[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 25, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H5089]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      WELCOMING DR. JAMES MERRITT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Woodall) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I have the honor of hosting the guest 
chaplain today, and I believe you were feeling his words that we are 
all going to be held to account at the end, as you recall, in that vote 
series there. Those are powerful words, and it is not just something he 
shares in Congress today; it is something he shares with our entire 
community.
  If you recognized his voice in that prayer, Mr. Speaker, it is 
because he is the host of the Touching Lives Ministry. It can be seen 
in all 50 States and around the world.
  He has his lovely bride of more than four decades, Teresa, with him 
here in the gallery, and he leads back in my home State, Mr. Speaker, 
Cross Pointe Church in Duluth.
  He left First Baptist Church Snellville and was called to plant a new 
congregation. It is a powerful ministry, not just with the Word, but 
with what the Word tells us we should do in deed, and it is lived out 
there every day.

  From 2000 to 2002, Mr. Speaker, he was the president of the Southern 
Baptist Convention. I told the gentleman earlier that, if he can handle 
church politics, he can certainly handle the politics that we are 
involved in here.
  But the honor for me, because I have such deep respect for all of my 
colleagues here, is to share a little bit of back home with each one of 
you.
  Dr. Merritt embodies the Seventh Congressional District values of 
faith and family and duty, and I am grateful to him, not just for his 
prayers in ministry to me, not just for his prayers in ministry to our 
community, but to the entire Nation and to the world.

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