opinion

I am an evangelical minister and I support Rand Paul

As my wife and I have become more involved in the process of electing leaders, we have become more aware of political clichés that sound good in 10-second sound bites. But now we demand more substance. Before, it was enough if a candidate told me they were pro-life and pro-marriage; I could be won over fairly easily.

As I studied Rand Paul and his message, it became clear that there were some very real connections that I had with him on a personal level. As I vetted the 2016 candidates, I had a clear agenda to determine who addressed the real issues facing our nation. As a minister I see the tragedies in our communities.

Rand Paul is committed to reforming our broken criminal justice system. We are feeling the shock waves through our culture because it wasn’t addressed sooner. I strongly believe that the punishment should fit the crime.

When I was 13 years old I met my biological father for the first time. I developed a relationship and bonded with him. It was something I had dreamed about. Two years later, my father was arrested for conspiracy charges on drug trafficking. As a young man in an impressionable stage, it caused a crisis in my life. My dream was annihilated.

My father was sentenced to 13 years in prison. While I do not dispute that my father committed a crime and should have been incarcerated, I don’t believe that the penalty for his crime was appropriate. My little brother has followed that path and I believe that it has been directly related to the fatherlessness he experienced as a teenager.

Upon completion of his sentence I am happy to report that my father has reformed and is now a Christian. Rand Paul understands the unintended consequences of this type of justice system and is committed to reforming it.

In 1975, my mother found out she was pregnant with me. She was advised by the doctor to have an abortion, or else the consequences could be fatal to her, me, or both of us. Since the newly minted Roe vs. Wade allowed for the killing of her unborn baby it was a new crisis mothers were facing. I am thankful that she chose life and I am here to testify today.

Rand Paul has done something revolutionary that has changed the pro-life debate. He has gone on offense and has the Democrats and pro-aborts scrambling to explain themselves. The life issue is my No. 1 priority and Paul’s progress on this issue is unmatched.

In a recent meeting full of the evangelical movement’s top leaders, Rand humbly answered a question as to how he is going to answer fix our moral crisis. His answer: “If you are looking to Washington, D.C., for answers on the moral crisis of our country, you’re looking in the wrong place. I believe that they can better be addressed from the pulpits and assemblies where people of faith are gathered.”

With that answer, it gave me a window into the soul of a man that has a biblical worldview on how the church and the government were designed to work in harmony with one another. My wife and I believe that Rand Paul is uniquely qualified to lead us on a path back to the righteousness that our country once enjoyed.

MARK DOLAND is a minister in Oskaloosa. Contact: pixilating_99@yahoo.com