereas when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, he 
     fulfilled a dream of more than 40 years of praying for Russia 
     by donating his entire pension to establish a ministry to the 
     students of Moscow State University;
       Whereas Campus Crusade for Christ International operates 
     more than 70 ministries and projects which offer hope and 
     spiritual enlightenment across the globe to students on 
     hundreds of campuses, urban residents, including minorities, 
     the well-known Athletes-in-Action ministry, leaders of 
     governments, inmates of prisons, aid to families, aid to 
     health and education programs, aid to families of military 
     personnel, executives, entertainers and musicians, and many 
     others;
       Whereas in 1979, Dr. Bright commissioned the JESUS film, a 
     feature-length documentary on the life of Christ, directed by 
     John Heyman, which has since been viewed by more than 
     5,100,000,000 people in 234 countries and has become the most 
     widely viewed, as well as most widely translated, in 786 
     languages, film in history;
       Whereas Dr. Bright is author of more than 100 books and 
     booklets, as well as thousands of articles and pamphlets that 
     have been distributed by the millions in most major 
     languages, including the widely regarded Four Spiritual Laws 
     of which 2,500,000,000 copies have been distributed;
       Whereas Dr. Bright received 8 honorary degrees from 
     universities in the United States and other nations, and 
     numerous awards and honors from higher education, his home 
     state of Oklahoma, and his peers in religious, radio, and 
     television broadcasting;
       Whereas, Dr. Bright was awarded the unique and prestigious 
     Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in 1996, presented 
     by Prince Phillip at Buckingham Palace in London, and was 
     received by Pope John Paul II in Rome where he addressed 
     world spiritual leaders in accepting its $1,100,000 prize, 
     which he directed be given to worldwide fasting for peace and 
     spiritual enlightenment;
       Whereas Dr. Bright sought ecumenical and trans-
     denominational cooperation throughout the world by building 
     more than 1,000 partnerships with other ministries, and in 
     1983, he and former President Ronald Reagan, along with 
     Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant members of the clergy, 
     informed Congress which voted to establish The Year of the 
     Bible to help focus on timeless truths for the Nation;
       Whereas he helped create what media reports describe as the 
     largest non-denominational Christian ministry in the world, 
     and he rejected appeals to establish a single religious 
     denomination and would not allow his name to be attached to 
     any single denominational enterprise;
       Whereas he urged followers to be ``salt and light,'' to 
     seek civility in society, and to be active in ministry to 
     prisons, hospitals, orphanages, and he declared the duties of 
     citizenship to be reliably informed, active in the study of 
     issues, voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, and 
     personal voting;
       Whereas he never endorsed individual candidates or parties, 
     and encouraged laypersons to seek public service and often 
     called upon people in all lands to study American History, 
     declaring President George Washington as his secular hero 
     after Jesus of Nazareth and the Apostle Paul;
       Whereas in response to a suggestion from a Member of the 
     United States Senate, he helped establish the Evangelical 
     Council for Financial Accountability to set high standards 
     and monitor their compliance, setting an example for all 
     charitable organizations;
       Whereas Money magazine has often cited Campus Crusade for 
     Christ International as best or one of the top 5 non-profit 
     ministries for effective stewardship of donor dollars; and
       Whereas in his last months he co-founded the Global Pastors 
     Network, a separate ministry to pastors worldwide with 
     helpful resources and a goal to start 5,000,000 home-based 
     studies of the attributes of God: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) sends its condolences to Mrs. Vonette Zachary Bright, 
     their grandchildren, their sons, Zac and Brad, and their 
     wives, Terry and Katherine, all of whom are also in full-time 
     Christian ministry; and
       (2) does hereby honor the memory of Dr. William R. 
     (``Bill'') Bright, an ambassador of spiritual goodwill, whose 
     58 years of dedicated and effective service stand as an 
     outstanding example of selfless leadership to all humankind.

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