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Former President Jimmy Carter, 98, has lived a remarkable life in which his faith has been front and center. As he nears the end of his life and begins hospice care, Americans should take a moment to recognize his service to the country and the world.

Carter has lived longer than any previous president and is currently the oldest living president. He has not wasted those years, but we will get to that in a minute.

My original intent for a Presidents’ Day post was to write an article about the faith or lack of faith of several 21^st century presidents. I had posted the companion article to it — “Did Our Earliest Presidents Let Personal Religious Beliefs Influence Their Decisions?” — several days earlier. That post discussed the religious beliefs of the nation’s first four presidents – George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. (Click here to read the post.)

But the moment I heard about President Carter’s health, I switched gears. If any president deserves recognition for his strong Christian faith and service, it is Jimmy Carter.

The former president has not only talked the talk, but also has walked the walk with every step he takes. In my mind, his actions in regard to faith speak louder than any words he could speak.

Yet, we get back to the issue of separation of church and state. It’s an issue that dominated the companion piece to this post.

Despite Carter’s Christian faith or maybe because of it, “not many Americans understand the depth of his belief in the separation of church and state,” according to America Magazine, which is a monthly publication of the Jesuits of the United States, a Catholic organization.

“As president, Mr. Carter struggles sometimes to reconcile his faith with his secular obligations,” the magazine noted in “Jimmy Carter’s Struggle to Separate Church and State.” Abortion was a case in point.

The Supreme Court had legalized abortion three years before Carter took office in 1976. The new president criticized the idea of a constitutional amendment banning abortion, but also opposed federally funded Medicaid abortions.

“But he was never one to impose his personal religious views on anyone else,” the article stated. Read more here.

The United States was founded on religious freedom rather than Christianity, as many conservatives claim. And their belief that we are a “Christian nation” in modern times simply isn’t supported by facts, as the news on any given day demonstrates.

I am strongly Christian as is President Carter, and I agree with him that people in this country should continue to have the right to worship as they choose.

Do I need to remind Christians that making Christianity the national religion could backfire on them in a big way should another religion — namely Islam — become dominate? And it could happen in the next hundred years.

Do they want their descendants to live in an America where they must become Muslim? I strongly doubt that anti-Muslim Christians want that to happen.

Faith is a deeply personal matter. One person can never really know for certain the depth of another person’s faith. All we can do is look for signs of their beliefs in their actions and listen to their words.

In his book, Faith: A Journey for All published in 2018, President Carter shared some of the lessons he has learned about faith in his long life. “The issue of faith arises in almost every area of human existence, so it is important to understand its multiple meanings,” he wrote.

“In the book, my primary goal is to explore the broader meaning of faith, its far-reaching effect on our lives, and its relationship to the past, present, and future events in American around the world.” Click here and select “Excerpt.”

Carter explained that the word “faith” has many meanings but is typically considered as it relates to religion. He cited stories of several people mentioned in Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy scripture.

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going….By faith even (his wife) Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who made the promise,” Carter wrote. God, of course, made those promises.

“By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not fearing the king’s answer; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible (again, God),” the former president added. The story of Moses tells us how God used Moses to lead the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt and toward the promised land.

The former president, whose service to the country and the world deserves recognition, said he is troubled that Americans no longer have a different kind of faith. It’s the faith they once had in the futures of their children. In Faith: A Journey for All, he also cited the fact that Americans’ confidence in elected leaders has deteriorated. We also have lost faith in one another, he noted.

“Many of our citizens have also lost faith in other ‘principles that never change,’ including truth, equality and goodwill. These issues of are great concern to me as I enter the last stages of my life.”

But he also retains some optimism. “My faith is the key to my optimism. It is important to understand what it means, because faith is involved in almost every aspect of our lives. Read more here.

“Faith is always a living thing,” he added. For Carter, the most important example of faith in his life is the marriage vows he and Rosalynn exchanged many years ago.

“We both took an oath before God ‘to have and to hold from this day forward’…. Fortunately, our continuing love and faith in each other has made it possible to honor those pledges despite many differences and challenges.”

How refreshing to read the former president’s words. They remind us that the world still has good, honorable and decent leaders whose service to the country and the world needs recognition. I’m a former journalist who’s been guilty of focusing on the negative, but it saddens me that it happens.

Carter’s service is huge given the scandals, illegal activities and immoral lifestyles of some of our elected officials past and present. Sometimes, it seems to me that he’s one of a kind. I hope I’m wrong.

Carter has lived his faith throughout his life. One way has been teaching Sunday school for many decades. It’s doubtful that a person with an insincere faith would continue teaching the Christian faith for decade after decade.

“When I teach Sunday school, people come from all over the world to hear my Sunday school lesson, and they come from not only every country in the world, but also they come from every faith.

“So, we’ve got Buddhists and Muslims and Jews, as well as Christians, Protestants and Catholics,” he told the Nashville Tennessee when he was in town for a Habitat for Humanity build several years ago.

Habitat for Humanity is another way that Carter lives his faith. “One of the best ways to practice my faith as a Christian is to participate in Habitat like this every year,” he said. “I think that’s the easiest way for rich people like us to reach out to people in need and work with them equally on the Habitat site.”

Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that helps people around the world repair or build affordable homes. It was founded 1976.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter did not create Habitat, but they have made millions of people aware of its work through their Carter Work Projects. They participated in Habitat builds for more than 30 years beginning in 1984 and stopped only when they were physically unable to continue.

The Tennessean story noted that “we again live in a largely faithless time. We do not trust each other. We do not trust our leaders. We do not trust many of our social institutions…. Carter’s faith is something Americans need again.

“Mutual respect. Giving back. Selflessness. These are words that we need to hear right now, regardless of our politics, or our religion, or any other divisive topic in our society,” the newspaper added.

“America did not want Jimmy Carter as president anymore in 1980,” it continued. “It doesn’t really matter whether we agree on whether that was a good or bad thing, but through using the platform he derives from having once been our president, Carter has shown us why he is still valuable to us. He never gave up on us as a people. He never lost his faith.”

For that and much more, I want to say: Thank you, Mr. President, for your service to the nation and the world, your determination to do your duty even when it clashes with your personal beliefs, and the example you have set for people everywhere. You have served with strong faith and a determination to make a difference in the world.

About Ginny Baxter

Ginny Baxter is a former journalist and public relations professional whose passion is writing. A graduate of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, Ginny majored in English with a focus on journalism. She later studied public relations at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She comes from a progressive Christian family and has been an active church member since childhood. You can read more about the author here.

By Lucas Johnson

NASHVILLE, TN (TSU News Service) — Tennessee State University will receive part of $1.2 million from Baxter International Inc., a leading global medical products company, to support Black students pursuing health and science degrees and ultimately help expand the pipeline of Black healthcare professionals.

Baxter recently announced the introduction of three scholarship and grant programs. Over a three-year period, the funds will be distributed to TSU and two other historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs): Meharry Medical College and Morehouse School of Medicine.

Last year, TSU and Meharry Medical College announced a new partnership focused on establishing a pipeline of African-American doctors and dentists who will provide essential care to underserved communities. The initiative is named after one of TSU’s most distinguished graduates, Dr. Levi Watkins Jr., an internationally renowned cardiac surgeon who holds an honorary degree from Meharry.

The accelerated pipeline program prepares qualified TSU students for early acceptance to Meharry, where students will spend three years in pre-medical courses of study at TSU before being admitted to and enrolling at Meharry to study medicine or dentistry. The Pathway Program participants will complete their undergraduate and medical school studies in seven years, instead of the customary eight years.

“The Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr. Institute is grateful to Baxter for its support and participation in this journey to increase the number of African American physicians and dentists, to assist young outstanding students in pursuing their dreams, and to invest in the communities we serve,” said Ms. Barbara Murrell, chair of the Institute. “This is an exciting time!”

The new scholarships are part of Baxter’s Activating Change Today initiative to advance inclusion and racial justice.

“The lack of diversity in healthcare is a longstanding and multifaceted problem, one that we are focused on helping to address,” said Verónica Arroyave, senior director of Global Community Relations at Baxter. “Creating opportunities that support and empower Black students to pursue medical and scientific careers is one way we can help drive positive change, and we are proud to partner with respected organizations like Meharry, Morehouse, and Tennessee State to expand this effort.”

To learn more about the Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr. Institute at TSU, visit https://www.tnstate.edu/watkins/.

It's easy to coach Brad Baxter.

Baxter, a senior, has a vested interest in Marion County High School football that goes beyond the current team or even the current coaches.

It's a family thing.

Football, specifically Marion County football, is a huge part of Baxter's life, and it's safe to say he has been to more Warriors games than any fellow student. The team's home field, Bill Baxter Stadium, is named after his grandfather, a former Marion County coach and principal. Brad's father played for the program.

In other words, the Baxter family tradition is deeply rooted around Warriors football, which will take its show on the road Saturday for a Tennessee Class 2A championship game date with west Tennessee power Trezevant at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville.

"Our football program and his family and the traditions are very important to him," Marion County coach Ricky Ross said. "You can see how much it matters to him just by his approach to everything we do."

The fact that he's a tight end without a pass reception and a middle linebacker who doesn't lead his team in tackles just don't figure into Baxter's personal philosophy for football.

"Tackles? I have no idea," he said. "I do know I had a couple or three fumble recoveries."

For the record, Baxter is one of the keys to the Warriors' touted running game, whether it's getting to a linebacker or safety, or leading the way if they decide to move the ball on the edge.

It is on defense, though, where Baxter has developed a special relationship with Ross, who doubles as the Warriors' defensive coordinator. It was all but necessity that Baxter become close with his coach.

"He doesn't have a lot of room for error without consequence," said the hard-nosed Ross. "He gets and makes all of our defense calls, and he has to understand what we're doing and why and where everybody's supposed to be, so there's a lot more to football for him than lining up and playing once the ball is snapped.

"The way he's handled the job is just another reason why we value what he does."

Baxter is the team's second-leading tackler - behind Mr. Football semifinalist Alex Kirkendoll - with 107 total tackles, a stat that includes six sacks and 18 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

"He isn't the biggest football player you'll see or the fastest, but football at Marion County matters a whole lot to him," Ross said. "As a coach, I've found that we can depend on him. He does what he is asked to do. And he isn't one to make excuses. When he doesn't get the job done, which is rare, he just says, 'Coach, I'll do better next time.'"

That next - and last - time comes Saturday.

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at @wardgossett.

Tony Gonzalez has an excellent story about how Metro owns art it can't afford to maintain and how they’re looking into how to fix that.

One of the pieces in desperate need of maintenance is the statue of Jere Baxter. Anne-Leslie Owens, of Metro Arts, tells Gonzalez “I suspect if you asked anybody on the street, you’d have a hard time finding anybody who knows who Jere Baxter is.”

Really? The second or third most interesting Baxter brother and Owens thinks no one knows who he is? Granted, he lacked the superb facial hair of his brother, Edmund, and he wasn’t some great Confederate officer like his brothers, but he was still awesome. The town of Baxter, Tennessee was named after him. He, like his brothers, was a huge proponent of public education for everyone, black and white. I don’t think this was necessarily because they went from Confederate slave owners to progressive civil rights activists, but because they wanted an educated workforce for their railroads.

Plus, y’all, I already told you the greatest story about Jere Baxter and that statue and the anti-Jere Baxter statue his enemies claimed to have put in Centennial Park. Teaser:

Jere Baxter dies and his friends put up a statue in honor of him. Did his enemies really put up a counter-statue of John Murrell in Centennial Park, since, if Nashville was going to be honoring famous thieves, might as well honor the most famous?

If you can read about something that funny — a guy so loved his friends put up a statue to him and so hated his enemies retaliated with another monument — and not remember the name Jere Baxter, then that’s on you. Jere lived a memorable life.

Also, just on a side note, Jere’s mortal enemy, the leader of the faction that might have put up an anti-Jere statue, was Judge Jacob Dickinson (though I don’t think he had anything to do with the anti-Jere monument), who you may remember from recent news stories as the guy who sold Polk Place to developers thus necessitating us rescuing the Polks and reburying them on the State Capitol grounds.

If I wasn’t already Team Jere because of my fondness for his family’s facial hair, I would be just because Dickinson hated him.

By Alexis Clark

NASHVILLE, TN (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University students aspiring to become nurses one day could be one step closer to achieving that goal thanks to a $200,000 gift from Baxter International Inc. The global medical products company will award four TSU nursing majors academic scholarships for fall 2023.

Baxter’s ongoing financial support is a part of its partnership with the University to inspire and assist African Americans to become healthcare professionals in a field where minorities are underrepresented. The funds will be split into 4-years for each student.

Last year Baxter International Inc., awarded four TSU students $200,000 in scholarship funds to help fulfill their dreams of becoming nurses. Meah Frazier, a freshman nursing major who received the Baxter scholarship last semester, said she was grateful for the opportunity and is pleased to know the company is continuing its commitment to TSU.

“Having a scholarship from Baxter has helped me reduce any financial burdens and has allowed me to pursue my long-term aspiration of becoming a nurse practitioner,” Frazier said. “From a long-term perspective, this will also assist me serving patients in need and giving back to my community.”

She noted that the TSU, Baxter partnership will encourage fellow students to pursue careers in the healthcare industry.

“I believe African American representation in health care is vital as it can assist in eliminating disparities in the medical field such as cultural ignorance and common misconceptions about ‘Black patients’ health.”

Baxter’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, Angela Lee, said she is honored to be a part of this commitment.

“Through Baxter’s Activating Change Today (ACT) initiative, we are proud to continue our relationship with TSU in support of important programming that increases the pipeline of Black students in health and sciences fields,” Lee says.

Dr. Ronald Barredo, Dean of the College of Health Sciences, said the Baxter scholarships will change the personal and professional trajectories of its recipients.

“For one, the burden of financial support throughout their matriculation is lifted as recipients matriculate through the nursing program,” Barredo says.

“Additionally, these recipients are able to focus on their education and training, allowing them to become nurses who, in turn, affect the health trajectories of the patients they touch.”

There are currently 41 students enrolled in the university’s BSN undergraduate nursing program. As of Fall 2022, there are over 750 nursing major students.

For more information about the nursing program, visit www.tnstate.edu/nursing/.