Mark Green launches group to promote Christians in politics; won’t run for any new office himself

State Sen. Mark Green, who had talked about running for Congress after withdrawing as President Trump’s nominee to become U.S. Army secretary, says he is instead launching a new political advocacy organization that help other Christian conservatives run for office.

The new group is called Five Stones Network (press release below).  Green, R-Clarksville, announced he won’t be running for anything himself on a Nashville radio talk show, reports The Tennessean.

“As everything sits right now with the races as they’re forming for 2018, I don’t intend to run for any office,” Green said on the Ralph Bristol Show on WWTN.

…Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, there was some speculation that Green could challenge U.S. Sen. Bob Corker — who has yet to officially say whether he’s running in 2018 — or even seek the seat U.S. Rep. Diane Black is vacating.

…Green said the emergence of several people vying for Black’s seat, including Rep. Judd Matheny, played a part in his decision to not enter that race.

Instead, he said he will focus on launching a new nationwide foundation focused on helping people of faith engage in the political arena.

“We’re basically going to recruit people of faith to run for elected office,” Green said, adding that he was starting the organization with former Georgia state senator Judson Hill.

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News release from Five Stones Network

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 9, 2017) – Tennessee Senator Mark Green announces the formation of a 501 (c)(4) Five Stones Network, for the purpose of training, equipping and mobilizing leaders of faith to impact the world of politics and good government.

“As a result of my own experience in Washington, DC being attacked by many simply because of my Christian faith, I felt frustration and sadness for our country,” commented Green, previously nominated to be Secretary of the US Army by President Donald Trump in April. “The animosity personally experienced in the confirmation process and witnessing others of faith being equally attacked is honestly un-American.”

In his second term as the Tennessee Senator serving the Montgomery, Houston and Stewart counties and as Vice-Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Green began the confirmation process following President Trump’s nomination of him to lead the US Army. Many of the attacks on Senator Green revolved around his faith positions with activist groups specifically targeted speeches he had made at churches across the country.

“Despite my years of military service and professional qualifications, the confirmation process turned to my comments as a believer in the Biblical creation story. I knew this was about my Christian faith,” continued Green who addressed the infrequently-used US Senate Rule permitting a Democratic Senator to place an indefinite hold on action, blocking the nomination. “An indefinite hold kept the men and women of the US Army from having a leader operational and meeting the urgent needs of our fighting force. The sequence of events demonstrated the urgent need for more men and women of faith in the political process.”

Senator Green is joined in establishing Five Stones Network by former Georgia State Senator Judson Hill, an Atlanta-area attorney who served as the Senate Finance Committee Chairman and Deputy Majority Whip and as Assistant US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia during the Ronald Reagan Administration. Green currently serves as TN Senate Chaplain and Hill led the Legislative Fellowship in the Georgia Legislature.

Green recently sold his successful healthcare company Align MD, which he founded and grew to revenues in excess of $200 million annually.

“Mark’s a proven leader recognizing a tremendous need in creating Five Stones Network,” noted Robin Smith, former TNGOP Chairman and friend of Green. “His vision coupled with the ability to recruit and mobilize an effective team using his military service and entrepreneurship will fuel the success of this effort.”

Five Stones Network, a faith-based non-profit is working to partner with other conservative advocacy groups such as Lift the Vote, 2nd Vote, the Family Research Council, the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute.

The group’s mission is based on the biblical account of David victory over a massive giant using five, smooth stones in faith.

Note: Previous post, when Green was eyeing a run for something else, HERE. Tennessee Star includes a transcript of Green’s radio interview in it’s report, HERE. An excerpt:

“As I look at the elections that are out there, you take the 6th district, Judd Matheny’s a great friend of mine, some of the other people that are talking about doing that district are great friends of mine and I’m just not going to jump in a race.  They’ll do a great job.  Several of them are solid people and Judd Matheny is a great conservative, and whoever wins that district is going to do a great job, so there’s great people in that race.  You know, U.S. Senate, you know I think that’s going to be an opportunity for me potentially later, not in 2018.  And, our State Senate right now is going through a lot of transition.  There’s a lot of turnover with Bill Ketron running for County Mayor, and Mark Norris leaving, there’s lots of other folks that’s not going to be in this next cycle.  Of course, Mae Beavers is running for governor, so she’ll be out of the Senate after 2018.  We need some, I think we need some consistency there, so I think staying there and continuing to serve my district is one of many reasons why we opted to do this instead.”