For me, I have been very encouraged, by Pope John Paul II. I say this because he was so trusting in the goodness of young people. And I have found that of all the young people I meet, that the only thing they have lacked is good religious teachers (meaning that there are not enough). He said that they have great hope, a great desire to do what is right, and a willingness to sacrifice for a true purpose. Another thing which I loved about the Pope, was that he valued the service of people in their own fields of endeavor. He wrote about an engineer that he admired. Lastly, was his great belief in sacrificing for Jesus to be a good steward and leader into his old age, so that he could demonstrate the importance and the value of the elderly. So often their wisdom is not heard.

I have loved CS Lewis and JRR Tolkein, his friend
and confidant, as well as Chesterton, in his wit.
What they have written and said is allegorical in our own time and very valuable to us in our own time. But this to me is also the value of the older people and traditions.

Lastly, I have to say with a true heart, that the Christian leader who has most profoundly affected my life is Robert Kennedy. I have always treasured his brave heart and true example. And when in doubt about what I'm about, I look up and see someone who won't backdown from right, doesn't give up on loving the poor, believes in equality, and fought with all his heart to keep us safe. He above all believed in this Nation, in this people and that America was deeply loved by God.

I was a teenager when he died and I remember watching as Senator Edward M. Kennedy eulogized him with the words, "My brother need not be idolized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it."*

Finally I will end this discussion with a quotation of Mr. Chesterton:

It is not that Christianity has been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried [vigiliantly enough].

My response:
If Christianity was truly tried by all, the Kingdom of God would be in the here and now, with so much glory and happiness, the world could not contain it all!
References :
JFK Library quotation
Crossing the Threshold of Hope, by Pope JPII
Chrnonicles of Narnia, Lewis and
Lord of the Rings, Tolkein
and Chesterton quotations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton

He writes about the methods and mechanisms of our redemption in Christ better than anyone else, either before or since.

Also, the late Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, the first and still the best televison evangelist, whose work still holds up remarkably well today.
References :

2) Billy Graham

3) My pastoral staff (large church, lots of pastors)

4) Joyce Meyer
References :