Former Governor Bill Haslam has a new book, Faithful Presence: The Promise and the Peril of Faith in the Public Square.
The publisher, Thomas Nelson, notes that “Haslam has long been at the center of politics and policy on local, state, and federal levels, and he has consistently been guided by his faith, which influenced his actions on a wide range of issues. Yet the place of faith in public life has been hotly debated since our nation's founding, and the relationship of church and state remains contentious to this day.”
He continues that “Faithful Presence: The Promise and the Peril of Faith in the Public Square calls for a different way. Drawing upon his years of public service, Haslam will discuss his remarkable vision for the redemptive role of faith in politics while examining some of the most complex issues of our time.”
Former Governor Haslam will be joined by retired Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary Wade for a special Tennessee Conversation event to discuss the book Thursday, Sept. 16, at 6:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 620 State St. in Knoxville. Registration is required on ETHS website.
Bill Haslam is the former two-term mayor of Knoxville and former two-term governor of Tennessee, reelected in 2014 with the largest victory margin of any gubernatorial election in Tennessee history. During his tenure, Tennessee became the fastest improving state in the country in K-12 education and the first state to provide free community college or technical school for all its citizens, in addition to adding 475,000 new jobs. Former Governor Haslam serves on the boards of Teach for America and Young Life. In the fall of 2019, he became a visiting professor of political science at Vanderbilt University. He and his wife of 38 years, Crissy, have three children and nine grandchildren.