One of the conversations not fully explored was the social and moral aspect of the economic discussion that is ensuing.   Last year, the Clapham Group launched More Media Development to put “deeds to words” … in other words, to highlight through unique campaigns the causes, such as domestic hunger, that corporate and popular culture partners can jointly promote.  These are what we call “Corporate-Culture Campaigns With Chests.”  Let me explain.

Job loss is an inevitable consequence of a free market, when competition, technology and other market dynamics shift the workforce.  However, when a flourishing economy creates more jobs than are lost, labor becomes scarce and wages increase, and with this so does the standard of living.

I want to challenge the thought that a growing free market by itself ensures the greatest good through some form of economic Darwinism.  Capitalism certainly is the most just and productive economic system the world has ever seen, but the market operates within a human reality, by people with a human condition who make choices with human consequence.

Is the growing wealth disparity the inevitable consequence of capitalism?  Are layoffs required to increase profit or the attractiveness to a suitor?  Do we have an obligation to our pensioners, or shareholders?   How does personal responsibility and social behavior contribute to economic dysfunction?  And how does one internally govern the temptation to over consume?  These are not questions for government, but they are questions for the soul.

What has been missing from the economic conversation is the moral imperative:  not just what one can or cannot do as an economic actor in a free market, but what he or she ought to do.   John Adams said: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”  This is equally true for capitalism.

The good news is that for every Wall Street or Main Street business bad actor making headlines, there are hundreds of businesses striving to do what is right.  The challenge for them is getting their story told so that the rest of us listen.

When I was in Senate leadership and the Enron scandal ensued, I gave President Bush a book by C. S. Lewis called The Abolition of Man in which he argues that the failure of our “system” is developing leaders with great intellect, but without the character to temper their passions.  By ignoring the importance of virtue in business, we actually undermine the very foundation upon which it can flourish.

“We continue to clamour for those very qualities we are rendering impossible,” Lewis wrote. “You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our civilization needs is more ‘drive’, or dynamism, or self-sacrifice, or ‘creativity’. In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.”

The reason that The Clapham Group launched More Media Development is to work with corporate social responsibility and brand marketing offices to marry them with “cultural conduits and storytellers” such as musicians and filmmakers to promote efforts that all the parties agree advance the common good.   These “Campaigns With Chests” are win-win-wins, and potentially give the corporation a market edge with their target consumer.

In a recent Neilsen Company report “two thirds of consumers around the world say they prefer to buy products and services from companies that have implemented  programs to give back to society … Nearly  half (46 percent) say they are willing to pay extra for products and services from these companies.”  These “socially-conscious consumers,” are younger. “Fifty-one percent of all respondents aged 15 to 39 are willing to pay extra for such products and services compared to 37 percent of all respondents over age 40.”

We worked with Home Depot and the band Three Doors Down to support the efforts of charities that are addressing housing concerns of our veterans.  We are working with a number of corporations on one of only two concerts this year in Central Park, called The Global Festival.   And we are currently seeking a cause-corporate partnership for one of the hottest music tours of the summer.

The main tenant of his argument is a question of the nature of being human. He builds his argument on the fundamental assumption that as children of the enlightenment our society has a wrong image of humanity. The enlightenment ideal is that humans are rational beings and thus what we know, the things we believe, and why we do the things we do is based primarily on the mind. Smith flips this paradigm and says human beings are fundamentally desiring beings. He means that what and why one does the things he does is usually not rational, but primarily based on his desires and that desire  formed by the thick practices and habits of the heart we live out everyday in our cultural environments. To put it simply, we don’t just do the things we do, they in turn do something to us.

The implications of his argument are far reaching. If anyone, whether they are of the Christian faith or not, takes Smith’s argument seriously, than form matters. The way one does worship, education, business, work, service, and all of culture making matters. Here at the Clapham Group this question is especially important to us. Our mission is to promote culture making that is true, good, and beautiful for the common good, but if we are failing to understand how our own practices and architected campaigns are informing the desires of those impacted by our work, than we may be counter acting our very mission.

While Smith’s thesis is challenging, it is also encouraging. If Smith is right than we are not hopeless to change our desires. Change begins with an awareness of how one’s daily habits and interactions with desire shaping intuitions – like the mall – form our desires. I invite you to join me in your own personal examination of how to develop daily habits and disciplines to reshape your desires towards the things in this life that are True, Good, and Beautiful.

Don’t have time to read Smith’s book and explore his argument for yourself? You can hear Smith articulate his argument in a guest lecture through the Calvin College website.

Garrett Cichowitz

They serve as a champion and ally to Chen Guangcheng the blind activist from China whose story came into the international spotlight in the Spring of 2012 after his heroic escape from house arrest where he climbed over many walls to eventual find refuge in the US Embassy in Beijing.

The Clapham Group:

• Crafted the Facebook cause page.
• Developed a grassroots Facebook strategy to promote awareness of Chen’s story by getting people to sign the petition for Chen and post pictures of themselves wearing sunglasses.
• Architect a long term development strategy for cause engagement via social media.
• Began first steps of social media engagement by growing web presence on Facebook.
• Developed custom Facebook Timeline giving the history of Chen’s Story

While many expected the film to do well with young adults, the revelation is how well it has performed across a variety of demographics. According to The Hollywood Reporter, 21 percent of viewers from CinemaScore exit data attained opening day were between the ages of 35 and 49, while 18 percent were over 50. Viewers under 25 gave the film an A+, while those over 25 gave the film an A-.

So why is it so appealing? Rarely does just one explanation fit for a cultural event of this magnitude, and The Hunger Games is no different. The film has obviously tapped into the Survivor reality show vibe, as it depicts a group of 24 children aged 12 to 18 forced to compete in a death match, with only one winner and survivor. This setup conveys an unsettling, voyeuristic quality to the film as game show host Stanley Tucci, delivering an enthusiastic and masterful performance, appears to be speaking at times not just to the fictional audience in the film but to the theatrical audience as well.

On another level, the film’s empowering coming of age angle is very appealing, especially to young audiences. The protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, is a teenager who has already worked hard to carve out a life for her younger sister, widowed mother, and herself in the harsh district where they live. Now she is thrust into the national spotlight, caught up in events much larger than herself, forced into a life-or-death scenario, but also presented with the opportunity to make a political statement about the tyranny her people live under.

Another strong theme is the elite class’s need to maintain their stranglehold on the hoi polloi, allowing them just a little bit of hope as their president suggests, but not too much, lest their thirst for liberty grows stronger and they attempt to quench it. By using her skills, discovering what she can do, and demonstrating a mature-for-her-age level of compassion and maturity, Katniss, without intending to, becomes a source of inspiration for her fellow oppressed citizens. This thirst for liberty is a powerful, resonating concept, especially for the American psyche.

One final unsettling scenario presented by the film is its futuristic setting, a post-apocalyptic America that is ruled by an iron fist, reminding us that liberty could easily be lost if we do not remain eternally vigilant, a concept that many Americans are grappling with today.

Michael Leaser

Released March 4^th 2012, in just two days the documentary had an unprecedented 18 million views via YouTube and Vimeo and by the end of the first week 70 million views on YouTube alone. But so what? There are lots of videos out there that have millions of views and have gone viral from American pop culture such as the Numa Numa Dance, Charlie Bit My Finger, and Rebecca Black’s Friday – just to name a few . So, what is special about Invisible Children?

Kony 2012 Video Stats

First, it is the nature of the content. Never before has someone captured the attention of so many people (especially youth), so quickly, for a solid thirty minutes around a specific cause. Second, it is the fact that the very thing Invisible Children has set out to do, it has done. Millions of people around the globe are now discussing Joseph Kony and his war crimes. But what is truly amazing, is how a global community is gathering around a humanitarian cause for justice, not just American pop-culture.

Thomas Friedman, American journalist, columnist, and author known for his research surrounding globalization, has famously claimed, The World is Flat. In short, he makes the case that we live in an era of globalization that is primarily built by individuals and small groups who are able and must think about positioning themselves and their actions in a global mindset. It is no longer governments and multinational corporations that act as the key agents in global interactions, but it is the individual empowered through the platform of open source communication via the internet.

Now, Friedman is no idealist. He fully acknowledges that the world is far from perfectly flat recognizing that the disparities of poverty, global health issues like HIV and malaria, and general access to education and the internet prevents everyone access to the level playing field he claims exists. But, what he successfully paints in his book is a picture of how the global community of the web has erased the barriers of distance, space, and time thus enabling millions of people to communicate with one another from anywhere for virtually no cost.

What Friedman fails to address in his argument is the power (and even necessity) of a well-told story as the foundation to unite people around a common culture/goal in the global cyberspace community. It is to this point that we all must applaud Invisible Children. The Kony 2012 campaign successfully creates a common culture around their cause through the power of story. Story moves us because it captures our imagination and inspires us. Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” It’s true, when it comes to taking action that makes a difference, no matter how many facts, statistics or images flood our brains, if it fails to capture our imagination and inspire us, than we will ultimately not take action. On the other hand, inspiration based on a lie and unreliable facts can result in negative consequences.

Imagination is more important than knowledge ~ Albert Einstein 

In a recent HBR, The Kony 2012 “Controversy”, Dan Pallotta, the president of Advertising for Humanity and the author of Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential, captures the true significance of what Invisible Children has done.  The success of Invisible Children to leverage the voice of the world’s youth has produced “a generation of kids believing that they can change the world”.

While time will tell if Kony 2012 will serve its purpose in changing the world by bring Joseph Kony to justice, it is safe to say that Invisible Children has already changed the world by changing the way the world will engage activism in the future. Many people’s imaginations, having been captured, now see just how flat the world really is. I am my brother’s keeper.

~Garrett Cichowitz

March 30th marks my last day with the Clapham Group as my family and I resettle in Colorado. I helped co-found Clapham in January of 2007. I served with Mark at the Senate Republican Conference and then had a job offer to work with him for 6 weeks on the film Amazing Grace. 5 1/2 years later I’m Mark’s longest serving staffer. I know him well and I’ve been incredibly blessed to have been mentored by this history maker.

To understand Mark, you need to understand William Wilberforce and the Clapham Community (our namesake). Mark’s office walls are covered with material from the original Clapham community. Wilberforce and fellow social revolutionaries Hannah Moore, Thomas Clarkson, and others labored to bring about broad social change. They are most famous for helping end the slave trade in the UK, but they also sought to improve education for the poor, working conditions, and started the first society for the prevention of cruelty to animals. They worked to improve the social manners of the day: how we treated each other and what were acceptable moral actions. They were broad social revolutionaries, rooted in a deep Evangelical faith, which made a big impact in their time.

Mark’s daily work is to continue their legacy. And similar to the original Clapham Community, Mark’s work is founded upon his faith. And out of that foundation pours the hallmarks of Mark’s labor: kindness and co-belligerence.

The first thing you notice about Mark is his kindness. I often have to catch myself and marvel at the fact that Senator Santorum’s chief aide and Bono’s close friend is taking time to listen to my concerns. But then, that was a problem we often had with Mark as his staffers. He is always willing to meet, to listen, to dream with people, even to the chagrin of his more ‘priority conscience’ staff. No matter who you are, Mark has time for you. This character trait of Mark has deeply impacted me. For Mark, titles don’t exist. It’s about you.

The second hallmark you quickly learn working for him is the practice of co-belligerence. For Mark, we don’t have to agree on everything to work together. Let’s find the common ground and partner together to move our cause forward. In a world marked by greater and greater division, Mark’s practice of co-belligerence is a breath of fresh air. Mark focuses on our commonalities, not our differences. Couple this with kindness, a brilliant campaign mind, and you have a person that is really changing the world.

Mark and I will continue to labor together for a better world. It comes from a common faith and belief that God is doing the same and invites us to join Him. My 5+ years with Mark have so impacted me that I’m already forming a little Clapham community in Colorado based upon kindness and co-belligerence.

Mark – You are one of the most remarkable people of our generation. You walk with eyes of faith, you often see what I can’t, and you love people with profound compassion. You have not only carried on the legacy of the Clapham community, you are exceeding it. Well done, good and faithful servant.

Forever Grateful,

Jeff Hunt

The symposium will showcase musicians and filmmakers who believe passionately in protecting children, combating human trafficking, and/or advancing the cause of religious freedom and have explored these causes in their art. Joining them are journalists and other professionals in the non-profit world who will examine current trends and offer creative solutions in these areas.

The symposium opens Thursday evening with presentations from film producers, including Morgan Perry, executive producer of Sex + Money, Rose Corazza, director of marketing and promotions for Trade of Innocents, Daniel McCullum, director and writer of Alone, and Laila Mickelwait, director of awareness and prevention for Exodus Cry, which has produced the Nefarious films.

The event continues Friday and Saturday with three panel discussions each on human trafficking, protecting children, and religious freedom.

Human trafficking panelists will include Dr. Aidan McQuade, director of Anti-Slavery International; Steven Wagner, founder of The Renewal Forum, Annick Febrey, legislative affairs manager for International Justice Mission; Curtis Romjue of JUBILEE; James Dold of the Polaris Project; Stacia Freeman, CEO of Abolition International; and Annie Dollarhide of the A21 Campaign.

Protecting children panelists will include Patrick Trueman, president and CEO of Morality in Media; Denise St. Clair, executive director of the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy; Tracey Feild of the Annie E. Casey Foundation; Becky Weichhand, director of policy at the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute; Freesia Levine, Mid-Atlantic representative of Invisible Children; and Enric Sifa, musician and Rwandan genocide survivor.

Religious freedom panelists will include Lindsay Vessey, advocacy director for Open Doors; Mindy Belz, editor of World Magazine; Dr. Daryl P. Jones, Col. USAF (Ret.), international director of Campus Crusade for Christ International: Military Ministry; Wendy Wright of Christian Freedom International; Thomas Messner of the Heritage Foundation; and Ann Buwalda, executive director of the Jubilee Campaign.

The event’s Friday evening banquet will feature keynote speaker Ken Wales, producer of Amazing Grace, and special music by Rebecca Lake. A Saturday luncheon will include an address by keynote speaker Rozi Orozco, congresswoman and founder of Camino a Casa, along with a musical performance by Enric Sifa.

Registration for the symposium is limited, but is open to everyone. Registration fees are as follows: $50 for the panels (students are free), $50 for the Friday night banquet ($25 for non-Regent students), and $35 for the Saturday luncheon ($15 for non-Regent students).

The symposium will also offer ample networking time for all attendees. Michael Leaser will be representing The Clapham Group at the event, so please drop by The Clapham Group’s booth and say “Hi” if you’re in attendance.

One effort we made to raise awareness of this issue was through the movie Trade. We hosted several Washington DC screenings of the movie in an effort to reach key political and cultural elites with a powerful movie that illustrates the evils of human trafficking. Accordingly, we invited every major player in the DC area involved in the fight against human trafficking to a screening of the movie at the Smithsonian, hosted screenings for the state department as well as smaller private screenings for members of Congress.

Another opportunity we took to promote awareness of modern slavery came through the movie Amazing Grace. We partnered with Walden Media by designing and overseeing the marketing campaign for the movie. Through this campaign we designed an educational resource DVD that speaks of the opportunities to fight against modern day slavery, partnered with Chris Tomlin to write a new Amazing Grace song, and promoted the movie and educational resource to our vast networks of churches and communities across the country through “Amazing Grace Sunday”. The message we communicated as we promoted the movie Amazing Grace was that while the slave trade was abolished, slavery still continues today.

The good news is that the Spirit of Wilberforce and the original Clapham community continues today. While Wilberforce is most widely known for his efforts to abolish the slave trade, he – alongside others in the Clapham community like Hannah Moore and Josiah Wedgewood – devoted himself to the betterment of all society by addressing issues such as animal cruelty, child labor, and the development of over 30 different reform societies including the British Bible Society.  The driving passion behind Wilberforce is that he recognized Christ’s Lordship over everything, not just one issue or injustice.

One of the biggest obstacles to overcome in the current struggle against slavery is raising awareness that it even exists. As a restless imaginative boy in class, I would often wonder if I lived during the time of the slave trade, would I have been a part of the Underground Railroad or perhaps helped Wilberforce fight to abolish the slave trade? With estimates ranging upwards of 27 million slaves still in the world today, the reality is that slavery has never ceased to exist, rather merely changed forms. These slaves are very different from the slaves in the days of Wilberforce and include children soldiers, horrendous child labor, and sex trafficking. Slavery today is truly a global problem impacting every region of the globe, including the United States.

Instead of asking myself whether or not I would have been an abolitionist if I lived in that era, I am now faced with history’s invitation to be a part of the abolitionist movement today. As American’s we don’t recognize or see modern day slavery in the everyday fabric of our lives. And, that is the first step in accepting the invitation to fight modern day slavery, acknowledgment of its existence and then spreading the word.

Many of you are already passionately devoted to the issue of modern day slavery and/or other social justice issues just as Wilberforce. We hope you partner with us in Spirit to live in the reality of Christ’s Lordship over everything. If you are interested in finding out more about modern day slavery or any other issue such as animal rights, HIV/Aids, or poverty, we invite you to explore some of our clients for ideas.

Garrett Cichowitz

“Let me write the songs of a nation, and I care not who writes its laws.”

– Damon of Athens, one of Plato’s contemporaries

The Clapham Group was built on the belief that culture is upstream of politics, but that does necessarily make culture more important than politics.  And with the recent news that Senator Santorum, my former boss, is currently the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in some polls, it is an opportune time to reflect on this understanding of the role of the moral imagination in shaping awareness understanding, and response to injustice. The above featured photo of Rick and me with long time friend Michael W. Smith captures a glimpse of the developing story of how we have engaged the culture thesis.

For the record, I have worked with the Senator for over 20 years, overseeing in one capacity or another his campaigns as well as serving him on official staff.  I am currently one of his two senior advisors for his Presidential run.  He has been a friend, confidante and I was honored to assist him on the Hill, while his top staffer, on many of the projects that we have undertaken here at Clapham:  human trafficking, education for the underprivileged, human life and dignity, domestic and global poverty, religious persecution, global health and animal cruelty.

The Clapham Group is named after the small community of 19th century Evangelicals – including William Wilberforce, a member of Parliament – who addressed such social ills as human trafficking and abusive labor laws.   They also pursued the “reformation of manners” which we would understand now as an effort to address the coarsening of culture and breakdown of basic social values, such as the rise of out of wedlock births (which in some quarters in America is now over 70%).  Their efforts ushered in the Victorian Age of charity and manners.

Importantly, their efforts also tactically incorporated the engagement of “culture.”  In the case of the abolition of slavery in the form of songs, poems and even dinner plates (Josiah Wedgwood).  In the case of the reformation of manners movement in the form of short stories and plays.  In both cases, this small group understood the inherent limitation of “coercion through legislation” in shaping the common good, and appealed to our better selves through the moral imagination.  If you have not seen it, the film Amazing Grace, produced by Walden Media and which we helped promote, is a full feature account of Wilberforce’s and the community’s efforts to end the slave trade.

We at Clapham believe that in a postmodern context, “story” is necessary to communicate fundamental truths about social ills and the world in which we aspire to create for the common good.  Through film we have addressed unwanted pregnancy (Bella), human trafficking (Trade and Amazing Grace), restorative justice (Take), global AIDS (Lazarus Affect), climate change (Cool It) and sexual responsibility (Jonas Brothers).

We have architected online campaigns on religious persecution (One with Them), music tours on animal cruelty (All Creatures music tour with The Myriad), trauma and forced rape in the Congo (She’s My Sister) and even a graphic novel www.Ratfist.com that explores the virtues of enterprise and entrepenurship.

We have also followed another important model of the original Clapham Group, to work with “cobelligerents” … people we may differ with on a number issues, but we can enthusiastically work with on at least the one.

We invite you to peruse our website, and enjoy our monthly columns.  Each takes a unique perspective of the nexus of faith, culture and cause, and whether you agree with us or not, you will hopefully enjoy a thoughtful and respectful exploration of the topic.

And drop us a line.  If you want to join me on the road with the senator, let me know.   It would be fun.  But if there is a different road you travel this fall, let’s find another one we can travel on together.  I would enjoy your company on this journey we are on together as we look to plant gardens that bear the fruit of justice and goodness, as Jesus asked us to pray, “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Mark Rodgers