The Honorable Kay Coles James Points to the LORD as Her Source of Confidence
During the first Cornerstone University Community Chapel in February, the Honorable Kay Coles James exhorted students, faculty, staff, and friends of the university to live in reverent awe of who God is and to remember the source of their identity in Jesus Christ. As she prepares to celebrate her 75th birthday this year, James shared the promise of confidence outlined in Proverbs 14:26, telling stories from her lifetime record of public service and reflecting on the importance of spiritual disciplines in her life as she lives with hope for the future.
James has worked at the local, state, and federal levels of government for more than 40 years, serving under four United States presidents and two Virginia governors. She has served dozens of corporate and nonprofit organizations, including career experience as the president of The Heritage Foundation. James is the founder and former president of The Gloucester Institute, the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and a best-selling author. In addition, she mentors undergraduate students who are committed to a future of Christ-centered cultural influence as a national fellow in the President’s Fellows program at Cornerstone University.
In her chapel message, James directed listeners to consider the relationship between fear and its resulting confidence.
“The good news is that you can go out to that hurting and dying world with confidence not in yourself but in the God you serve,” James said. “You can go out and provide the love that hurting people need. You can go out and provide the art and the literature that inspire us.”
For James, her work and faith daily intersect in her vision to leave an America “at least as free as the one I inherited.” After noting sobering parallels between events in 1968 and the present day, James charged students to grow in their knowledge of God and find encouragement from one another as they prepare for their vocations.
“God has a plan and a purpose for you in this hurting and dying world,” James concluded. “You will walk through your time here [at Cornerstone], and then you will walk into that world with confidence, with dignity, with grace, and with love, and you will walk in His power and His power alone.”
Watch a video recording of the Community Chapel with Kay Coles James from February 7, 2024. To listen to more chapel messages and receive notifications of new teachings, follow Cornerstone University Chapel on Spotify and CornerstoneU on YouTube.
