[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 78 (Monday, May 6, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        HONORING DR. OS GUINNESS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE JOHNSON

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 6, 2024

  Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. 
Os Guinness for his distinguished career and his service to the 
American people and to Christians around the globe.
  Dr. Guinness has dedicated his life to thinking, writing, and 
speaking about the turbulent times in which we live. In the context of 
a Judeo-Christian worldview, he has provided thoughtful insights and 
wise counsel within the U.S. Capitol and to leaders and laypersons 
worldwide.
  I have been personally impacted by Os, which he prefers to be called, 
through his challenge to live for our ``Audience of One,'' a term he 
used in his book The Call to refer to our Heavenly Father. He has 
reminded me, and so many others, that we ought to dedicate our lives to 
that cause, to love our enemies, to promote justice, and to seek the 
good of the city in which we live.
  Os is beloved by so many on Capitol Hill. For more than 30 years, he 
has been involved with Faith and Law, an organization that helps 
hundreds of Christian staff members on the Hill think about their 
vocations in government through a biblical worldview. He draws the 
largest audiences of any speaker at their gatherings and has been 
meeting for breakfast with Members of Congress for several years. His 
listeners always leave with a better understanding of the times in 
which we live, and our calling to live out our national motto: In God 
We Trust.
  In recent days, Os has been challenging us to consider the 250th 
anniversary of the birth of our great Nation, which we will celebrate 
in 2026. He's referring to the anniversary as a ``civilizational 
moment,'' and is asking if 2026 will be America's expiration date or a 
challenge to renew the great experiment in freedom.
  I'm optimistic that we are up for the task.
  Os was born in China, during World War II, to medical missionaries, 
and witnessed the climax of the Chinese revolution in 1949.
  He was educated in England, where he completed his undergraduate 
degree at the University of London and his Doctor of Philosophy in the 
social sciences from Oxford University. Os has written or edited more 
than 30 books, including The Call, Unspeakable, A Free People's 
Suicide. The Global Public Square, and The Magna Carta of Humanity.
  Os has also been a Guest Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for 
International Studies, a Guest Scholar and Visiting Fellow at the 
Brookings Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum.
  More importantly, he is the proud husband of Jenny and father of C.J. 
I have had the honor of meeting with both Os and Jenny on many 
occasions and have greatly appreciated their commitment to fasting and 
praying weekly for America's leaders.
  The impact of the life and work of Dr. Os Guinness will be felt in 
the Halls of Congress and around the globe long past the time that we 
are here. I know that I, and many more around the world, are trying to 
live by the words he wrote in his book, The Call: ``We are not 
primarily called to do something or go somewhere; we are called to 
Someone. We are not called first to the special work but to God. The 
key to answering the call is to be devoted to no one and to nothing 
above God himself.''
  On behalf of the United States Congress--and countless colleagues who 
have been impacted by this great man--it is my honor to recognize Dr. 
Os Guinness for his distinguished career and impact on our Nation.

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