John Boone Exercising body and soul By John H. Adams The Layman Volume 35, Number 4 Posted July 19, 2002 John Boone – yes, he’s a distant relative of Daniel Boone – rises early every morning and heads for a 30-minute walk on a quarter-mile track to stay in shape physically and spiritually. John Boone While walking, he listens to a cassette of a lesson by a noted Bible teacher. After the walk, he sits and reads the Bible for 30 more minutes to shore up his understanding of Scripture. It was not always that way. Boone, 75, of Nashville, Tenn., has been a Presbyterian for 50 years, a director of the Presbyterian Lay Committee since 1991 and a political operative long before that. He is a member of the 1,800-member Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nashville, where political conversation permeates the air parishioners breathe. In one election a few years ago, all four candidates for governor of Tennessee were Westminster members. Today’s political notables include Lamar Alexander, publishing magnate Dortch Oldham and U.S. Sen. William Frist, frequently mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate with George W. Bush if he runs for a second term. A retired prominent insurance executive who specialized in retirement investments for professionals and small companies, Boone loved the political atmosphere, but didn’t mix it up with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. The turning point to an evangelical faith came after former President Ronald Reagan ordered American soldiers to invade Grenada in 1983. Within 24 hours, Boone said, the Presbyterian Church (USA) had responded with a denunciation of the invasion of the Caribbean island. “I went to our minister and asked him why,” Boone said. “I said I’d like to have somebody come in from the Georgia headquarters and explain why they were opposed to the president’s action. I told him I’ll take care of them and buy their plane tickets.” His minister followed up on Boone’s request. The denomination’s staff did send to Nashville at Boone’s expense a “nice woman who had no answers.” “I went and got my information elsewhere,” he said. “Elsewhere” was the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a political think-tank in Washington that provides a Christian worldview on a variety of issues. Going to IRD and hearing its people discuss controversial political issues opened Boone’s eyes to the fact that Scripture and facts provided a faithful worldview. Today, Boone is a member of IRD’s board and the founder and chairman of a spin-off group called Presbyterians for Faith and Freedom. He has served six terms as an elder of Westminster and three terms as clerk of session. He is a good friend of the pastor of the congregation despite some major theological differences. They have reached a shared-time agreement on issues on which they disagree. Both gave their reports about the 214th General Assembly to the congregation. Once, after the minister denounced the Presbyterian Lay Committee from the pulpit, Boone got his pastor to agree to have Parker T. Williamson, chief executive officer of the Lay Committee, address the congregation. Boone is an unwavering advocate of fairness and full discussion. On Dec. 30, John and Sally Boone will observe their 50th anniversary. It will be a celebration of faith and family with son John “Jay” L. Boone Jr., a Presbyterian elder in Brentwood, Tenn., and two daughters, Kennie Wieland of Orlando and Martha Bland of Bowling Green, Ky. They and their spouses will bring along the Boones’ six grandchildren. The Institute on Religion and Democracy brought him to the attention of directors of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, and they asked him to join the board. “I had followed the work of The Layman,” he said. “I was impressed with its penetration in the denomination. I believe the biggest problem in the denomination is that people in the pew do not know what’s happening at the denominational level. The best place that can be communicated is by The Layman.” Boone has an evangelist’s heart for people “who sort of perfunctorily go to church because they think it’s the thing to do. Then, they get an agenda. Then, they want the church to endorse their agenda. They come to use the church as their forum to get to the other issues.” He admits the politics of the denomination are tiring. “Yes, I do get discouraged by it. But my local congregation has been such an important part of my family’s life. I see a real obligation to help others see that Biblical faith helps them know what is Biblically correct and not just politically correct.”

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