 May
2009
FIRST FRUITS
OF THINGS TO COME
John Jay
Institute Alumni in the Public Arena
 Colorado
Springs, CO - Some describe the Institute’s work as a long-range return on
investment (LROI). The task of making leaders takes time. It’s like
farming. The soil is prepared. Seeds are planted. Plantings are nurtured
and cultivated until the harvest. With this metaphor in mind the Institute
is developing young conservative leaders today who will be influential in
the next 15-20 years and beyond. Like farming there is no short-cut in the
required time and tasks. Even so, there are some firstfruits of a yield
yet to come.Already alumnus Brian Brown (A.B., Princeton) has
lectured at the William Jefferson Clinton School of Public
Service at the University of Arkansas. Working as a research associate
at the Heritage Foundation, Brown published some opinion-editorials
critical of the Obama Administration’s efforts to governmentalize
volunteerism through programs like AmeriCorps. The Clinton School took
notice of Brown’s ideas and invited him to lecture on the topic in late
March. View his lecture online.
In other news, alumna Anna Speckhard (B.A., Geneva
College) was awarded a fellowship for religion and civil society studies
at the Heritage Foundation’s DeVos Center. This fall she will be studying
political theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. Law students Mark
Meador (B.A., University of Chicago) and Peter Kim (B.A., University of
Pennsylvania) were awarded Blackstone Fellowships for legal studies by
the Alliance Defense Fund. Alumna Stephanie Linn (B.A. Grove City College)
has been selected for the prestigious Charles G. Koch Foundation Associates Program
for developing up and coming entrepreneurial leaders. Nathan Hitchen
(B.A., Rutgers University) has recently been awarded a Rumsfeld Foundation
scholarship for foreign policy studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International
Studies. Hitchen will be working in the Office of Religious Freedom at the U.S. State
Department this summer.
Perhaps the return on investment in Institute
fellows is not so far off after all. They are the firstfruits of things to
come.
COAST-TO-COAST
INSTITUTE EVENTS
Film Screenings
in LA and NY, Founder's Events in Texas Are Big
Success
 New York, NY - Our message of the
necessity of principled public leadership was on the road in April and May
at key events in Austin, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York. The John Jay
Institute hosted luncheons and receptions in Dallas and Austin as well as
film screenings of Laura Waters Hinson's film, As We Forgive, at
the Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles
and the American Bible Society's Global Bible Summit
in New York City. At these events the Institute met hundreds of old and
new friends that share the ideals embodied in its mission and
vision. "We're pleased to have had the John Jay Institute
partner with us for this event. The film is a remarkable work that the
church needs to see," remarked the Rev. Dr. Mark Brewer, Senior Pastor at
Bel Air Presbyterian Church.A former student of Institute President Alan
Crippen, Laura's Academy Award winning film, As We Forgive, documents the story of
reconciliation between two women and the men who murdered their families
in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The Institute screened the film at the
3,000-member church - noted for being the home church of President Reagan
and his wife, Nancy, and currently to a large number of people in the
movie industry. This venue presented a tremendous opportunity for cultural
impact and to showcase Laura's talent as a filmmaker.
  In New York City, the Institute partnered with the
American Bible Society to screen the film at their annual Global Bible
Summit held at the historic Hudson Theatre in Times Square. The film was
the evening's highlight event for the crowd of supporters who attended the
weekend Summit from around the country.In the panel discussion held after the L.A. film
screening, panelist Alexis Bilindabagabo, an Anglican bishop who
survived the genocide, was asked the question, "How could this happen?" He
replied, "It happened because of bad leadership." This was a very sobering
reminder of the importance of the Institute's
mission.
 EDWARDS JOINS JOHN JAY
INSTITUTE BOARD
20+ Years Experience with Charitable, Educational
and Religious Institutions
 The board of governors of the John Jay Institute
welcomed its newest member, Calvin Edwards, at its May 1 board meeting
held at the American Bible Society's office in New York
City.Calvin Edwards is an executive
with more than 20 years experience working with charitable, educational,
and religious institutions. In 2001 he founded Calvin Edwards & Company, to “maximize
the good of giving” by consulting with thoughtful philanthropists as they
made strategic gifts. Today, the firm brings a mixture of art and science
to bear on major giving decisions made by affluent persons, family
offices, private foundations, and government
agencies.
Previously Mr. Edwards joined the
senior management team of Ronald Blue & Co. (RB&C) in 1996 and was
made a principal later that year. Mr. Edwards has provided consulting
services to a number of businesses in the seminar, high-tech, and
publishing industries. His major engagement was as the chief operating
officer for Peter Lowe International (PLI) in Tampa, Florida, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to promoting time-proven values that help make
great people, communities, and nations. Prior to PLI, Mr. Edwards was
executive vice president of Walk Thru the Bible (WTB) in Atlanta. Earlier
experience includes executive management and other roles with charitable
and educational organizations.
Mr. Edwards holds a Bachelor of
Arts degree in literature and math from Pacific Union College, and a
diploma in education from Avondale College. He earned a Master of Divinity
from Andrews University where he graduated summa cum laude, and a master
of business administration from Georgia State University. Mr. Edwards came
to the U.S. from Australia in 1979 and is now a naturalized American. He
and his wife, Nerida, reside in Atlanta, Georgia and have two grown
children.
A DEFINING MOMENT FOR NATURAL
LAW
 Greg Forster's
New Book Offers Compelling Ideas for 21st Century
PoliticsReview by
Connor Ewing
In The Contested Public Square, Greg
Forster recounts the history of Christian political thought and its
effects on Western culture. With keen insight and lucid presentation,
Forster offers a coherent narrative of Christianity’s role in the
evolution of modern politics. Of particular interest to Forster is the
role of natural law.
As a
pre-Christian theory of governmental authority, natural law provides
common ground for reasoned moral discourse between Christians and
non-Christians to reach consensus on law and public policies. Although
embraced by Christian theologians for centuries, Forster argues that the
Reformation (A.D. 1500 to 1650) was a defining moment for the development
of natural law theory and contributed substantially to modern democratic
conceptions of religious freedom, natural rights and the right to
revolution. The democratic government established at the American founding
represents the confluence of these ideas. Later America’s success
contributed to the universal expansion of these principles until the mid
20th Century.
According to
Forster, today’s “problem of public virtue” results from the challenge of
maintaining adherence to moral standards in the absence of shared
religious beliefs. Forster’s book is a much needed articulation of the
role of Christianity in the development natural law and Western culture’s
political heritage. It presents a coherent natural law tradition that is a
compelling theory of moral authority for negotiating the morass of
politics in the 21st Century.
 Connor Ewing is a John Jay Institute Fellow (fall, 2008)
and was graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and political science in May of
2008. Recently Mr. Ewing completed a John Jay Institute Fellowship at the
Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. where he worked on
defense and foreign policy related issues for former U.S. Senator Rick
Santorum. The John Jay Institute is a non-profit 501(c)3 tax-exempt research and educational organization under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. As a para-academic center, its primary offering is a tuition-free year-long academic fellowship to well-qualified applicants who are pursuing a calling to principled public leadership. In addition, the Institute provides lectures, leadership training events, and educational resources at little or no cost to subscribers. 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.
 A
generous benefactor has agreed to match all gifts this summer up to
$100,000 on or before August 31, so act now to double your gift and
have your support go even further to advance the mission of the John Jay
Institute. Please
note our new mailing address, 2 North Cascade Avenue, Suite 1100, Colorado
Springs, CO 80903 |
