The Man From Plains… – Greg Albrecht

“Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about which the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. – John 1:45-46

Can Anyone/Anything Good Come Out of Plains, Georgia?

James (Jimmy) Earl Carter Jr. – the 39th president of the United States – was the longest-lived president, the first to live a century and perhaps, seemingly more important to Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, the only president whose marriage lasted and endured 77 years.

The Man from Plains was born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia and died in Plains, Georgia, December 29, 2024. Having served as governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter was an outlier who barely defeated Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election, serving as POTUS from January 20, 1977 until January 20, 1981. The journey of the Man from Plains to the White House was an extraordinary rise.

In one of the most succinct summaries of the Carter presidency David Gergen, advisor to four presidents, reflected: “Most people go to Washington in search of their own power. Carter went to Washington in search of our national soul.”

On January 20. 1977, following his swearing in ceremony, the Man from Plains became the first president to exit the motorcade during the inaugural parade from the Capitol and walk down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. He was the first president to shun using his official name, choosing instead to be sworn in as “Jimmy.” He took the oath of office using a family Bible, opened to Micah 6:8 – “… And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

In his 43 years of life as a former president many have extolled him as a better former president than he was an acting president in the Oval Office. Perhaps his Christ-centered faith may have prevented him from much of the skullduggery that seems to characterize the “skill set” required of a “successful” president. Jimmy Carter may well have been the most outstanding example of a POTUS who acted justly, loved mercy and walked humbly with God.

When he arrived in Washington D.C. many of the entrenched, elite aristocracy of the Washington D.C. beltway were skeptical of the outlier peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia. No one from Georgia had ever been president. Jimmy Carter had attended Georgia Tech for crying out loud – not Harvard, Yale or Princeton. Many elites took solace in the fact this new president had graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, consoling themselves that at least Jimmy Carter had some awareness of “their culture” beyond his peanut farm in Plains they so despised and belittled.

While many of his predecessors in the 19th century had been from southern states, at that time in the 20th century only Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) from Texas had been as “southern” – but as everyone, including east coast elites knew (and know), Texas is far from the Deep South. No one before Jimmy Carter had been a POTUS from the Deep South – let alone a peanut farmer.

Jimmy Carter was, at least initially, regarded with deep skepticism, suspicion and snobbery from both sides of the aisle in D.C. In the establishment’s eyes Plains, Georgia was as far from the power centers of Washington D.C. as Nazareth was from Jerusalem in the first century AD.

“Country bumpkin” Jimmy Carter wound up brokering a historic peace between Israel and Egypt, among other accomplishments. When he kick-started a deregulatory push, setting the stage for an economic boom as a foundation for desperately needed recovery from out-of-control inflation he was swimming upstream against many in his own party.

Jimmy Carter said, “Of all our weapons against inflation [note – you think inflation is high? By the end of Carter’s presidency home mortgage rates were over 16%!], competition is the most powerful.”

He lifted price controls on oil and gas, deregulated railroads, trucking and airlines … and like all presidential decisions, much of the favorable impact in these areas came after he left office. But again, for many in his own party, with these decisions, he was an outlier.

After his only term in office as POTUS Jimmy Carter lived an awe-inspiring life of service. He started slinging a hammer for Habitat for Humanity in 1984, continuing until well into his 90s to volunteer building homes that the poor could afford. Teaming up with Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, Jimmy Carter not only helped build homes for the poor but he helped put Habitat on the map.

It was a high honor for me to befriend, and be befriended by Millard Fuller, who founded Habitat, and during a day spent with Millard in Americus, Georgia, (next door to Plains) talk about his life, Habitat and his close personal relationship with President Jimmy Carter.

Within hours of President Carter’s death, I was surprised to hear from Rob DeRocker, who wrote of his first meeting with President Carter, just over 40 years ago. Rob DeRocker describes his memories of President Carter’s arrival on a Trailways bus in Manhattan for his first Habitat for Humanity project. (For more see the link at the bottom of this tribute to read his article).

While I did not have Rob DeRocker’s experience of personally meeting and working with Jimmy Carter, through Millard Fuller I came to appreciate the mission of Habitat. Under the leadership of Millard Fuller and Jimmy Carter, Habitat built homes for the poor, but they did not give the homes away. Yes, Habitat helped new homeowners, making a way for its homes to be affordable, at an incredibly discounted price, to those in need.

But Habitat also helped give the homeless a home and a life. Sadly, federal government programs for the homeless, as well as those of many states seem to miss the point – so many programs give indiscriminately, throwing money at a problem while failing to provide a path to dignity and self-respect for the disadvantaged.

Habitat for Humanity was by no means the only post-presidential, self-sacrificial service in which Jimmy Carter engaged. He flew around the world, involved in conflict mediation in many countries and regions where antagonisms between bitter rivals gave way to immense suffering and death. Under his leadership Jimmy Carter and those who supported him sent well over 100 election-observation missions all over the world, attempting to ensure the purity of democratic elections.

On December 10. 2002 Jimmy Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights and to promote economic and social development.”

Turns out this outlier peanut farmer from Plains was a giant of a man, a Christ-follower who served others in so many wonderful ways. Turns out something incredibly good and wonderful came out of Plains!

Mr. President: May we follow your example and legacy of caring compassion and selfless sacrifice. May we pay forward your life and example.

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Here is the link to Rob DeRocker’s article (plus a short video) of President Carter’s trip to Manhattan for his first Habitat for Humanity project: – Habitat for Humanity pioneer remembers Jimmy Carter’s charitable efforts | Opinion

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