Joseph (Joe) E. Compton, Jr., 61, is married and a father of two residing in the Birmingham, Alabama, area where he has successfully built three small businesses. He is resolute in his faith and unwavering in his belief in the principles on which this country has been built.
Joe grew up in a small town in Alabama with two loving parents that did not have the opportunity to complete their formal education. His parents grew up understanding that you worked for a living and did without if you didn’t have the money to buy something. They didn’t expect entitlements or handouts, just an opportunity to make an honest living, raise their children, and have three meals a day around the table together. They learned early in life that trusting in God for provision and being faithful to their Christian faith was only entitlement they needed. Even though they never made a lot of money, they always gave God the first ten percent of their gross, not net. They insured their children were clothed, fed, loved, and in church for at least one service on Sunday and for Bible study on most Wednesday nights.
Joe always attended public schools. He didn’t attend Kindergarten like some children because it was private. At that time, the public school in Joe’s small town started in the first grade, and elementary school was quite different from today. The school started with an assembly each morning where students pledged allegiance to the American flag, recited “The Lord’s Prayer,” and sang “Onward Christian Soldiers.” As Joe recalls, there were two flags on the stage in the elementary school auditorium: the American flag and the Christian flag. “The Golden Rule” was posted on the classroom walls and the Ten Commandments were taught or referenced. Prayer was part of all formal school gatherings and sporting events. Christian youth were free to meet in the auditoriums prior to school for a short devotion to start the day. Joe played all sports throughout school and in his senior year of 1973 was honored with one of three football awards granted to seniors. Two of the awards were for being co-captain of the football team and the third awarded to Joe was “The Most Christian-Like Attitude Award.” This award was granted to the player that exhibited the proper attitude and sportsmanship throughout the year not only to his team, but also other teams’ players.
Joe was the first in his family to attend college: he earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama in 1977. Because Joe’s parents could not afford college expenses, he worked two jobs, received a small grant, and relied on small college loans. Joe’s parents did not believe in having debt and encouraged Joe to minimize the debt he accrued in college. Joe practiced the lesson they instilled in him: “If you don’t have the money, do without.” He did not rely on credit cards, and he did not have the money to join a fraternity or for regular socializing. He knew that the purpose for attending college was to get an education and to prepare for a career. Joe’s parents didn’t have the experience to advise him on what to pursue in college or what profession to pursue afterwards, but they firmly believed that getting a college degree would provide a higher quality of life. Joe pursued a degree in marketing from the School of Commerce and Business Administration. Graduating in the top ten percent of the business school was a very proud moment for his parents, family, and friends.
After graduation, Joe started the search for what to do “to make a living,” as his parents would say. Joe didn’t have any mentors, family members, or fraternity brothers to assist in directing his path, so he looked for jobs by any means possible. Joe ended-up working for a trucking company for nearly twenty eight years. They recruited management trainees with one sales pitch: “If you are willing to work nights, weekends, and holidays, we pay $305 per week.” That was a lot of money to Joe in 1977 and more than his dad had ever made by that time. Joe wasn’t forced to take the job, he wasn’t required to join an organization or union, and he wasn’t expected to be given $305 per week without earning it. He made a commitment to this company and gave them his life for the next nineteen years. He worked nights, weekends, and many very long days, always wanting to be the best at what he did and always looking for opportunities to advance. He relocated seven times during the first ten years with the company, taking every opportunity to move up the ladder and to earn more money. He never expected anything but a fair shot at making a better life not only for himself, but also for his parents and later for his own family. He held firmly to the convictions that these United States of America were built on hard work and sacrifice, and rewarded those efforts with the unlimited opportunities. Joe took early retirement at the age of fifty and pursued his own business interests. Capitalizing on the many years of experience, training, and discipline, he started his first company, a second with a partner, and a third with two partners. To date, all three small businesses continue to be successful. Joe strongly believes that only in America and by God’s blessing do we as citizens have the opportunity to be successful, that America provides the opportunity for entrepreneurship and God promises to bless any nation and person that honors Him and recognizes He gives us the ability to produce wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). Joe and his family have truly been blessed, and they give God all the glory.
During Joe’s lifetime, he has seen many changes in the America he knew growing up, starting with the removal of prayer in the schools and the legalization of abortion. He continues to see changes by special minority groups pressing for same-sex marriage and the legalization of marijuana, and by an increasing population expecting handouts or entitlements from the government. He watches the federal government grow at an alarming rate and fall deeper into debt every hour of every day. All of these changes have happened in Joe’s lifetime, and he can only imagine this country ten or twenty years from now, the country his children will inherit. Joe truly believes as Americans and Christians we must motivate young men to lead our country again as true statesmen instead of professional politicians. He believes all men of the Christian faith must Mature in their faith, Evangelize to other men to the faith, and Nurture all men to stand firm in their faith while developing leaders and statesmen for our communities and national offices. MEN of God and Country hopes to provide the organization, training, and unification of all Christian men to help meet these objectives. MEN of God and Country doesn’t plan to become a 501 (c) (3) organization simply because the IRS code states, “A 501 (c) (3) organization must absolutely refrain from participating in the political campaigns of candidates for local, state, or federal office.” Joe strongly believes that local churches and Christians as a whole have not been unified in the political process across denominations and/or ethnic groups because they fear their tax exempt status as a 501 (c) (3) organization being revoked. For this reason, he established MEN of God and Country as an annual membership organization providing education, unification, and direction through web services and conferences to enable Christian men to become leaders in our homes and in our country.
Joe personally invites you to see our contact page for more information about joining MEN of God and Country, to request more information about the organization, or to have Joe personally come speak to your church or men’s group.