Nominations open for the first William Wilberforce Weekend On May 15th, 2014, the Hon. Timothy C. Batten, Sr., United States District Judge, for the Northern District of Georgia, and I will convene a two-day meeting for young men ages 16 to 36 at the Judge’s estate in Newnan, Georgia, south of Atlanta. The assembly will gather to learn the remarkable leadership secrets of famed English parliamentarian, William Wilberforce. Joining us will be seasoned leaders like State Representative Ed Setzler, Lilburn Mayor Johnny Crist, Retired Focus on the Family Executive Tom Mason, business owner Joe Fendig, CBMC President Lee Truax, Family financial teacher Marion Ivey, Educator Dan Camp and TeenPact Program Director and law student Stephen Morrison. Participants must be invited to attend, and the nomination process is explained at the end of this letter. I know each of our GOP chapters have a continuous need for new leadership, principled candidates and fresh ideas. Programs like this help train up the next generation of leadership. A recent CNN article by David Frum reported this about today’s 20 and 30 something’s: “Heres a generation detached from religious institutions and only weakly attached to the country: Only 49% of millennials describe themselves as patriotic, compared with 64% of the next older cohort and 75% of baby boomers. Millennials are alienated.” I don’t know about you, but this concerns me, and has for some time. 20 years ago I started TeenPact to counter this very trend that was happening. That program is now in 40 states and has trained over 30,000 young people. It continues to grow at a rate of about 5 percent per year. But I must do more. Recently, I announced that I was creating the William Wilberforce Weekend—a travelling seminar that allows millennials to study the remarkable life and leadership of this great man. Wilberforce not only created hundreds of non-profits, but he calibrated his nation’s moral compass and eventually ended the slave trade in the British Empire. John Piper said William Wilberforce was a radically God-centered Christian who happened to be a politician. He believed that everything in politics was for the alleviation of misery and the spread of happiness. Wilberforce was a remarkable man. While not as well-known now as he was in the 19th century, Wilberforce was a consensus-builder who through passionate conviction and dogged determination, almost single-handedly achieved the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire in 1807. Wilberforce traits like conviction, courage, passion, determination—all are very difficult to teach in a classroom setting, but these character qualities will be a theme throughout our event. The few who are familiar with the story of Wilberforce know that his efforts and influence extended far beyond the political realm. Wilberforce set about to build a coalition of people and organizations that would alter the moral climate in Great Britain, the superpower of the day. After his conversion to Christianity, he made it his goal to make “goodness” fashionable among the leadership class of his day, and he started with the Prime Minister and the King. We’ll explore what that looks like in the 21st century and challenge these young men to join us in our effort to do the same today. My friend, Bill Wichterman, believes that cultural conservatives concerned about moral erosion in the United States have spent too little energy working in the cultural sphere. Wilberforce and his followers had their priorities right and focused on culture by creating a variety of charities with missions as diverse as educating the blind, printing and distributing Bibles, promoting animal welfare, treating ailing seaman, sponsoring vaccination efforts, easing the plight of the poor, and even helping those in debtors’ prisons. He saw great value in encouraging others to tackle the big issues of the day, and our weekend discussions will explore similar questions. Maine biographer Kevin Belmonte combed through the works and letters of Wilberforce and observed several core principles underpinning his opposition to the slave trade and his efforts toward private philanthropy and moral renewal. One of these principles was the promotion of the happiness of others. Unlike Thomas Jefferson, who penned the famous “pursuit of happiness” phrase in our founding documents, Wilberforce believed that when individual citizens promote the happiness of others, they are most truly promoting or pursuing their own happiness. For most people, personal fulfillment is a prime motivator, but Wilberforce believed that contributing to the happiness of others was a greater calling. Our weekend training will focus on teaching young men how to shift their focus to others without compromising their own agenda and mission. The late Chuck Colson and his organization created an annual William Wilberforce Award that is given to a recipient as an example and model of the witness of real Christianity making a difference in the face of tough societal problems and injustices. Colson believed that the example of Wilberforce and his friends sparked a sweeping spiritual movement throughout the country, which in turn transformed a variety of social ills. In a similar vein, Colson’s award encourages Christians to follow its recipient’s example and to demonstrate to the secular world the benefits of Christian influence in society. The William Wilberforce Weekend takes Colson’s idea and brings it down to a training level in the spirit of the TeenPact Leadership School, which I founded some 20 years ago. In essence, the purpose of the weekend is to inspire young men to action by lifting Wilberforce up as an example. Belmonte noted that Wilberforce’s principles “produced tangible results and, ultimately, the rich legacy of moral renewal and philanthropy associated with Wilberforces name. While Wilberforce acknowledged that we must pursue excellence in the political sphere, he knew that many problems are better addressed by individuals and coalitions of people giving their time and private funds for the good of others rather than by government programs. We will focus on individual responsibility throughout the event and challenge the men to make a plan, to work their plan and report back to our leadership on their progress. This event, like TeenPact, will be overtly Christian throughout. In 1785, after long resisting the efforts of his friends, Wilberforce gave his life to Christ. He considered leaving politics and going into the ministry, but John Newton, the pastor and author of the hymn Amazing Grace, convinced him to stay in the House of Commons and glorify God through his political work. During his 50 years of public service, he followed his convictions, even when politically costly. The William Wilberforce Weekend will focus on our commitment to Christ as being a key to success in any field. I think what concerns me the most is the culture’s slide away from transcendent truth. Bill Wichterman, whose essay the participants will be required to read before attending, noted that the Framers’ constitutional order is slowly being replaced by an increasingly democratic legislature, reflecting the appetites of the majority and politically-correct. Our task—that of Judge Batten, of me, of the other men gathered with us over the weekend, will be to instill within the group an urgency for action in America today. We want the weekend to be a significant “stake in the ground” for developing Christian leaders who need mentoring, encouraging and developing. We want to emphasize the importance of personal integrity, ambition and achievement. If you know of a young man who you would like to nominate for the limited space in this inaugural event, please email tim@timechols and include his name, contact information and a short paragraph on why he should be included. The cost of the weekend is $50 per applicant, with sponsors picking up the rest of the cost. Thank you for your concern for our country, Tim G. Echols, Commissioner State of Georgia Public Service Commission
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 18:58:17 +0000
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