Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee: How Faith Transformed His Story From Tragedy to Triumph

For 25 years, before being elected Tennessee’s 50th governor, Bill Lee led a successful farming business. He had a loving family and a life of which most men would dream. Then suddenly, his life took a turn for the worst, propelling him into grief and questioning his future.

This is where Gov. Lee learned about the transforming power of faith. He allowed his faith in God to completely transform him and his circumstances. “God is a redeemer, and He takes the most difficult of circumstances and uses them for good.”

This tragic experience was a catalyst for this father of four to evaluate his purpose in life. It inspired him to turn his focus to the needs of others, serving with his children on the mission field overseas, in business and in his own community in Tennessee. While serving as a mentor to an inner-city child and being involved in his education, along with mentoring men in a prison ministry reentry program, Lee became interested in education and criminal justice policy at the state level.

“The progression of movement from my life experiences to interest in public policy caused me to step back and say ‘Hey, maybe I should get more involved—ultimately involved—and run for governor.’”

With no prior experience in politics and simply an interest in seeing the people in his state prosper, Lee ran for office and won.

During his time in office, this servant leader has come full circle, seeing policies he was once only interested in becoming reality in his home state. Using his business experience from private industry, he has led the state of Tennessee to become renowned for fiscal responsibility, developed two substantive criminal reform bill packages, passed an education bill for low-income students, passed a pro-life bill and established a pro-life faith-based initiative, among other accomplishments in support of his residents.

In this Kingdom in Politics podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network, learn more about Governor Bill Lee’s story and be reminded that faith can transform any circumstance from tragedy to triumph. {eoa}

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