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December 2009 INSTITUTE COMMISSIONS NEW FELLOWS December Commissioning Marks Fourth Class Milestone
WARD LECTURE DRAWS RECORD CROWD Institute Partners with University of Colorado - Colorado Springs for Premier Event
The lecture was co-hosted by the John Jay Institute and the Department of Political Science and their recently chartered Center for the Study of Government and the Individual.
Spearheaded by department chair Dr. James Null and faculty member Dr.
Joshua Dunn, the university's partnership meant a highly successful
event for both organizations and a diverse crowd introduced to
well-reasoned Christian conservative discourse
JOHN JAY INSTITUTE FELLOW PROFILE: JEFFREY WITT Education: Harvard University - Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
In his own words, "My time in residence has been the most important formative experience of my life.... Indeed, the three months of study at the Institute provided me with a more substantial education in that which really matters than did four years at the Ivy League university from which I graduated." Newsworthy Online interviewed Witt for more insight into his time at the Institute: The intellectual experience as a fellow was the most memorable aspect of the Fellowship. It was extraordinarily edifying. I'm really shocked when I reflect on my residential studies at the Institute and how much I learned in so short a time. The curriculum was very well structured and paced, and the program as a whole was wonderfully integrated. This allowed us to dig deeply into theology, political and moral philosophy, history, and the numerous other subjects that were broached in our readings and class discussions. I believe I have come away with a more complete understanding of Christianity, the history of the Church, and my personal faith.
What was the most challenging aspect of the Fellowship? The rigor of the courses and studies. The nightly readings were often difficult and lengthy, but my strong desire to draw the greatest benefit possible from the program, shared by all of the fellows, enabled us to push through with a commitment to pure hard work and self-discipline. How has the Fellowship prepared you for your future vocational plans? I came to the Fellowship with a mind to prepare myself for a future career in the vocation that I believe I am called to: political leadership. In every way imaginable, the Fellowship exceeded my expectations in this regard. Before coming to the Institute, I knew next to nothing of the natural law or the philosophical tradition that has enunciated and elaborated it. What I crucially lacked was the knowledge that the basics of God’s law for men are known to all men by virtue of our createdness and that all men have access to the knowledge of Christian morality through reason and conscience. This knowledge of the universality of God’s law is especially encouraging for me when I consider my vocational calling. In the world today, morality is often seen as subjective and relative. Many clamor for “religion” or “morality” to be pushed out of the public square. I reject this amoral approach to politics, and (God-willing) as a future politician I will endeavor to conform America’s laws to the natural law.
Tell us about your future plans. My externship this spring is at The Heritage Foundation in Washington. I'll be working on the Energy & Environment desk and focusing on cap-and-trade legislation as it comes before the Senate. I also plan to serve my country in as a fighter pilot in the Air National Guard. Beyond this, I intend to get an MBA and gain experience in business before entering politics.
What would you like to tell the supporters who underwrote your Fellowship? My time in residence at the Institute was the most important formative experience of my life. I am overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude for the blessing of this experience and for the generous families and individuals who have made it possible. I was truly transformed. It touched every area of my life: I learned what's necessary for me to live my life as a Christian husband, father, friend, worker, teacher, leader, and servant. I believe my time at the Institute has prepared me to go out into the world and to my vocation as a whole Christian man.
SPIRITUAL ENTERPRISE: DOING VIRTUOUS BUSINESS Malloch's Book Captures the Essence of Integrated Leadership in Business
In his magnum opus, The Conservative Mind, Russell Kirk wrote that “Political problems, at bottom, are religious and moral problems.” In Spiritual Enterprise: Doing Virtuous Business, Theodore Malloch reminds readers that this applies equally to business. In that mold, Malloch tackles the timely topic of attaining excellence in business by discussing and building upon the concept of “spiritual capital.” Given the ongoing paradigm shift in the American and global economies, a fresh evaluation of the values and principles on which to build future aspirations is needed more than ever. In many respects, the recent failings of prominent corporations – whether from internal scandal or naked avarice – were born out of ignorance and neglect of such values. In Spiritual Enterprise, Malloch sets these virtues out in turn with clarity and insight stretching back to Aristotle and Aquinas. By his interpretation, the Christian ideals of faith, hope, and charity augment the classical Greek concepts of to kalonphronesis (practical wisdom, or prudence) to provide a set of “hard” and “soft” virtues necessary for true human flourishing in the workplace. What is more, for Malloch, as for Aristotle and his students, success is not simply profit. It is excellence, the full flowering of human potential as intended by our Creator. Malloch writes that “[profitability] is not the primary goal of the company, but the consequence of doing business in the right way, so as to honor God.” When companies seek profit above all else, they consume the spiritual capital amassed by others. But when their aims are imbued with the virtues of courage, patience, discipline, compassion, forgiveness, humility, and others – virtues focused on the other rather than the self – spiritual capital is renewed, and, while fortune is not guaranteed, the conditions are set for genuine success. As Malloch notes in his conclusion, social capital is not enough. While virtue is built there too, it is only in the spiritual form, through prayer and worship, that we learn virtues which engender reverence and obedience to God. If we do not allow our relationships with God to fully inform all aspects of our lives, including – and particularly – our business, we will never attain the full flourishing for which He intends us. Theodore Malloch has written an admirable and thought-provoking testament to this fact, one worth looking at for all those interested in recovering the “spiritual capital” necessary to do business virtuously in America.
If you would like to partner with the Institute in this mission, you are invited to visit our website, or call (719) 471-8900 or donate online by following the link on the right to our secure online donation system. All gifts and donations are tax-deductible.
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Colorado Springs, Colo. - A crowd of more than 250 packed the new Upper Lodge facility on the campus of the 
hear Oxford University Chaplain, 
on
current and important issues from historic perspectives. Guests in
attendance included several local and state political office holders,
faculty from the Political Science and History departments as well as
campus academic and administration officials, students and a broad
cross section of John Jay Institute and UCCS supporters.
