Normal Lives: President Jimmy Carter and His Church

During his tumultuous term as president, Jimmy Carter found a literal sanctuary from his day job in the oldest Baptist congregation in the nation's capital.

Beginning three days after his inauguration in January 1977, Carter traveled a mile north of the White House on at least 75 Sundays to worship at the First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C., founded in 1802.

Carter and his family worshipped from a reserved pew, surrounded by the church's 900 members and a few extras, including reporters, plain-clothes Secret Service agents, savvy protesters and unsuspecting visitors who were flabbergasted to find themselves in church with their president.

Remarkably, the chief executive also led Bible study for the church's Couples Class on at least 17 Sundays, showing up each time with a good grasp of Scripture and a wicked sense of humor.

In first-person accounts from church members, reporters, a church publicist and the previously unknown diary of a church usher, this is the story of a church, a president and the "normal" lives they shared in Washington, D.C.

Normal Lives is the companion to Christi Harlan's previous book, Mr. President, The Class Is Yours, which features transcriptions of 14 of President Carter's Sunday School lessons at First Baptist D.C.