THE STATESMEN PROJECT OVERVIEW
SECTION ONE: THE BIG PICTURE
Transforming Nations on the Foundations of Freedom, Sustainable
Prosperity and Justice
Building a Global Movement of Statesmen in a Time of Socio-Economic
Crisis
The “Great Re-Set” and the Coming Global Debate
SECTION TWO: TWELVE MASTER PRINCIPLES FOR SUSTAINABLE FREEDOM
AND PROSPERITY
SECTION THREE: THE STATEMEN PROJECT FOCUS GROUPS
Community Transformation
o Ekklesia Prayer
o City Action Councils
o Citizen Education
Public Policy
o Banking and Currency
Intercessory Prayer
Communications and Media
SECTION FOUR: HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
SECTION ONE:
THE BIG PICTURE
Transforming Nations On The Foundations of Freedom, Sustainable
Prosperity, and Justice
”Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 33:12
Freedom, sustainable prosperity and justice are the legitimate goals of all nations and people
groups. Elusive as these goals may be, the only pathway to them is clear long-term strategic thinking
undergirded by a genuine ethic of “loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.” The Statesmen
Project is a movement committed to finding those who believe these simple truths and seek to
address and redress their absence in a modern world.
We believe that in spite of many of Western Civilization’s faults and injustices the reason it advanced
and prospered unlike any other civilization in history is because it attempted to apply JudeoChristian principles and values to its societies. While Greece and Rome added to its content,
adherence to the ancient Jewish and Christian scriptures, and a faith in Jesus Christ’s reality and
teachings, drove Western Civilization’s historic emergence. To deny this would be manifest historical
revisionism.
Social, political and economic systems rest on their transcendent values and their practical
application. We further recognize that Western Civilization today, both within itself and within the
many cultures it has greatly influenced economically and politically, is seriously suffering as a result
of either having misapplied these principles and values, omitted their application, or deliberately
abandoned them. The West appears to be suffering a major loss of identity, and is living in and
exporting to the world the complications of its own identity crisis.
The men and women who are the founders and mentors of The Statesmen Project, both commonly
and individually, believe that the only real solution to the crises now challenging sustainable
economic growth is to infuse those proven successful Judeo-Christian principles and values into our
nations, states, and cities. Only then can we realistically expect sustainable freedom, justice and
peace. The answer to most of our challenges is to identify the transcendent values and principles
that can “re-set” and restart us together once again. We believe that these two fundamental truths
are critical to our common welfare:
1) The only answer to the social concerns of racism, classism and solvable poverty is to treat all
humans as valued because they have a common Creator.
2) No political theorist has better or more effectively stated the foundations of a just and
prosperous society than Jesus when He commanded us to personally give ourselves over to
the God of all truth, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
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These are supreme principles for relationships, and they are also serve as the ultimate foundations
upon which to base the laws, policies, and culture of a nation.
We see an inevitable “Great Re-Set” coming. We believe that the best way out of the Great Re-Set is
to distinguish root causes from mere symptoms (i.e. root cause analysis) and close the gaps
between what a society says it believes in and what it actually does. Ideas have consequences.
Without a critical analysis of the values and principles undergirding the ideas being advanced or
practiced for societies results in obstacles to productive political dialogue that produces wisdom and
progress towards sustainable prosperity and justice.
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Building a Global Movement of Statesmen in a Time of
Social-Economic Crisis
“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3
The Statesmen Project is an international movement of concerned citizens responding to the
growing economic and social crises with practical Biblical principles that solve specific community
and national problems. We are a group of men and women seeking to rise above self-interest and
politics as usual as we serve and assist our communities and nations navigate out of these crises.
Many citizens have lost confidence in the current political process to resolve the crises and are
looking for the best approach to build societies of sustainable economic prosperity, justice and
peace. We are very deeply concerned for our children, their children, and what we are passing on to
them. We see that the current inheritance we are offering them is largely unacceptable: debt,
dependency, gross government waste and significant numbers of people being economically left
behind. These are a legacy of failure. Trapped in ideological grid-lock, encased in short-run thinking
and expediencies, the global dream of greater freedom and upward economic mobility has both
stalled and seems increasingly unreal to the emerging generations. We believe that it is a moral
mandate that an elevated dialogue must come forth that transcends the current ones now revealing
their obsolescence.
Our nation needs true statesmen. This type of man or woman is not merely a politician governing
according to the interest groups that elected her/him. Instead, statesmen advocate policies using
clearly stated principles calling upon citizens and elected officials alike to measure out decisions that
are best for the most people rather than best for them.
The Statesmen Project is a prophetic voice calling people and nations to measure their personal and
social choices by principles, results and sustainability. We seek to promote the application of timetested principles proven to be successful in maximizing sustainable prosperity to the largest number
of people. We are seeking to partner with others who see the social and economic crises growing
within our nation and want transform our nations out of the crises.
Below are our description of what we have assessed and our strategies to address these problems.
We finish with our perception of the criticality of the mandate before us.
The Problems as we see it:
National, state and local governments are being defunded, attempting to meet needs they
are not called to meet, and spending resources that more properly belong to future
generations. This defunding will create major social needs locally as lowered revenues
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continue to impact city, county and state funds. Social services identified as viable will be
discontinued completely or severely reduced.
Over the next decades the U.S. civil government debt, combined with the unfunded liabilities
and contractual commitments of cities, states and businesses will total well over $100 plus
trillion. The inability of these governments and organizations to meet these expectations and
commitments has (and will increasingly) place great tension between citizens, governments,
and businesses. Confrontations will ensue until expectations match the reality of meeting
those expectations.
Nations are increasingly divided culturally and politically with stalemate and brinkmanship
politics adding to our already existing polarization.
Governmental leaders have few effective long-term answers; short-term answers are both
politically unpopular and woefully shortsighted. Disenchantment with leaders and public
protest are on the rise in many nations and U.S. communities. Violence is on the rise
internationally between factions fighting for control of governments. Prolonged violence is
growing and many nations appear headed towards anarchy or severe government control.
A growing host of experts see that a global economic meltdown is a potential reality
depending upon how the European Union, the United States and China handle the massive
debt problems.
The influence and importance of Judeo-Christian values are misperceived, marginalized, and
lacking credibility with the general public and those in positions of public policy leadership.
The net of all of this is that there is expanding hopelessness among a growing number of
citizens and potentially destructive disillusionment.
The Causes of the Problems:
Nations are becoming ever more entrenched and enslaved by non-Biblical thinking and practices
that are having disastrous effects on their people and social systems. This commitment to “radical
secularization” is promoting the building of economies and governments that are increasingly based
on the value of self-interest, greed and blame-game divisiveness. Contributing to this problem are
the following dysfunctions:
The left-right/liberal-conservative political interactions continue to produce no effective
leadership and solutions.
Those that follow Biblical principles and values are not actively involved in presenting these
answers or actively engaged to be the “salt and light” of social systems. The consequences
are societies becoming ignorant of the love-based values that promote freedom, sustainable
prosperity, justice and peace.
National and local leaders are not driven by principles and what is best for future
generations but by politics, public perception, re-election, the demands of “special interests”,
and short-term thinking paradigms.
Elected officials and influential leaders of many countries are “medicating” their citizens
through the centralization of power into civil governments and away from the private citizen,
the deception of the truth, ineffective public education, moral-less entertainment, and the
promotion of materialism and consumption. Most citizens have become apathetic and
ignorant. Citizens are losing their ability to evaluate and think clearly, to choose wisely based
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on greater good principles, and to elect officials who can lead for the betterment of their
jurisdiction instead of for re-election.
Governments have directed much of their energy to redistributing tax collections to social
services instead of promoting market and social entrepreneurship, capital investment and
job creation.
The Opportunity and Our Purpose:
As a result we have a profound shortage of statesmen-like leaders and increasingly apathetic and illeducated citizens. This is a time of both great danger and great opportunity. With looming failures in
the structural stability of the economy and the network of social services, those that follow Biblical
principles and/or Jesus, and those generally aligned with his love your neighbor teachings, have an
opportunity to provide specific solutions to these needs, serve the people, and demonstrate that
God loves people and has provided the answers for sustainably prosperous and peaceful
communities. We are strategically and energetically advocating that those who believe in Biblical
principles become prepared to seize the moment. The Statesmen Project is an impassioned
response to bring God’s ways into the crises and to reposition the perception of God and his
influence within the general public conversation and the public policy decision-making process of
the nations and local communities.
The purpose of The Statesmen Project is to partner with, and help prepare, people who are willing to
respond to the social needs and crises by lovingly applying Biblical principles. We plan to actively
participate in national and local public policy, and to support those efforts with widespread prayer.
We also expect to shine a light on successful models. We hope to elevate the way citizens and an
electorate think in order to impact the thinking and actions of their elected officials and other
people of influence. The value we hope to create is the preparation and promotion of citizens
to demonstrate and apply God’s ways for creating social-economic systems that reflect God’s
deep love for people. By accomplishing these tasks, we will contribute to the proof of God’s
relevance in shaping societies towards freedom, sustainable prosperity, justice, and peace.
Our Trust In Jesus and the Providence of God:
We believe that we are intended by God to play a unique role in His work in partnership with Him.
Those who have joined The Statesmen Project to date have expertise in applying Biblically-based
principles in the fields of public policy, economics, banking and currency systems, city and social
systems transformation, education and curriculum development, and management. We seek to join
ourselves with other people who are applying Biblical principles – whether they know that they are
applying them or not - to complement each other and collaborate on how to disciple the nations on
the ways of God for managing His creation.
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We are driven by the vision that informed citizens will rise up and seize this critical moment to
deliver the great news of the supreme ways of God as it relates to the management of communities,
social systems, and nations. We see the potential that nations will be strengthened by the increasing
presence of love-based community leadership and governance, and that the values and principles of
the Bible will be welcomed at all levels of public policy decision-making.
The Strategies of The Statesmen Project:
Discover like-minded leaders and concerned citizens and invite them to join, and bring their
wisdom and initiative to the movement.
Link and enhance existing principle-based community services and prayer networks.
Uncover community models that are proving the practical truth of Biblical principles and
love-based values for community and national sustainable economic prosperity, justice and
peace.
Mobilize the best policy strategists to intelligently prepare for very meaningful public
debates to effect real change.
Prepare courses on the Biblical approach to social issues to educate and equip citizens to
provide the leadership necessary to practically respond to the current crises in their
communities and nation.
Extensively utilize all relevant forms of media to tell the story of how Biblical principles are
meeting social needs successfully on multiple levels to enhance the public’s appreciation for
the role of Jesus and his commands in society.
Support this work through dedicated, experienced, effective strategic prayer.
Start first in the U.S. then share with other countries what we have learned.
Respond to The Lord’s directions along the way.
The Objectives of The Statesmen Project:
Teaching and modeling Biblically-based solutions to socio-economic needs.
Creating environments/conversations/connections where leaders can gain insight and
traction.
Connecting people for strategic prayer for our solutions.
Uniting citizens and citizen groups who are aligned with Judeo-Christian principles and
values.
Discovering and promoting solutions and models that are working.
Changing the perceived value of the God of the Bible in culture.
The Critical Mandate of The Statesmen Project:
As members of The Statesmen Project we believe that our mandate is to:
Provide an accurate diagnosis of the current economic, political, and social situation. We
must powerfully communicate the current cultural suicide of creating a secular culture that
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attempts to disconnect itself from the Biblical values and principles that have proven
historically to be the foundations of many successful nations.
Proclaim and educate on the Biblical principles, values, applications, and models/proof
points that have been historically successful.
Call for open discussions and prepare for an anticipated global debate. Without a free flow
of ideas in the context of democratic expression we will be increasingly unable to roll back
the abuses of misused power, the loss of personal freedoms, and increasing government
centralization and dependencies. We believe that the need for a global dialogue about the
relationship between freedom, sustainable prosperity, and justice - and the spiritual/moral
foundations supporting them - has reached a critical state.
Encourage people that despite the great challenges we face now and ahead of us these
crises do not need to render us hopeless. There is reason for great hope. We have hope
because there are answers that have proven to work in history. People who have applied the
principles of “loving our neighbor as themselves” in the past have achieved sustainable
prosperity, freedom, and justice.
We increasingly believe that The Statesmen Project is a response for “such a time as this.” We trust
that all who see these realities will respond with courage, wisdom, commitment, tenacity, and love.
The Structure of The Statesmen Project:
Volunteers do almost all of the work of The Statesmen Project. The Statesmen Project is guided by a
Strategy Board and led by an Executive Team. The members of The Statesmen Project are separated
into Focus Groups:
Community Transformation
o Ekklesia Prayer
o City Action Councils
o Citizen Education
Public Policy
o Banking and Currency
Intercessory Prayer
Communications and Media
GoStrategic (formerly Strategic Christian Services) is facilitating and administratively supporting The
Statesmen Project. GoStrategic is a non-profit ministry that has been educating Christians with the
Biblical perspective on business, economics, public policy, and living since 1979. GoStrategic’s
mission is to disciple nations by training leaders and those they influence to inject Biblical values and
principles into their culture and their social systems. Expenses for The Statesmen Project are funded
through tax deductible donations to GoStrategic, designated for The Statesmen Project, and are very
gratefully received.
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The “Great Re-Set” and the Coming Global Debate
Many people who are aware of The Statesmen Project have asked us:
“How bad or severe will the next wave of economic challenges be and how will it affect our
nation, communities and people like me?”
“What will trigger the next big downturn and when will it start?”
Most of us respond with answers similar to this: “God alone knows the answer to those questions”.
Inevitably the next question arrives at “What should I do to prepare?” The Statesmen Project is
working diligently on how to answer that question. Here is what we have assessed:
The foundations of our economy are still fragile and unsustainable relative to the level of
indebtedness. In fact, as a result of the worldwide “quantitative easing” of national central
banks there is far greater indebtedness in 2015 than there was in 2007.
The economy has not substantially changed from the “Great Recession” of 2008 and our true
unemployment and underemployment rates are well beyond the public figures.
There is a growing sense of diminished opportunity for everyone but the most wealthy or
well connected, and along with it a growing sense of pessimism among people.
The political system is still in gridlock, unable to deal with our core problems on anything
other than superficial stop-gap measures.
The international economic realities and political conflicts are worse than in 2008.
The economy is being propped up via debt and currency systems that could collapse via any
one of several different and hard-to-predict “trigger points”.
We are praying for adequate time to clearly work through the appropriate principle-based solutions,
prepare curriculum to educate those who are interested, and find the right leaders who can help
leverage appropriate constituencies and synergize effective solutions and wise policy.
We believe that when the next wave of economic crises hit it will do at least six things:
1) Make obvious that we need new leaders and policies on every level.
2) Require both short-run and long-run stabilization of law and order as well as necessitate the
re-building of faith in the economic systems.
3) Stimulate a highly charged national and international debate – what we are calling the
“Global Debate” - regarding capitalism, monetary policy, democratic forms of government,
and their management of our political-economic systems.
4) Pressure responsibilities away from centralized, inefficient government to more local forms
of government and community.
5) Create real dangers of radical, untested ideas and demagogue leaders rushing in to fill the
vacuum created by failed policies and systems.
6) Offer Judeo-Christian values and principles an opportunity to replace the values of the
radically secularized society we are currently experiencing - if we are prepared to act wisely.
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Simply stated, we believe that major historic dangers and opportunities are in our near term future.
We believe that the most promising future belongs to those nations, states and communities who
are prepared to align themselves with the instructions of God and His desire to have us love our
neighbors as ourselves.
The kind of pervasive cultural dialogue required to be constructive in this kind of crisis can only take
place where freedom of speech and conscience are celebrated rather than tolerated, people seek to
understand and not just proclaim, and honest disagreement stimulates genuine self-examination.
This kind of “reality politics” leads to a deeper analysis and discussion of the core values of personal
and social responsibility and how they might apply to the entire social community.
Here are some examples of the kinds of questions “reality politics” may generate:
1) Does our current educational system teach and re-enforce our founding values and explain
how our founding documents and governing system are designed to implement them? If
not, why?
2) Are the political and economic power sources of our society practically committed to the
balance of walking out of the “me” (the individual) and the “us” (community) principles? If
not, how should they best be confronted?
3) Are the financial and professional systems within the private sectors of society properly
regulating themselves with these values or are they looking to civil government as their
primary regulators? If so, why have they put that responsibility chiefly on civil government?
4) Can any citizen who is pulling their own weight economically, ask someone else who isn’t,
the question, “Why should I support your chosen lifestyle?”
5) Can citizens approach people or institutions of wealth and success with similar questions,
such as, “How are you using your success to empower others within our community?”
The list could go on and on. The point is this: a fierce and crucial debate will soon be ignited and the
“Great Re-Set” will flow out from the results of that debate. Effective, concentrated and specific
prayer for this whole process is desperately needed now. That is something all of us can and should
do.
SECTION TWO: TWELVE MASTER PRINCIPLES FOR
SUSTAINABLE FREEDOM AND PROSPERITY
TWELVE MASTER PRINCIPLES FOR SUSTAINABLE FREEDOM AND PROSPERITY
MASTER PRINCIPLE: VALUES, PRINCIPLES: RELATED ISSUES:
1. Transcendence (Absolutes)
○ Man’s inherent rights
○ Supreme issues
○ The starting point for all strategic planning
Transcendent Values: The recognition of primary,
fundamental, and widely adhered-to ideas and
beliefs that define, limit, or interpret all lesser
values and which serve to create unity for a group
of people and guide their behavior. Examples:
Christ definition of the “Greatest Commandment”;
the Ten Commandments; the US Constitution; the
Hippocratic Oath for medical professionals; the
Code of Conduct of the US Military.
Citizenship; case law and legal systems; axioms
with corollaries; spiritual law over natural law;
immigration policy; voting rights; educational
curriculum
2. Choice Choice: The internal and free commitment to
actions and opportunities which set directions on a
particular course. The power behind love, sacrifice,
will, endurance, and the ownership of principles
and vision. That which makes us responsible for
the outcomes of our thoughts or actions.
Economically speaking, the source of commitment
to choices and sacrificial or risk investments.
Politically speaking, the core principle of human
freedom and intellectual integrity.
3. Reciprocity Reciprocity: The recognition of a mutual
responsibility to others to relate to them on behalf
of what is just and fair for them because they are
doing so for us out of our common bond and
commitment. The principle behind the “golden
rule” of “do unto others as you would have them
do unto you” (Luke 6:31). The core principle of
covenant and community and, both economically
and politically speaking, the highest “glue” (trust)
which holds mutual agreements and social systems
together (e.g., the Bridge of Trust).
4. Jurisdictional Government
(Responsibility)
○ Self-government
○ Nuclear family government
○ Ecclesiastic government
○ Civil government
○ Responsibility & functioning social order
Jurisdictional Government: The four different
forms of human government, as referenced by the
Bible, that are required to govern society. These
four different governmental forms are interrelated, have clearly established boundaries, and
were created to maximize efficiencies (the division
of labor), minimize the abuse of power (the
separation of governmental powers), create
specific responsibilities and function, and allow
diversities of gifts/talents/influence to shape
individuals and society at large. The biblical
jurisdictions/governmental forms are: 1) selfgovernment, 2) nuclear family government, 3)
ecclesiastic government, and 4) civil government.
Self-Government: The internal values, disciplines,
and practices of an individual creating the
foundation of all other governments.
Nuclear Family Government: The context and
origin of peoples’ social skill sets and values
Ecclesiastic Government: A primary institution
shaping the spiritual values and conscience of a
society.
Division of labor; separation of power;
jurisdictional problem solving and finance;
decentralization; redundancies; mutuality;
edification; jurisdictional organization of the legal
systems; welfare policy
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Civil Government: The government of the citizens
carrying the responsibility for their rights, welfare,
and protection (economic oversight).
5. The Separation of Powers (Freedom)
○ The counter-balancing division of
government designed to limit tyranny.
Dealing with Conflicts of Interest
○ Recusal
○ Executive–Legislative–Judicial Branches of
Government
○ Legal Corporation by Laws (No President,
Treasurer)
○ The Function of an Independent Media (Reporter)
The lessening of oversight and efficiencies of all
external laws; reduction of policing; crime; drugs;
dependencies; character; focused energy and
efficiencies; “staked tree” principle; impartationdiscipleship; freedom of speech
6. Localism–Centralization (Choice)
○ Pressing decision-making to those most
affected by the decision or application of
others’ decisions.
Localism: The practice of pushing decision making
and provision down to the lowest level where
people or organizations are actually living and
practically responding to current needs and
challenges (e.g., onsite). Localism is based on the
notion that those closest to the issues are best
equipped to handle them. It results in the
empowering of people living the reality of
situations to deal with them, based on first-hand
observation and assessment. Localism is in
contrast to centralism where key decisions are
made for people in diverse locales by one central
body, far removed from actually living the needs
and challenges.
Centralism vs. localism; authoritarianism vs. selfempowerment; duplication and redundancies;
inefficiencies through bureaucracies; legal and
welfare injustices; the Old Testament “poor tax”;
Federalism vs. states’ rights; taxation policy;
division of labor, mandated federal spending
7. The Division of Labor
(Engiftment/Efficiency)
○ The efficiency and productivity created by
skill- endowed labor, singular-product focus,
and coordinated teamwork.
Division of Labor: Strategic deployment, etc.,
recognition of gifts, callings, skill sets, training,
competitive advantages
8. Service-Based Power (Love)
○ The use of authority and power to enhance
the value and welfare of others.
Service-Based Power: Service-based power is the
use of both authority and power to enhance the
value, skill sets, resource base, and capacities of
those under the authority of a person or
organization. Christ Himself is exhibit “A” of one
embodying and exercising this unique use of
power (Philippians 2:3-11). It is the deliberate use
of authority and its associated power to serve
those under the authority to help people help
themselves to act in compliance with the group’s
values rather than just use authority and power to
force compliance.
Empowerment vs. self-centered gain,
organizational-relational culture; obedience vs.
loyalty; relational leverage; love vs.
authoritarianism
9. Limits (Safety, Goals, Sustainability)
○ The concept protecting us from harm
○ The concept that limits can hinder us from
progress or freedom
Limits: The recognition that limits both protect us
from harm and protect us from harming others.
Well-defined limits take into account different
capacities, gifts, training, motivations, needs,
challenges, jurisdictions of authority, etc.
The governmental separation of powers; tyranny;
division of labor; law of diminishing returns;
banking, currency, leverage limits; taxation policy;
laws in all forms; presumptuous sin; foreign policy;
environmentalism; sustainability
10. Justice-Equality (Inputs, Rewards,
Common Accountability)
○ Due rewards or penalties
○ Common human value and rights
Justice-Equality: Justice is the concept that people
are rewarded or punished as a result of their own
specific actions, and the rewards or punishments
are correctly and appropriately applied using a
commonly accepted standard. Equality is the
concept of treating all people equally through the
establishment of common rights, responsibilities,
Taxation policy; criminal law; special-interest
inequalities; racism; sexism; unequal wages;
entitlements; exploitation; systemic injustices;
community; liberty; respect vs. envy; competition
(capitalism) vs. socialism (authoritarian
redistribution); market equilibrium vs. planned
allocation; egalitarianism vs. exploitation
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and opportunities without privilege or
discrimination for certain groups. Justice deals with
receiving one’s proper due; equality deals with
everyone receiving the same treatment.
11. Results-Based Reality (Truth)
○ Performance-based evaluations
○ Truth in action
Results-Based Policies: The belief that theories,
ideas, programs, or actions should be tested and
then evaluated based on factual results rather than
hopes, bias, projections, or ideological paradigms.
If the known variable factors have been properly
tested, the results should be allowed to “speak for
themselves.” Policies are then either applied or
discarded based on the factual results.
Ideologies; religious concepts;
economic/social/environmental theory of all sorts;
political parties; scientific method; self-interest and
delusion; ideas and ideologies must be measured
by results.
12. Bridge of Trust (Relational Building)
○ Relational confidence in people, systems,
or Ideas
The Bridge of Trust: All successful, healthy,
mutual relationships—be they personal,
organizational, national or international—are held
together by trust between the parties. The trust
can be evaluated by what pressures and challenges
those relationships can withstand and remain
intact without becoming “broken.” The “bridge of
trust” is a model for understanding how trust can
be built and broken between people; a bridge can
be a safe passageway of interaction between two
parties or become broken, preventing successful
engagement.
Organization; unity; personal relationships;
national trust in political, economic, and legal
systems; contracts of all sorts; scale of action
related to competency and character; all
relationships have “load limits”
We believe that one of the major reasons that both our political and economic systems are unable
to make any appreciable progress is because clear, identified, and consistently applied principles are
either absent or wrongly applied. What are guiding us instead are political maneuvering,
unprincipled pragmatism, and special interest group favoritism. One of our Founding Fathers, James
Madison, carried deep concerns over our nation being divided and run by competing factions. This
fear has become a reality in recent years.
The “Great Re-Set” will, by necessity, eventually force nations to turn to principle-based policies
where results, not rhetoric, validate their virtue. Listed above are over-arching principles that we
believe offer the best real time validation by the results they will produce.
As many of us remember from studying math or science, equations or the results of experiments
are frequently analyzed on the basis of axiomatic truths. These truths can then be extrapolated into
corollaries or derivatives. For example, some scientists have maintained that all the knowledge we
have regarding the nature of matter is bound up in three primary axiomatic laws: gravity, thermodynamics and electro-magnetism. The application of axiomatic truths can also be applied to ethics,
relational integrity, social building principles and economic applications.
To be effective principles need to be structured applications of the values they represent and then
processed into policies that meet the real needs of nations and their people. Stated another way,
The Statesmen Project is following the spiritual-social equation of:
Values into Principles + Policy Applications = Potential Transformation
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The search to identify these kind of axiomatic principles must be prepared for the “Great Debate” in
order to be processed into policy application to eventually be used in the transformation of the
“Great Re-Set”. The major challenge then becomes how do we get this equation operable in
pluralistic societies; especially where “Post-modern” thinking challenges objective truth?
To provide wise answers to the current and growing crisis we start with root cause analysis by
breaking the general challenges of our crisis into the specific axioms or corollaries driving them.
Once the causes are identified qualified people who are willing to work in a team are needed to
prepare the principles for application. From there the principles must be prepared for serious
discussion.
The inability to correctly diagnose the cause-effect principles of any situation lead to repetitive
failure, false and wasteful “solutions”, discouragement, and ultimately, chaos or destruction. Causeeffect analysis requires axiomatic-corollary knowledge. Without this kind of analysis the nations are
frequently rudderless in terms of how and why they are acting, advocating and legislating as they
now are. We must wonder how many of our nation’s leaders are competent to lead based upon this
reality?
The Statesmen Project is currently using the following Twelve Master Principles as an analytical tool
to measure and assess the viability and sustainability of both current and proposed public and
economic policies. We are also plan to use these Master Principles and their corollaries, to educate
citizens and leaders in terms of public logic, usage, results and compatibility with their stated
Founding Documents and publicly articulated values.
The usage of these principles is self-evidently valuable to analytical thinking and policy analysis.
However, unless and until they are specifically applied to government policy usage, and candidate
and administrative vetting, they will remain “academic” and the nations will remain in confusion,
stagnation and social division. Political education, rather than political rhetoric, is near the very top
of our nation’s most critical needs. That requires reform of our nation’s educational systems and
rigorous social debate. We need the quick awakening of our populace from denial, “numbness”
regarding the political process and a large amount of accurate and penetrating prayer.
In Matthew chapter 28 Jesus directs his followers to:
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
-Matthew 28:19-20
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Successfully making disciples of nations requires converting individuals, who as citizens of their
nations, begin to apply biblical teachings and principles to the culture and social systems in which
they live. Unfortunately, too many Christians think, vote, and influence others more as liberals or
conservatives than as Christians seeking to apply scriptural principles to social-political issues. God
is not a Republican or a Democrat – He is the Founder of a Kingdom based on His Son and His
Truths.
Today, our nation and the nations are in crisis on multiple levels. The reason is simple: our citizens
and leaders are either ignorant of the Scriptures as they apply to social-political-economic issues or
are not capable of mobilizing others to educate and apply them. So how can we Believers “disciple
nations?” We can’t until we are aware of the biblical applications of the Scriptures to changing social
systems.
SECTION THREE:
THE STATESMEN PROJECT
FOCUS GROUPS
Successfully navigating our nations out of the crises requires statesmen who can lead us to shared
transcendent values, principle-based governance and a citizenry educated and motivated to
recognize and elect leaders who advocate and embody those principles. The Statesmen Project is
not so much attempting to create new things as much as identifying the principles that have proven
to work best and creating paths of synergy between people and groups already applying these
principles.
We have organized ourselves into Focus Groups. When someone wishes to begin to participate in
and connect to the work of The Statesmen Project we suggest that they follow their passion into one
of the following Focus Groups:
Community Transformation
o Ekklesia Prayer
o City Action Councils
o Citizen Education
Public Policy
o Banking and Currency
Intercessory Prayer
Communication and Media
Below are descriptions and overviews of the Focus Groups.
COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION FOCUS GROUPS
Communities are transformed not by mass systems but rather one person and one family unit at a
time. Nations are transformed by one community at a time. As such, the Community
Transformation Focus Group seeks to partner with and help prepare disciples of Christ who are
willing to respond in loving action to the social needs and crises of our communities.
The Community Transformation Focus Group believes that there are three essential elements to
effective, sustainable principle-based community transformation:
o Ekklesia Prayer
o City Action Councils
o Citizen Education
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We are now prepared to consult with communities and offer specific methodology, manuals, and
expertise on these essential elements of community transformation.
Ekklesia Prayer
The Statesmen Project has been sensing for a while that The Holy Spirit has begun to emphasize the
role of Kingdom citizens to function as a governing body to legislate God's will onto the earth: to
"bind on earth what is bound in heaven and to loose on earth what is loosed in heaven." We believe
that a new season is dawning for the Body of Christ to understand and start to act in this role. Jesus
taught his disciples to pray for the Father's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Acting as an
“ekklesia” is one of the models Jesus said should be used by his followers to make that happen.
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus stated that He would build His “church”. The word translated “church” is the
Greek word ekklesia, which has both a Greek and Hebrew background. It is a combination of two
Greek words: ek, ‘out of,’ and klesis, ‘a calling’ (from kaleo, ‘to call’). In Deuteronomy 9:10 and 18:16,
the Greek Septuagint translates qahal, which comes from a root that means ‘to summon’, as the
Hebrew equivalent of ekklesia; and both passages reference a called out people at Sinai assembled
to receive God’s law and to act upon it. Both qahal and ekklesia describe a summoned, redeemed
people called into an assembly and granted authority to accomplish the business of heaven on the
earth.
Of the approximately eighty passages in which the term ekklesia occurs in the New Testament, fiftyseven have in view the church as an assembly in a particular place or specific geographical location.
Each territory has elders, which are those citizens with clear authority and standing in their
city/state, and local congregations within those cities that have been set there by God.
An ekklesia convocation expresses its authority first in prayer. In that role, the local ekklesia is
summoned to come before the Lord and agree with what the Lord is doing and release it (loose) in
the earth or prohibit (bind) what the enemy is seeking to do in the earth. An ekklesia convocation is
a divinely ordained body, appointed to stand at the ‘gates’ and permit or deny through legislative
proclamation and agreement. As such, the Statesmen Project has chosen to call the group that
focuses on the prayer aspect of community transformation by the term Ekklesia Prayer. The primary
role of the Ekklesia Prayer group is to consult with communities who would like to create this
function locally, starting with an assembly or convocation.
The Statesmen Project Ekklesia Prayer group team members partner with local area leaders to
prepare for and to conduct an Ekklesia Convocation. Local disciples are trained in how to pray from
the perspective of a spiritual governing body in order to influence the community towards acting in
God's will on key local issues. Examples of key local issues could be anything: growing gang
violence, racism and local law enforcement, local Muslim communities and refugees, minimum wage
rates, how to prepare for droughts or floods, affordable housing, loss of businesses in the
region/rising unemployment, etc. These disciples are then gathered periodically into convocation to
pray concerning these issues.
Prior to the convocations, there is research prepared for all participants to read and mediate on:
Accurate, factual descriptions on the issue
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What the Bible may say on that or similar issues, and
What other scriptures might apply for understanding God’s will on the issue
To create unity in the convocation all participates declare in unison three prepared documents:
1. A statement of faith consistent with both evangelical and reformed views
2. The historic Apostles' Creed
3. A confession about the efficacy of the blood of Jesus
The agreement and unity formulated around these documents is considered by all to serve as each
member's qualification to be a participating delegate of that Ekklesia. During the Convocation,
scriptures that had been previously organized into biblically-based categories are read before the
assembly and then prayed. The scripture-based prayers are released in the methods of
proclamations, declarations, and decrees rather than in the forms of intercession and petition. As
each Ekklesia member stands in his or her God-granted authority, the governmental aspect of the
church is demonstrated.
The Ekklesia Prayer Focus Group has created a manual for creating local Ekklesia Prayer
Convocations. The manual includes:
1. Definitions and The Vision
a. The Ekklesia Defined
b. The Statesmen Project Defined
c. The Purpose and Vision of City-Wide Ekklesia Convocations
d. What is “Affirmation-Based Prayer”?
2. The Participants of The Ekklesia Prayer Convocation
a. The Leaders of The City As “Assigned Citizens”
b. The Ekklesia Advisors Team
c. The Citizens and Observers
3. The Convocations and The Protocols
a. The General Format
b. The Convocations Protocols
c. Formalities and Credentials
d. Petitions Before Spiritual Authorities
e. The Stated Intentions
f. Scriptural Affirmations
g. Prayer for The Land, Leaders and Key Issues
h. Summaries, Affirmations and Petitions
4. Sustainable Growth and Relationships
a. Holding Ground and Gaining New Ground
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b. The Relational Politics Within and Without
c. Getting Connected to The Nations
The Ekklesia Prayer Convocation manual is part of the consulting we provide to our Community
Transformation clients.
City Action Councils
One of the most important governing principles The Statesmen Project holds to is the principle of
what we call “localism.” Localism is a catch-word carrying multiple key concepts. The first concept is
that decision-making and policy implementations are usually best made by those close to a place
and people most directly affected by the policy. The second concept, centralization, with its usual
bureaucratic encumbrances, duplications, and inefficiencies, must be very carefully created and
managed. Third, community transformation is like individual transformation, it comes from within
that community – not imposed upon it - and regional or national transformation starts in local
communities. Finally, to be sustained, justice, peace and economic prosperity must be done through
community governing itself.
City Action Councils are voluntary, relationally based groups of citizens coming together from within
communities to strategically serve their community through united, public + private sector alliances
with civil leaders and other service-based organizations. As local tax bases are hard-pressed to fund
even essential social services, City Action Council-type service organizations become ever more
necessary to both “fill in the cities’ unfunded needs,” care for the marginalized, and stimulate citizen
investment in place of always defaulting to “the government will do this for us.” If freedom begins in
self-government, community begins with an activated and caring citizenry.
The Statesmen Project believes that community transformation is an obvious necessity in virtually all
the nations of the world. As globalization increases, our cities become increasingly challenged to
adequately fund and effectively manage. The Statesmen Project’s purpose is to serve and “disciple
nations,” as Christ’s Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-210 mandates. Our strategy is two-tiered:
Firstly, to help undergird local communities with prayer, citizen education, and service-based
private-sector government alliances (City Action Councils), and secondly, with principle-based public
policy. City Action Councils, in concert with effective prayer bases and citizen education projects, are
the “three-fold cords” of our practical application of the principle of localism in action.
Currently we are working to find leaders within cities who are already building out these kind of
service-based networks and seek to connect them with other leaders in other cities doing similar
things. As we continue to find them, we connect them together for mutual benefits, strategies, and
encouragement.
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Citizen Education
As a result of the political gridlock of most Western countries, most citizens have become
discouraged that leaders can do anything to fix the problems. Citizens are becoming increasingly
apathetic and ignorant. They are losing their ability to evaluate and think clearly, to choose wisely
“based on principles that will affect the greater good of the nation, and to elect officials who can lead
for the betterment of their jurisdiction instead of for re-election. A lack of understanding of the
issues has rendered many helpless to do anything in the face of seeming insurmountable
challenges. It is precisely these concerned citizens who want answers that The Statesmen Project
seeks to help. By providing more than just useful information, The Statesman Project is seeking to
help people build effective solution strategies for their own lives and their communities.
We are addressing this directly because we believe that:
An uninformed citizenry is susceptible to political and economic anarchy and/or tyranny.
An informed citizenry provides nations with key innovators, educators, and entrepreneurs
that are vital to national recovery.
An informed citizenry is key to an intellectual development process that enables citizens to
grow in possess relevant knowledge in order to become more capable of applying strategic
wisdom.
An informed citizenry is key to a skills development process that enables citizens to grow in
their strategic planning, communication, and leadership capabilities.
The Statesmen Project has created its first has created its first course, Citizen Education 101
Discipling Nations: Preparing to Obey the Great Commission. The course is designed specifically to
help citizens become more effective in recognizing the root to economic and social challenges that
must be understood so that principled solutions can be more effectively applied.
The contents of the course include:
Lesson 1: Discipling Nations and the Great Commission
Lesson 2: Principle-Based Public Policy: Ten Master Principles
Lesson 3: Worldview and Social Structure: What Holds Us Together
Lesson 4: Transcendence, Self-Government and Service-Based Power
Lesson 5: The Nuclear Family, Jurisdictional Government and Localism
Lesson 6: Limits, Justice-Equality and Results-Based Reality
Lesson 7: The Bridge of Trust Holds It All Together
Lesson 8: How Do We Fix The Broken System?
Recommended Resources for Further Study
The Statesmen Project plans to develop more courses on the Biblical approach to social issues to
educate and equip citizens to provide the leadership necessary to practically respond to the current
crises in their communities and nation. Future courses will focus on key themes, including: the
nature of power and how it is shifting in present society, the causes and consequences of the
broken political system, why the economic crisis is not over, and why enhancing our capability to
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make effective personal and corporate strategic choices is the only means by which we will
accomplish the essential outcomes that contribute toward national renewal.
The educational philosophy that is applied to the design of our courses has, at its core, the belief
that adult education is about enabling a developmental process for participants in two key areas:
1. Growing intellectually through possessing knowledge and then applying wisdom.
2. Developing greater capability to use their skills to accomplish their strategic goals.
Lectures, discussions, podcasts, forums, video casts, reading materials will be provided through a
secure online education service. The Statesmen Project is also researching how its content could be
provided as a series of professional development certificates for those that are looking for adult
education in order to further their own career objectives.
We hope that local leaders working towards community transformation will find Citizen Education
101 and future courses from The Statesmen Project to be valuable. We plan to work closely with
local leaders to develop courses that best enable citizens to think using Biblical principles and to
apply wisdom, rooted in love, to lead their communities towards freedom, sustainable prosperity
and justice.
PUBLIC POLICY FOCUS GROUPS
In addition to focusing our efforts to support local community transformation The Statesmen Project
also has focus groups working on delivering principle-based ideas for national public policy. There
are many national issues to choose from: terrorism/national security, availability and affordability of
healthcare, immigration, unemployment/economic growth, income and wealth distribution, the
Social Security system, nationals debt/currency/banking policy, crime and violence,
environment/global warming, race relations, etc.
Banking and Currency
Economics, as most of us know, is the systematic organization, on a large scale, of the collective
effects of people’s labor, purchases, and investments as they function in the context and support of
the community or nations surrounding them. Whoever controls economic policy largely controls the
nation or nations for good or ill. Economic policy is an attempt to both manage and stabilize the
collective effects of man’s labor in alignment with the values forming the society in which that labor
is performed. Economic policy, from a human point of view, is the primary tool of “taking dominion”
since virtually all human activity is supported by economic transactions.
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Economic policy especially deals with controls over currency, banking, interest rates, taxation
policies and government expenditures. Economic policy both forms and drives political parties and
the political process. One of those key economic policy issues is what is commonly called
“entitlements”. Entitlements deal with the financial support systems organized and managed by civil
government as it attempts to care for its citizens in terms of housing, taxation policy, health care,
retirement, unemployment and related insurance systems of support. Entitlements take us directly
into a host of value questions such as who should pay for them, what are the appropriate costs for
them, and how are they best managed so as to cover true human need without creating undue
dependency in the people receiving them upon the institutions providing them? Because these kinds
of value propositions are so critical to a nation’s economic health, and the financial systems
undergirding the labor and lifestyle of the entire population, The Statesmen Project has chosen to
initially focus on them.
The participants in The Statesmen Project Banking and Currency focus group are deeply concerned
over our current monetary system. Our concern is a money system based on debt instead of value.
For example, when a private bank makes a loan to an individual or company the money constituting
that loan does not come from previous savers but instead is created ex nihilo for that particular
loan. The fact that the general population does not understand this, but instead thinks that banks
simply intermediate funds from savers to borrowers, creates a deception of gigantic proportions.
In our present system, an increase in money always demands an increase in debt. This means
therefore that a country that has more money must also have more total debt (i.e., governmental
and private combined). Excess debt has been, and always will be, a permanent drain on the
productive capacity of individuals as well as nations. Our present system thus requires the
perpetuation of debt on such a scale that it threatens the very fabric of society. It therefore stands in
direct opposition to the principles that should be inherent in any monetary system. Any such
system is prima facie evidence as untrustworthy, unethical, and unjust.
The solution is a monetary system that primarily benefits society. For the generally accepted
properties of money (medium of exchange, unit of account, store of value, and standard of deferred
payments) to function properly, the monetary system in which money is issued and circulates
through the economy must adhere to the fundamental principles of honesty, integrity, and justice.
Such a system creates trust between the people using the system and those administering it. It
provides a foundation upon which prosperity is available to all and inter-generational momentum
can be built and sustained.
It is in the best interest of society to insure these fundamental principles are endemic to a monetary
system, and as such a system devoid of these principles will ultimately be a deterrent to freedom
and general prosperity.
The Statesmen Project Banking and Currency Focus Group is advocating a systemic change coming
from citizen understanding and action. The Statesmen Project seeks to build education programs
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and content that will enable concerned citizens to be better equipped to understand the
foundational principles of a functional monetary system and the realities of our present system.
Through written materials, conferences, and videos, The Statesmen Project will train its audience to
parse news, analyses, and broad popular reactions regarding money and banking in a way that
deepens comprehension and enables proper application of these foundational principles.
Education alone will not generate needed reform. We will move to foster action on the part of our
audience. This is not partisan action with respect to any political party, but rather in favor of the
principles outlined above: that is monetary systems must be honest, ethical, and just. They must
serve the needs of the people and protect their opportunity to prosper and sustain generational
momentum.
Our strategy is that incremental change can lead to systemic change. Our goal is to see the
complete monetary and banking system changed so that monetary systems harness a nation’s
productive potential and minimize human manipulation of our money supply resulting in
concentrating gains in the hand of a few and supporting government largesse. We realize that there
will always be a measure of imperfection in whatever system is devised, but the goal is to minimize
that imperfection.
The Statesmen Project believes that the probability of a complete systemic change under our
current political impasse is a near impossibility. We are attempting, therefore, to devise incremental
changes which would:
(a) Systematically over time demonstrate new and sustainable ways of managing our
monetary system;
(b) benefit the people in the process;
(c) leave room for new and innovative thinking, and;
(d) not concern existing power centers to the degree they seek to stop the process.
Our approach is to coordinate with like-minded partners. There are many economists, bloggers,
speakers, and other public figures who hold views very similar to our own. Our intent is not to act as
a clearing house for these, but to do what we can to direct them toward the promotion and
adoption of relevant principles. Too often many of us run in our own circles of like-minded people
and forget that other people may have valid ideas on how to practically incorporate these principles.
We are trying to raise the bar to create a common awareness of these principles and foster
cooperation in deploying them to solve the urgent problems of our day.
Action items for the Banking and Currency Focus Group in 2016:
1. Create a comprehensive list of major political, church, and business leaders who are behind
The Statesmen Project banking and currency policy initiatives.
2. Continue to develop and broaden strategic relationships with leadership in the academic,
church, state, and Federal governments.
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3. Initiate an education campaign directed at those leaders as well as key segments of the
broader population.
4. Move each constituency in #2 above toward alignment on messaging and strategy to
incorporate key principles within monetary policy.
5. Identify and foster early adoption of non-legislative alternatives.
6. Strategically define the first tier increment of proposed alternatives that require legislative
action for long term adoption.
7. Create emergency legislation crafted for state, local, and Federal government to implement
in the event of a major financial/currency crisis.
8. Create a communication structure by which emergency activities may be developed and
coordinated.
In 2017 we plan to:
1. Have the network involved with The Statesmen Project Banking and Currency Focus Group
coordinated and active in all spheres of influence: state, local, and Federal governments, as
well as academia and the church.
2. Continue to broaden the relationship base within governments and the church.
3. First tier increment of proposed alternatives actively moving through the legislative process
and measurable increase of adoption of non-legislative alternatives.
4. Second tier increment of proposed alternatives that require legislation strategically defined
and legislation crafted.
5. Second tier increment of proposed alternatives that do not require legislation identified and
an early adoption program begun.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER FOCUS GROUP
Prayer is the foundation of all authentic relationship with God. God's will is revealed in the Holy Bible
and praying from a grateful, humble, and trusting heart is the primary means through which we
know God genuinely, understand His ways accurately, and execute His will effectively.
The Intercessory Prayer focus group’s purpose is to serve The Statesmen Project by praying for all
it's various endeavors and learning how to do that with increasing effectiveness, verifiable results,
conspicuous honor to The Lord, and substantial benefits to people and communities.
The Intercessory Prayer Group’s core beliefs:
The Almighty God, as creator of all things, is ultimate reality, and is therefore eternally
relevant (Romans 11:36 - Transcendent Values).
God mandates and privileges us to be the instruments through which He accomplishes His
will in the earth. Prayer is the most reasonable response to that opportunity. His will
includes blessing individuals with gifts, growth, and responsibility as well as blessing
communities through service (The One and the Many).
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Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). These works of the evil one are set
against The Lord and the people He wants to bless. We can powerfully oppose the enemy's
schemes by discovering and implementing The Lord's strategies in prayer (Matthew 16:18,
Ephesians 3:10,11).
The Intercessory Prayer Group’s specific objectives:
To identify, form, and train teams if Intercessory for each focus group in The Statesmen
Project. These teams will carry the primary prayer responsibility for their specific group.
To identify and properly connect with other intercession ministries with whim we have
strong harmony in purpose, perspective, and priority.
To produce 2 training courses for Intercessory teams that involve 'foundations of prayer' and
strategic intercession.
Tactically, we plan to:
Establish and maintain all related communication for The Statesmen Project through the
website.
The monthly prayer conference calls will be the practical base from which we maintain our
Intercessory responsibilities, encouragement, and personal updates.
COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA FOCUS GROUP
The Communications and Media focus group’s purpose is to serve The Statesmen Project by writing
and editing the written communications and using the Internet and other media to broadcast the
content. Communications and Media focus group is responsible for building and maintaining the
website, written and video content, and the use of all social media.
SECTION FOUR:
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
INDIVIDUAL ENGAGEMENT
For many of us, we have determined that we must engage and that engagement must be
intentional, strategic and results-driven. We have committed to do so. We are already too involved in
other important endeavors to waste precious time. We want to make a difference with others who
want to make a difference. The scale of the changes and transformation for cultures and nations we
seek is huge and we acknowledge that. Yet, we believe God, working through people at the right
time in history, has always made the difference. For us, though technology and other modern
innovations have proven as culturally disruptive as they are scientifically profound, the only change
that lasts must be built on truths that don’t change.
The Statesmen Project is only three years old. Nevertheless, many of us have already spent a lifetime preparing for and dealing with the core social and political-economic issues required to lay the
proper foundations for the Project. We are not strangers to the complexities of political-economic
issues and conflicting theories as to how to build sustainable communities, societies that promote
and experience justice, and the preserving of individual liberty in the context of inequities. What we
are after is a commitment to not function as merely “political” or do “politics as usual;” we want to
influence and press for the emergence of true statesmen and women to make real differences. If
you are driven by the same passion, welcome.
The Statesmen Project meetings are usually offered by invitation only whereby a current participant
invites a friend to attend with them. If the guest desires to explore getting involved, they are invited
to contact a leader of one of our Focus Groups and then explore their involvement there. There is no
formal membership; The Statesmen Project is designed to revolve around committed relationships
held together by a common passion to bring about social transformation.
Transforming Nations on the Foundations of Freedom, Sustainable
Prosperity and Justice
Building a Global Movement of Statesmen in a Time of Socio-Economic
Crisis
The “Great Re-Set” and the Coming Global Debate
SECTION TWO: TWELVE MASTER PRINCIPLES FOR SUSTAINABLE FREEDOM
AND PROSPERITY
SECTION THREE: THE STATEMEN PROJECT FOCUS GROUPS
Community Transformation
o Ekklesia Prayer
o City Action Councils
o Citizen Education
Public Policy
o Banking and Currency
Intercessory Prayer
Communications and Media
SECTION FOUR: HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
SECTION ONE:
THE BIG PICTURE
Transforming Nations On The Foundations of Freedom, Sustainable
Prosperity, and Justice
”Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 33:12
Freedom, sustainable prosperity and justice are the legitimate goals of all nations and people
groups. Elusive as these goals may be, the only pathway to them is clear long-term strategic thinking
undergirded by a genuine ethic of “loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.” The Statesmen
Project is a movement committed to finding those who believe these simple truths and seek to
address and redress their absence in a modern world.
We believe that in spite of many of Western Civilization’s faults and injustices the reason it advanced
and prospered unlike any other civilization in history is because it attempted to apply JudeoChristian principles and values to its societies. While Greece and Rome added to its content,
adherence to the ancient Jewish and Christian scriptures, and a faith in Jesus Christ’s reality and
teachings, drove Western Civilization’s historic emergence. To deny this would be manifest historical
revisionism.
Social, political and economic systems rest on their transcendent values and their practical
application. We further recognize that Western Civilization today, both within itself and within the
many cultures it has greatly influenced economically and politically, is seriously suffering as a result
of either having misapplied these principles and values, omitted their application, or deliberately
abandoned them. The West appears to be suffering a major loss of identity, and is living in and
exporting to the world the complications of its own identity crisis.
The men and women who are the founders and mentors of The Statesmen Project, both commonly
and individually, believe that the only real solution to the crises now challenging sustainable
economic growth is to infuse those proven successful Judeo-Christian principles and values into our
nations, states, and cities. Only then can we realistically expect sustainable freedom, justice and
peace. The answer to most of our challenges is to identify the transcendent values and principles
that can “re-set” and restart us together once again. We believe that these two fundamental truths
are critical to our common welfare:
1) The only answer to the social concerns of racism, classism and solvable poverty is to treat all
humans as valued because they have a common Creator.
2) No political theorist has better or more effectively stated the foundations of a just and
prosperous society than Jesus when He commanded us to personally give ourselves over to
the God of all truth, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
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These are supreme principles for relationships, and they are also serve as the ultimate foundations
upon which to base the laws, policies, and culture of a nation.
We see an inevitable “Great Re-Set” coming. We believe that the best way out of the Great Re-Set is
to distinguish root causes from mere symptoms (i.e. root cause analysis) and close the gaps
between what a society says it believes in and what it actually does. Ideas have consequences.
Without a critical analysis of the values and principles undergirding the ideas being advanced or
practiced for societies results in obstacles to productive political dialogue that produces wisdom and
progress towards sustainable prosperity and justice.
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Building a Global Movement of Statesmen in a Time of
Social-Economic Crisis
“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3
The Statesmen Project is an international movement of concerned citizens responding to the
growing economic and social crises with practical Biblical principles that solve specific community
and national problems. We are a group of men and women seeking to rise above self-interest and
politics as usual as we serve and assist our communities and nations navigate out of these crises.
Many citizens have lost confidence in the current political process to resolve the crises and are
looking for the best approach to build societies of sustainable economic prosperity, justice and
peace. We are very deeply concerned for our children, their children, and what we are passing on to
them. We see that the current inheritance we are offering them is largely unacceptable: debt,
dependency, gross government waste and significant numbers of people being economically left
behind. These are a legacy of failure. Trapped in ideological grid-lock, encased in short-run thinking
and expediencies, the global dream of greater freedom and upward economic mobility has both
stalled and seems increasingly unreal to the emerging generations. We believe that it is a moral
mandate that an elevated dialogue must come forth that transcends the current ones now revealing
their obsolescence.
Our nation needs true statesmen. This type of man or woman is not merely a politician governing
according to the interest groups that elected her/him. Instead, statesmen advocate policies using
clearly stated principles calling upon citizens and elected officials alike to measure out decisions that
are best for the most people rather than best for them.
The Statesmen Project is a prophetic voice calling people and nations to measure their personal and
social choices by principles, results and sustainability. We seek to promote the application of timetested principles proven to be successful in maximizing sustainable prosperity to the largest number
of people. We are seeking to partner with others who see the social and economic crises growing
within our nation and want transform our nations out of the crises.
Below are our description of what we have assessed and our strategies to address these problems.
We finish with our perception of the criticality of the mandate before us.
The Problems as we see it:
National, state and local governments are being defunded, attempting to meet needs they
are not called to meet, and spending resources that more properly belong to future
generations. This defunding will create major social needs locally as lowered revenues
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continue to impact city, county and state funds. Social services identified as viable will be
discontinued completely or severely reduced.
Over the next decades the U.S. civil government debt, combined with the unfunded liabilities
and contractual commitments of cities, states and businesses will total well over $100 plus
trillion. The inability of these governments and organizations to meet these expectations and
commitments has (and will increasingly) place great tension between citizens, governments,
and businesses. Confrontations will ensue until expectations match the reality of meeting
those expectations.
Nations are increasingly divided culturally and politically with stalemate and brinkmanship
politics adding to our already existing polarization.
Governmental leaders have few effective long-term answers; short-term answers are both
politically unpopular and woefully shortsighted. Disenchantment with leaders and public
protest are on the rise in many nations and U.S. communities. Violence is on the rise
internationally between factions fighting for control of governments. Prolonged violence is
growing and many nations appear headed towards anarchy or severe government control.
A growing host of experts see that a global economic meltdown is a potential reality
depending upon how the European Union, the United States and China handle the massive
debt problems.
The influence and importance of Judeo-Christian values are misperceived, marginalized, and
lacking credibility with the general public and those in positions of public policy leadership.
The net of all of this is that there is expanding hopelessness among a growing number of
citizens and potentially destructive disillusionment.
The Causes of the Problems:
Nations are becoming ever more entrenched and enslaved by non-Biblical thinking and practices
that are having disastrous effects on their people and social systems. This commitment to “radical
secularization” is promoting the building of economies and governments that are increasingly based
on the value of self-interest, greed and blame-game divisiveness. Contributing to this problem are
the following dysfunctions:
The left-right/liberal-conservative political interactions continue to produce no effective
leadership and solutions.
Those that follow Biblical principles and values are not actively involved in presenting these
answers or actively engaged to be the “salt and light” of social systems. The consequences
are societies becoming ignorant of the love-based values that promote freedom, sustainable
prosperity, justice and peace.
National and local leaders are not driven by principles and what is best for future
generations but by politics, public perception, re-election, the demands of “special interests”,
and short-term thinking paradigms.
Elected officials and influential leaders of many countries are “medicating” their citizens
through the centralization of power into civil governments and away from the private citizen,
the deception of the truth, ineffective public education, moral-less entertainment, and the
promotion of materialism and consumption. Most citizens have become apathetic and
ignorant. Citizens are losing their ability to evaluate and think clearly, to choose wisely based
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on greater good principles, and to elect officials who can lead for the betterment of their
jurisdiction instead of for re-election.
Governments have directed much of their energy to redistributing tax collections to social
services instead of promoting market and social entrepreneurship, capital investment and
job creation.
The Opportunity and Our Purpose:
As a result we have a profound shortage of statesmen-like leaders and increasingly apathetic and illeducated citizens. This is a time of both great danger and great opportunity. With looming failures in
the structural stability of the economy and the network of social services, those that follow Biblical
principles and/or Jesus, and those generally aligned with his love your neighbor teachings, have an
opportunity to provide specific solutions to these needs, serve the people, and demonstrate that
God loves people and has provided the answers for sustainably prosperous and peaceful
communities. We are strategically and energetically advocating that those who believe in Biblical
principles become prepared to seize the moment. The Statesmen Project is an impassioned
response to bring God’s ways into the crises and to reposition the perception of God and his
influence within the general public conversation and the public policy decision-making process of
the nations and local communities.
The purpose of The Statesmen Project is to partner with, and help prepare, people who are willing to
respond to the social needs and crises by lovingly applying Biblical principles. We plan to actively
participate in national and local public policy, and to support those efforts with widespread prayer.
We also expect to shine a light on successful models. We hope to elevate the way citizens and an
electorate think in order to impact the thinking and actions of their elected officials and other
people of influence. The value we hope to create is the preparation and promotion of citizens
to demonstrate and apply God’s ways for creating social-economic systems that reflect God’s
deep love for people. By accomplishing these tasks, we will contribute to the proof of God’s
relevance in shaping societies towards freedom, sustainable prosperity, justice, and peace.
Our Trust In Jesus and the Providence of God:
We believe that we are intended by God to play a unique role in His work in partnership with Him.
Those who have joined The Statesmen Project to date have expertise in applying Biblically-based
principles in the fields of public policy, economics, banking and currency systems, city and social
systems transformation, education and curriculum development, and management. We seek to join
ourselves with other people who are applying Biblical principles – whether they know that they are
applying them or not - to complement each other and collaborate on how to disciple the nations on
the ways of God for managing His creation.
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We are driven by the vision that informed citizens will rise up and seize this critical moment to
deliver the great news of the supreme ways of God as it relates to the management of communities,
social systems, and nations. We see the potential that nations will be strengthened by the increasing
presence of love-based community leadership and governance, and that the values and principles of
the Bible will be welcomed at all levels of public policy decision-making.
The Strategies of The Statesmen Project:
Discover like-minded leaders and concerned citizens and invite them to join, and bring their
wisdom and initiative to the movement.
Link and enhance existing principle-based community services and prayer networks.
Uncover community models that are proving the practical truth of Biblical principles and
love-based values for community and national sustainable economic prosperity, justice and
peace.
Mobilize the best policy strategists to intelligently prepare for very meaningful public
debates to effect real change.
Prepare courses on the Biblical approach to social issues to educate and equip citizens to
provide the leadership necessary to practically respond to the current crises in their
communities and nation.
Extensively utilize all relevant forms of media to tell the story of how Biblical principles are
meeting social needs successfully on multiple levels to enhance the public’s appreciation for
the role of Jesus and his commands in society.
Support this work through dedicated, experienced, effective strategic prayer.
Start first in the U.S. then share with other countries what we have learned.
Respond to The Lord’s directions along the way.
The Objectives of The Statesmen Project:
Teaching and modeling Biblically-based solutions to socio-economic needs.
Creating environments/conversations/connections where leaders can gain insight and
traction.
Connecting people for strategic prayer for our solutions.
Uniting citizens and citizen groups who are aligned with Judeo-Christian principles and
values.
Discovering and promoting solutions and models that are working.
Changing the perceived value of the God of the Bible in culture.
The Critical Mandate of The Statesmen Project:
As members of The Statesmen Project we believe that our mandate is to:
Provide an accurate diagnosis of the current economic, political, and social situation. We
must powerfully communicate the current cultural suicide of creating a secular culture that
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attempts to disconnect itself from the Biblical values and principles that have proven
historically to be the foundations of many successful nations.
Proclaim and educate on the Biblical principles, values, applications, and models/proof
points that have been historically successful.
Call for open discussions and prepare for an anticipated global debate. Without a free flow
of ideas in the context of democratic expression we will be increasingly unable to roll back
the abuses of misused power, the loss of personal freedoms, and increasing government
centralization and dependencies. We believe that the need for a global dialogue about the
relationship between freedom, sustainable prosperity, and justice - and the spiritual/moral
foundations supporting them - has reached a critical state.
Encourage people that despite the great challenges we face now and ahead of us these
crises do not need to render us hopeless. There is reason for great hope. We have hope
because there are answers that have proven to work in history. People who have applied the
principles of “loving our neighbor as themselves” in the past have achieved sustainable
prosperity, freedom, and justice.
We increasingly believe that The Statesmen Project is a response for “such a time as this.” We trust
that all who see these realities will respond with courage, wisdom, commitment, tenacity, and love.
The Structure of The Statesmen Project:
Volunteers do almost all of the work of The Statesmen Project. The Statesmen Project is guided by a
Strategy Board and led by an Executive Team. The members of The Statesmen Project are separated
into Focus Groups:
Community Transformation
o Ekklesia Prayer
o City Action Councils
o Citizen Education
Public Policy
o Banking and Currency
Intercessory Prayer
Communications and Media
GoStrategic (formerly Strategic Christian Services) is facilitating and administratively supporting The
Statesmen Project. GoStrategic is a non-profit ministry that has been educating Christians with the
Biblical perspective on business, economics, public policy, and living since 1979. GoStrategic’s
mission is to disciple nations by training leaders and those they influence to inject Biblical values and
principles into their culture and their social systems. Expenses for The Statesmen Project are funded
through tax deductible donations to GoStrategic, designated for The Statesmen Project, and are very
gratefully received.
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The “Great Re-Set” and the Coming Global Debate
Many people who are aware of The Statesmen Project have asked us:
“How bad or severe will the next wave of economic challenges be and how will it affect our
nation, communities and people like me?”
“What will trigger the next big downturn and when will it start?”
Most of us respond with answers similar to this: “God alone knows the answer to those questions”.
Inevitably the next question arrives at “What should I do to prepare?” The Statesmen Project is
working diligently on how to answer that question. Here is what we have assessed:
The foundations of our economy are still fragile and unsustainable relative to the level of
indebtedness. In fact, as a result of the worldwide “quantitative easing” of national central
banks there is far greater indebtedness in 2015 than there was in 2007.
The economy has not substantially changed from the “Great Recession” of 2008 and our true
unemployment and underemployment rates are well beyond the public figures.
There is a growing sense of diminished opportunity for everyone but the most wealthy or
well connected, and along with it a growing sense of pessimism among people.
The political system is still in gridlock, unable to deal with our core problems on anything
other than superficial stop-gap measures.
The international economic realities and political conflicts are worse than in 2008.
The economy is being propped up via debt and currency systems that could collapse via any
one of several different and hard-to-predict “trigger points”.
We are praying for adequate time to clearly work through the appropriate principle-based solutions,
prepare curriculum to educate those who are interested, and find the right leaders who can help
leverage appropriate constituencies and synergize effective solutions and wise policy.
We believe that when the next wave of economic crises hit it will do at least six things:
1) Make obvious that we need new leaders and policies on every level.
2) Require both short-run and long-run stabilization of law and order as well as necessitate the
re-building of faith in the economic systems.
3) Stimulate a highly charged national and international debate – what we are calling the
“Global Debate” - regarding capitalism, monetary policy, democratic forms of government,
and their management of our political-economic systems.
4) Pressure responsibilities away from centralized, inefficient government to more local forms
of government and community.
5) Create real dangers of radical, untested ideas and demagogue leaders rushing in to fill the
vacuum created by failed policies and systems.
6) Offer Judeo-Christian values and principles an opportunity to replace the values of the
radically secularized society we are currently experiencing - if we are prepared to act wisely.
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Simply stated, we believe that major historic dangers and opportunities are in our near term future.
We believe that the most promising future belongs to those nations, states and communities who
are prepared to align themselves with the instructions of God and His desire to have us love our
neighbors as ourselves.
The kind of pervasive cultural dialogue required to be constructive in this kind of crisis can only take
place where freedom of speech and conscience are celebrated rather than tolerated, people seek to
understand and not just proclaim, and honest disagreement stimulates genuine self-examination.
This kind of “reality politics” leads to a deeper analysis and discussion of the core values of personal
and social responsibility and how they might apply to the entire social community.
Here are some examples of the kinds of questions “reality politics” may generate:
1) Does our current educational system teach and re-enforce our founding values and explain
how our founding documents and governing system are designed to implement them? If
not, why?
2) Are the political and economic power sources of our society practically committed to the
balance of walking out of the “me” (the individual) and the “us” (community) principles? If
not, how should they best be confronted?
3) Are the financial and professional systems within the private sectors of society properly
regulating themselves with these values or are they looking to civil government as their
primary regulators? If so, why have they put that responsibility chiefly on civil government?
4) Can any citizen who is pulling their own weight economically, ask someone else who isn’t,
the question, “Why should I support your chosen lifestyle?”
5) Can citizens approach people or institutions of wealth and success with similar questions,
such as, “How are you using your success to empower others within our community?”
The list could go on and on. The point is this: a fierce and crucial debate will soon be ignited and the
“Great Re-Set” will flow out from the results of that debate. Effective, concentrated and specific
prayer for this whole process is desperately needed now. That is something all of us can and should
do.
SECTION TWO: TWELVE MASTER PRINCIPLES FOR
SUSTAINABLE FREEDOM AND PROSPERITY
TWELVE MASTER PRINCIPLES FOR SUSTAINABLE FREEDOM AND PROSPERITY
MASTER PRINCIPLE: VALUES, PRINCIPLES: RELATED ISSUES:
1. Transcendence (Absolutes)
○ Man’s inherent rights
○ Supreme issues
○ The starting point for all strategic planning
Transcendent Values: The recognition of primary,
fundamental, and widely adhered-to ideas and
beliefs that define, limit, or interpret all lesser
values and which serve to create unity for a group
of people and guide their behavior. Examples:
Christ definition of the “Greatest Commandment”;
the Ten Commandments; the US Constitution; the
Hippocratic Oath for medical professionals; the
Code of Conduct of the US Military.
Citizenship; case law and legal systems; axioms
with corollaries; spiritual law over natural law;
immigration policy; voting rights; educational
curriculum
2. Choice Choice: The internal and free commitment to
actions and opportunities which set directions on a
particular course. The power behind love, sacrifice,
will, endurance, and the ownership of principles
and vision. That which makes us responsible for
the outcomes of our thoughts or actions.
Economically speaking, the source of commitment
to choices and sacrificial or risk investments.
Politically speaking, the core principle of human
freedom and intellectual integrity.
3. Reciprocity Reciprocity: The recognition of a mutual
responsibility to others to relate to them on behalf
of what is just and fair for them because they are
doing so for us out of our common bond and
commitment. The principle behind the “golden
rule” of “do unto others as you would have them
do unto you” (Luke 6:31). The core principle of
covenant and community and, both economically
and politically speaking, the highest “glue” (trust)
which holds mutual agreements and social systems
together (e.g., the Bridge of Trust).
4. Jurisdictional Government
(Responsibility)
○ Self-government
○ Nuclear family government
○ Ecclesiastic government
○ Civil government
○ Responsibility & functioning social order
Jurisdictional Government: The four different
forms of human government, as referenced by the
Bible, that are required to govern society. These
four different governmental forms are interrelated, have clearly established boundaries, and
were created to maximize efficiencies (the division
of labor), minimize the abuse of power (the
separation of governmental powers), create
specific responsibilities and function, and allow
diversities of gifts/talents/influence to shape
individuals and society at large. The biblical
jurisdictions/governmental forms are: 1) selfgovernment, 2) nuclear family government, 3)
ecclesiastic government, and 4) civil government.
Self-Government: The internal values, disciplines,
and practices of an individual creating the
foundation of all other governments.
Nuclear Family Government: The context and
origin of peoples’ social skill sets and values
Ecclesiastic Government: A primary institution
shaping the spiritual values and conscience of a
society.
Division of labor; separation of power;
jurisdictional problem solving and finance;
decentralization; redundancies; mutuality;
edification; jurisdictional organization of the legal
systems; welfare policy
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Civil Government: The government of the citizens
carrying the responsibility for their rights, welfare,
and protection (economic oversight).
5. The Separation of Powers (Freedom)
○ The counter-balancing division of
government designed to limit tyranny.
Dealing with Conflicts of Interest
○ Recusal
○ Executive–Legislative–Judicial Branches of
Government
○ Legal Corporation by Laws (No President,
Treasurer)
○ The Function of an Independent Media (Reporter)
The lessening of oversight and efficiencies of all
external laws; reduction of policing; crime; drugs;
dependencies; character; focused energy and
efficiencies; “staked tree” principle; impartationdiscipleship; freedom of speech
6. Localism–Centralization (Choice)
○ Pressing decision-making to those most
affected by the decision or application of
others’ decisions.
Localism: The practice of pushing decision making
and provision down to the lowest level where
people or organizations are actually living and
practically responding to current needs and
challenges (e.g., onsite). Localism is based on the
notion that those closest to the issues are best
equipped to handle them. It results in the
empowering of people living the reality of
situations to deal with them, based on first-hand
observation and assessment. Localism is in
contrast to centralism where key decisions are
made for people in diverse locales by one central
body, far removed from actually living the needs
and challenges.
Centralism vs. localism; authoritarianism vs. selfempowerment; duplication and redundancies;
inefficiencies through bureaucracies; legal and
welfare injustices; the Old Testament “poor tax”;
Federalism vs. states’ rights; taxation policy;
division of labor, mandated federal spending
7. The Division of Labor
(Engiftment/Efficiency)
○ The efficiency and productivity created by
skill- endowed labor, singular-product focus,
and coordinated teamwork.
Division of Labor: Strategic deployment, etc.,
recognition of gifts, callings, skill sets, training,
competitive advantages
8. Service-Based Power (Love)
○ The use of authority and power to enhance
the value and welfare of others.
Service-Based Power: Service-based power is the
use of both authority and power to enhance the
value, skill sets, resource base, and capacities of
those under the authority of a person or
organization. Christ Himself is exhibit “A” of one
embodying and exercising this unique use of
power (Philippians 2:3-11). It is the deliberate use
of authority and its associated power to serve
those under the authority to help people help
themselves to act in compliance with the group’s
values rather than just use authority and power to
force compliance.
Empowerment vs. self-centered gain,
organizational-relational culture; obedience vs.
loyalty; relational leverage; love vs.
authoritarianism
9. Limits (Safety, Goals, Sustainability)
○ The concept protecting us from harm
○ The concept that limits can hinder us from
progress or freedom
Limits: The recognition that limits both protect us
from harm and protect us from harming others.
Well-defined limits take into account different
capacities, gifts, training, motivations, needs,
challenges, jurisdictions of authority, etc.
The governmental separation of powers; tyranny;
division of labor; law of diminishing returns;
banking, currency, leverage limits; taxation policy;
laws in all forms; presumptuous sin; foreign policy;
environmentalism; sustainability
10. Justice-Equality (Inputs, Rewards,
Common Accountability)
○ Due rewards or penalties
○ Common human value and rights
Justice-Equality: Justice is the concept that people
are rewarded or punished as a result of their own
specific actions, and the rewards or punishments
are correctly and appropriately applied using a
commonly accepted standard. Equality is the
concept of treating all people equally through the
establishment of common rights, responsibilities,
Taxation policy; criminal law; special-interest
inequalities; racism; sexism; unequal wages;
entitlements; exploitation; systemic injustices;
community; liberty; respect vs. envy; competition
(capitalism) vs. socialism (authoritarian
redistribution); market equilibrium vs. planned
allocation; egalitarianism vs. exploitation
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and opportunities without privilege or
discrimination for certain groups. Justice deals with
receiving one’s proper due; equality deals with
everyone receiving the same treatment.
11. Results-Based Reality (Truth)
○ Performance-based evaluations
○ Truth in action
Results-Based Policies: The belief that theories,
ideas, programs, or actions should be tested and
then evaluated based on factual results rather than
hopes, bias, projections, or ideological paradigms.
If the known variable factors have been properly
tested, the results should be allowed to “speak for
themselves.” Policies are then either applied or
discarded based on the factual results.
Ideologies; religious concepts;
economic/social/environmental theory of all sorts;
political parties; scientific method; self-interest and
delusion; ideas and ideologies must be measured
by results.
12. Bridge of Trust (Relational Building)
○ Relational confidence in people, systems,
or Ideas
The Bridge of Trust: All successful, healthy,
mutual relationships—be they personal,
organizational, national or international—are held
together by trust between the parties. The trust
can be evaluated by what pressures and challenges
those relationships can withstand and remain
intact without becoming “broken.” The “bridge of
trust” is a model for understanding how trust can
be built and broken between people; a bridge can
be a safe passageway of interaction between two
parties or become broken, preventing successful
engagement.
Organization; unity; personal relationships;
national trust in political, economic, and legal
systems; contracts of all sorts; scale of action
related to competency and character; all
relationships have “load limits”
We believe that one of the major reasons that both our political and economic systems are unable
to make any appreciable progress is because clear, identified, and consistently applied principles are
either absent or wrongly applied. What are guiding us instead are political maneuvering,
unprincipled pragmatism, and special interest group favoritism. One of our Founding Fathers, James
Madison, carried deep concerns over our nation being divided and run by competing factions. This
fear has become a reality in recent years.
The “Great Re-Set” will, by necessity, eventually force nations to turn to principle-based policies
where results, not rhetoric, validate their virtue. Listed above are over-arching principles that we
believe offer the best real time validation by the results they will produce.
As many of us remember from studying math or science, equations or the results of experiments
are frequently analyzed on the basis of axiomatic truths. These truths can then be extrapolated into
corollaries or derivatives. For example, some scientists have maintained that all the knowledge we
have regarding the nature of matter is bound up in three primary axiomatic laws: gravity, thermodynamics and electro-magnetism. The application of axiomatic truths can also be applied to ethics,
relational integrity, social building principles and economic applications.
To be effective principles need to be structured applications of the values they represent and then
processed into policies that meet the real needs of nations and their people. Stated another way,
The Statesmen Project is following the spiritual-social equation of:
Values into Principles + Policy Applications = Potential Transformation
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The search to identify these kind of axiomatic principles must be prepared for the “Great Debate” in
order to be processed into policy application to eventually be used in the transformation of the
“Great Re-Set”. The major challenge then becomes how do we get this equation operable in
pluralistic societies; especially where “Post-modern” thinking challenges objective truth?
To provide wise answers to the current and growing crisis we start with root cause analysis by
breaking the general challenges of our crisis into the specific axioms or corollaries driving them.
Once the causes are identified qualified people who are willing to work in a team are needed to
prepare the principles for application. From there the principles must be prepared for serious
discussion.
The inability to correctly diagnose the cause-effect principles of any situation lead to repetitive
failure, false and wasteful “solutions”, discouragement, and ultimately, chaos or destruction. Causeeffect analysis requires axiomatic-corollary knowledge. Without this kind of analysis the nations are
frequently rudderless in terms of how and why they are acting, advocating and legislating as they
now are. We must wonder how many of our nation’s leaders are competent to lead based upon this
reality?
The Statesmen Project is currently using the following Twelve Master Principles as an analytical tool
to measure and assess the viability and sustainability of both current and proposed public and
economic policies. We are also plan to use these Master Principles and their corollaries, to educate
citizens and leaders in terms of public logic, usage, results and compatibility with their stated
Founding Documents and publicly articulated values.
The usage of these principles is self-evidently valuable to analytical thinking and policy analysis.
However, unless and until they are specifically applied to government policy usage, and candidate
and administrative vetting, they will remain “academic” and the nations will remain in confusion,
stagnation and social division. Political education, rather than political rhetoric, is near the very top
of our nation’s most critical needs. That requires reform of our nation’s educational systems and
rigorous social debate. We need the quick awakening of our populace from denial, “numbness”
regarding the political process and a large amount of accurate and penetrating prayer.
In Matthew chapter 28 Jesus directs his followers to:
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
-Matthew 28:19-20
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Successfully making disciples of nations requires converting individuals, who as citizens of their
nations, begin to apply biblical teachings and principles to the culture and social systems in which
they live. Unfortunately, too many Christians think, vote, and influence others more as liberals or
conservatives than as Christians seeking to apply scriptural principles to social-political issues. God
is not a Republican or a Democrat – He is the Founder of a Kingdom based on His Son and His
Truths.
Today, our nation and the nations are in crisis on multiple levels. The reason is simple: our citizens
and leaders are either ignorant of the Scriptures as they apply to social-political-economic issues or
are not capable of mobilizing others to educate and apply them. So how can we Believers “disciple
nations?” We can’t until we are aware of the biblical applications of the Scriptures to changing social
systems.
SECTION THREE:
THE STATESMEN PROJECT
FOCUS GROUPS
Successfully navigating our nations out of the crises requires statesmen who can lead us to shared
transcendent values, principle-based governance and a citizenry educated and motivated to
recognize and elect leaders who advocate and embody those principles. The Statesmen Project is
not so much attempting to create new things as much as identifying the principles that have proven
to work best and creating paths of synergy between people and groups already applying these
principles.
We have organized ourselves into Focus Groups. When someone wishes to begin to participate in
and connect to the work of The Statesmen Project we suggest that they follow their passion into one
of the following Focus Groups:
Community Transformation
o Ekklesia Prayer
o City Action Councils
o Citizen Education
Public Policy
o Banking and Currency
Intercessory Prayer
Communication and Media
Below are descriptions and overviews of the Focus Groups.
COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION FOCUS GROUPS
Communities are transformed not by mass systems but rather one person and one family unit at a
time. Nations are transformed by one community at a time. As such, the Community
Transformation Focus Group seeks to partner with and help prepare disciples of Christ who are
willing to respond in loving action to the social needs and crises of our communities.
The Community Transformation Focus Group believes that there are three essential elements to
effective, sustainable principle-based community transformation:
o Ekklesia Prayer
o City Action Councils
o Citizen Education
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We are now prepared to consult with communities and offer specific methodology, manuals, and
expertise on these essential elements of community transformation.
Ekklesia Prayer
The Statesmen Project has been sensing for a while that The Holy Spirit has begun to emphasize the
role of Kingdom citizens to function as a governing body to legislate God's will onto the earth: to
"bind on earth what is bound in heaven and to loose on earth what is loosed in heaven." We believe
that a new season is dawning for the Body of Christ to understand and start to act in this role. Jesus
taught his disciples to pray for the Father's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Acting as an
“ekklesia” is one of the models Jesus said should be used by his followers to make that happen.
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus stated that He would build His “church”. The word translated “church” is the
Greek word ekklesia, which has both a Greek and Hebrew background. It is a combination of two
Greek words: ek, ‘out of,’ and klesis, ‘a calling’ (from kaleo, ‘to call’). In Deuteronomy 9:10 and 18:16,
the Greek Septuagint translates qahal, which comes from a root that means ‘to summon’, as the
Hebrew equivalent of ekklesia; and both passages reference a called out people at Sinai assembled
to receive God’s law and to act upon it. Both qahal and ekklesia describe a summoned, redeemed
people called into an assembly and granted authority to accomplish the business of heaven on the
earth.
Of the approximately eighty passages in which the term ekklesia occurs in the New Testament, fiftyseven have in view the church as an assembly in a particular place or specific geographical location.
Each territory has elders, which are those citizens with clear authority and standing in their
city/state, and local congregations within those cities that have been set there by God.
An ekklesia convocation expresses its authority first in prayer. In that role, the local ekklesia is
summoned to come before the Lord and agree with what the Lord is doing and release it (loose) in
the earth or prohibit (bind) what the enemy is seeking to do in the earth. An ekklesia convocation is
a divinely ordained body, appointed to stand at the ‘gates’ and permit or deny through legislative
proclamation and agreement. As such, the Statesmen Project has chosen to call the group that
focuses on the prayer aspect of community transformation by the term Ekklesia Prayer. The primary
role of the Ekklesia Prayer group is to consult with communities who would like to create this
function locally, starting with an assembly or convocation.
The Statesmen Project Ekklesia Prayer group team members partner with local area leaders to
prepare for and to conduct an Ekklesia Convocation. Local disciples are trained in how to pray from
the perspective of a spiritual governing body in order to influence the community towards acting in
God's will on key local issues. Examples of key local issues could be anything: growing gang
violence, racism and local law enforcement, local Muslim communities and refugees, minimum wage
rates, how to prepare for droughts or floods, affordable housing, loss of businesses in the
region/rising unemployment, etc. These disciples are then gathered periodically into convocation to
pray concerning these issues.
Prior to the convocations, there is research prepared for all participants to read and mediate on:
Accurate, factual descriptions on the issue
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What the Bible may say on that or similar issues, and
What other scriptures might apply for understanding God’s will on the issue
To create unity in the convocation all participates declare in unison three prepared documents:
1. A statement of faith consistent with both evangelical and reformed views
2. The historic Apostles' Creed
3. A confession about the efficacy of the blood of Jesus
The agreement and unity formulated around these documents is considered by all to serve as each
member's qualification to be a participating delegate of that Ekklesia. During the Convocation,
scriptures that had been previously organized into biblically-based categories are read before the
assembly and then prayed. The scripture-based prayers are released in the methods of
proclamations, declarations, and decrees rather than in the forms of intercession and petition. As
each Ekklesia member stands in his or her God-granted authority, the governmental aspect of the
church is demonstrated.
The Ekklesia Prayer Focus Group has created a manual for creating local Ekklesia Prayer
Convocations. The manual includes:
1. Definitions and The Vision
a. The Ekklesia Defined
b. The Statesmen Project Defined
c. The Purpose and Vision of City-Wide Ekklesia Convocations
d. What is “Affirmation-Based Prayer”?
2. The Participants of The Ekklesia Prayer Convocation
a. The Leaders of The City As “Assigned Citizens”
b. The Ekklesia Advisors Team
c. The Citizens and Observers
3. The Convocations and The Protocols
a. The General Format
b. The Convocations Protocols
c. Formalities and Credentials
d. Petitions Before Spiritual Authorities
e. The Stated Intentions
f. Scriptural Affirmations
g. Prayer for The Land, Leaders and Key Issues
h. Summaries, Affirmations and Petitions
4. Sustainable Growth and Relationships
a. Holding Ground and Gaining New Ground
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b. The Relational Politics Within and Without
c. Getting Connected to The Nations
The Ekklesia Prayer Convocation manual is part of the consulting we provide to our Community
Transformation clients.
City Action Councils
One of the most important governing principles The Statesmen Project holds to is the principle of
what we call “localism.” Localism is a catch-word carrying multiple key concepts. The first concept is
that decision-making and policy implementations are usually best made by those close to a place
and people most directly affected by the policy. The second concept, centralization, with its usual
bureaucratic encumbrances, duplications, and inefficiencies, must be very carefully created and
managed. Third, community transformation is like individual transformation, it comes from within
that community – not imposed upon it - and regional or national transformation starts in local
communities. Finally, to be sustained, justice, peace and economic prosperity must be done through
community governing itself.
City Action Councils are voluntary, relationally based groups of citizens coming together from within
communities to strategically serve their community through united, public + private sector alliances
with civil leaders and other service-based organizations. As local tax bases are hard-pressed to fund
even essential social services, City Action Council-type service organizations become ever more
necessary to both “fill in the cities’ unfunded needs,” care for the marginalized, and stimulate citizen
investment in place of always defaulting to “the government will do this for us.” If freedom begins in
self-government, community begins with an activated and caring citizenry.
The Statesmen Project believes that community transformation is an obvious necessity in virtually all
the nations of the world. As globalization increases, our cities become increasingly challenged to
adequately fund and effectively manage. The Statesmen Project’s purpose is to serve and “disciple
nations,” as Christ’s Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-210 mandates. Our strategy is two-tiered:
Firstly, to help undergird local communities with prayer, citizen education, and service-based
private-sector government alliances (City Action Councils), and secondly, with principle-based public
policy. City Action Councils, in concert with effective prayer bases and citizen education projects, are
the “three-fold cords” of our practical application of the principle of localism in action.
Currently we are working to find leaders within cities who are already building out these kind of
service-based networks and seek to connect them with other leaders in other cities doing similar
things. As we continue to find them, we connect them together for mutual benefits, strategies, and
encouragement.
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Citizen Education
As a result of the political gridlock of most Western countries, most citizens have become
discouraged that leaders can do anything to fix the problems. Citizens are becoming increasingly
apathetic and ignorant. They are losing their ability to evaluate and think clearly, to choose wisely
“based on principles that will affect the greater good of the nation, and to elect officials who can lead
for the betterment of their jurisdiction instead of for re-election. A lack of understanding of the
issues has rendered many helpless to do anything in the face of seeming insurmountable
challenges. It is precisely these concerned citizens who want answers that The Statesmen Project
seeks to help. By providing more than just useful information, The Statesman Project is seeking to
help people build effective solution strategies for their own lives and their communities.
We are addressing this directly because we believe that:
An uninformed citizenry is susceptible to political and economic anarchy and/or tyranny.
An informed citizenry provides nations with key innovators, educators, and entrepreneurs
that are vital to national recovery.
An informed citizenry is key to an intellectual development process that enables citizens to
grow in possess relevant knowledge in order to become more capable of applying strategic
wisdom.
An informed citizenry is key to a skills development process that enables citizens to grow in
their strategic planning, communication, and leadership capabilities.
The Statesmen Project has created its first has created its first course, Citizen Education 101
Discipling Nations: Preparing to Obey the Great Commission. The course is designed specifically to
help citizens become more effective in recognizing the root to economic and social challenges that
must be understood so that principled solutions can be more effectively applied.
The contents of the course include:
Lesson 1: Discipling Nations and the Great Commission
Lesson 2: Principle-Based Public Policy: Ten Master Principles
Lesson 3: Worldview and Social Structure: What Holds Us Together
Lesson 4: Transcendence, Self-Government and Service-Based Power
Lesson 5: The Nuclear Family, Jurisdictional Government and Localism
Lesson 6: Limits, Justice-Equality and Results-Based Reality
Lesson 7: The Bridge of Trust Holds It All Together
Lesson 8: How Do We Fix The Broken System?
Recommended Resources for Further Study
The Statesmen Project plans to develop more courses on the Biblical approach to social issues to
educate and equip citizens to provide the leadership necessary to practically respond to the current
crises in their communities and nation. Future courses will focus on key themes, including: the
nature of power and how it is shifting in present society, the causes and consequences of the
broken political system, why the economic crisis is not over, and why enhancing our capability to
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make effective personal and corporate strategic choices is the only means by which we will
accomplish the essential outcomes that contribute toward national renewal.
The educational philosophy that is applied to the design of our courses has, at its core, the belief
that adult education is about enabling a developmental process for participants in two key areas:
1. Growing intellectually through possessing knowledge and then applying wisdom.
2. Developing greater capability to use their skills to accomplish their strategic goals.
Lectures, discussions, podcasts, forums, video casts, reading materials will be provided through a
secure online education service. The Statesmen Project is also researching how its content could be
provided as a series of professional development certificates for those that are looking for adult
education in order to further their own career objectives.
We hope that local leaders working towards community transformation will find Citizen Education
101 and future courses from The Statesmen Project to be valuable. We plan to work closely with
local leaders to develop courses that best enable citizens to think using Biblical principles and to
apply wisdom, rooted in love, to lead their communities towards freedom, sustainable prosperity
and justice.
PUBLIC POLICY FOCUS GROUPS
In addition to focusing our efforts to support local community transformation The Statesmen Project
also has focus groups working on delivering principle-based ideas for national public policy. There
are many national issues to choose from: terrorism/national security, availability and affordability of
healthcare, immigration, unemployment/economic growth, income and wealth distribution, the
Social Security system, nationals debt/currency/banking policy, crime and violence,
environment/global warming, race relations, etc.
Banking and Currency
Economics, as most of us know, is the systematic organization, on a large scale, of the collective
effects of people’s labor, purchases, and investments as they function in the context and support of
the community or nations surrounding them. Whoever controls economic policy largely controls the
nation or nations for good or ill. Economic policy is an attempt to both manage and stabilize the
collective effects of man’s labor in alignment with the values forming the society in which that labor
is performed. Economic policy, from a human point of view, is the primary tool of “taking dominion”
since virtually all human activity is supported by economic transactions.
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Economic policy especially deals with controls over currency, banking, interest rates, taxation
policies and government expenditures. Economic policy both forms and drives political parties and
the political process. One of those key economic policy issues is what is commonly called
“entitlements”. Entitlements deal with the financial support systems organized and managed by civil
government as it attempts to care for its citizens in terms of housing, taxation policy, health care,
retirement, unemployment and related insurance systems of support. Entitlements take us directly
into a host of value questions such as who should pay for them, what are the appropriate costs for
them, and how are they best managed so as to cover true human need without creating undue
dependency in the people receiving them upon the institutions providing them? Because these kinds
of value propositions are so critical to a nation’s economic health, and the financial systems
undergirding the labor and lifestyle of the entire population, The Statesmen Project has chosen to
initially focus on them.
The participants in The Statesmen Project Banking and Currency focus group are deeply concerned
over our current monetary system. Our concern is a money system based on debt instead of value.
For example, when a private bank makes a loan to an individual or company the money constituting
that loan does not come from previous savers but instead is created ex nihilo for that particular
loan. The fact that the general population does not understand this, but instead thinks that banks
simply intermediate funds from savers to borrowers, creates a deception of gigantic proportions.
In our present system, an increase in money always demands an increase in debt. This means
therefore that a country that has more money must also have more total debt (i.e., governmental
and private combined). Excess debt has been, and always will be, a permanent drain on the
productive capacity of individuals as well as nations. Our present system thus requires the
perpetuation of debt on such a scale that it threatens the very fabric of society. It therefore stands in
direct opposition to the principles that should be inherent in any monetary system. Any such
system is prima facie evidence as untrustworthy, unethical, and unjust.
The solution is a monetary system that primarily benefits society. For the generally accepted
properties of money (medium of exchange, unit of account, store of value, and standard of deferred
payments) to function properly, the monetary system in which money is issued and circulates
through the economy must adhere to the fundamental principles of honesty, integrity, and justice.
Such a system creates trust between the people using the system and those administering it. It
provides a foundation upon which prosperity is available to all and inter-generational momentum
can be built and sustained.
It is in the best interest of society to insure these fundamental principles are endemic to a monetary
system, and as such a system devoid of these principles will ultimately be a deterrent to freedom
and general prosperity.
The Statesmen Project Banking and Currency Focus Group is advocating a systemic change coming
from citizen understanding and action. The Statesmen Project seeks to build education programs
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and content that will enable concerned citizens to be better equipped to understand the
foundational principles of a functional monetary system and the realities of our present system.
Through written materials, conferences, and videos, The Statesmen Project will train its audience to
parse news, analyses, and broad popular reactions regarding money and banking in a way that
deepens comprehension and enables proper application of these foundational principles.
Education alone will not generate needed reform. We will move to foster action on the part of our
audience. This is not partisan action with respect to any political party, but rather in favor of the
principles outlined above: that is monetary systems must be honest, ethical, and just. They must
serve the needs of the people and protect their opportunity to prosper and sustain generational
momentum.
Our strategy is that incremental change can lead to systemic change. Our goal is to see the
complete monetary and banking system changed so that monetary systems harness a nation’s
productive potential and minimize human manipulation of our money supply resulting in
concentrating gains in the hand of a few and supporting government largesse. We realize that there
will always be a measure of imperfection in whatever system is devised, but the goal is to minimize
that imperfection.
The Statesmen Project believes that the probability of a complete systemic change under our
current political impasse is a near impossibility. We are attempting, therefore, to devise incremental
changes which would:
(a) Systematically over time demonstrate new and sustainable ways of managing our
monetary system;
(b) benefit the people in the process;
(c) leave room for new and innovative thinking, and;
(d) not concern existing power centers to the degree they seek to stop the process.
Our approach is to coordinate with like-minded partners. There are many economists, bloggers,
speakers, and other public figures who hold views very similar to our own. Our intent is not to act as
a clearing house for these, but to do what we can to direct them toward the promotion and
adoption of relevant principles. Too often many of us run in our own circles of like-minded people
and forget that other people may have valid ideas on how to practically incorporate these principles.
We are trying to raise the bar to create a common awareness of these principles and foster
cooperation in deploying them to solve the urgent problems of our day.
Action items for the Banking and Currency Focus Group in 2016:
1. Create a comprehensive list of major political, church, and business leaders who are behind
The Statesmen Project banking and currency policy initiatives.
2. Continue to develop and broaden strategic relationships with leadership in the academic,
church, state, and Federal governments.
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3. Initiate an education campaign directed at those leaders as well as key segments of the
broader population.
4. Move each constituency in #2 above toward alignment on messaging and strategy to
incorporate key principles within monetary policy.
5. Identify and foster early adoption of non-legislative alternatives.
6. Strategically define the first tier increment of proposed alternatives that require legislative
action for long term adoption.
7. Create emergency legislation crafted for state, local, and Federal government to implement
in the event of a major financial/currency crisis.
8. Create a communication structure by which emergency activities may be developed and
coordinated.
In 2017 we plan to:
1. Have the network involved with The Statesmen Project Banking and Currency Focus Group
coordinated and active in all spheres of influence: state, local, and Federal governments, as
well as academia and the church.
2. Continue to broaden the relationship base within governments and the church.
3. First tier increment of proposed alternatives actively moving through the legislative process
and measurable increase of adoption of non-legislative alternatives.
4. Second tier increment of proposed alternatives that require legislation strategically defined
and legislation crafted.
5. Second tier increment of proposed alternatives that do not require legislation identified and
an early adoption program begun.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER FOCUS GROUP
Prayer is the foundation of all authentic relationship with God. God's will is revealed in the Holy Bible
and praying from a grateful, humble, and trusting heart is the primary means through which we
know God genuinely, understand His ways accurately, and execute His will effectively.
The Intercessory Prayer focus group’s purpose is to serve The Statesmen Project by praying for all
it's various endeavors and learning how to do that with increasing effectiveness, verifiable results,
conspicuous honor to The Lord, and substantial benefits to people and communities.
The Intercessory Prayer Group’s core beliefs:
The Almighty God, as creator of all things, is ultimate reality, and is therefore eternally
relevant (Romans 11:36 - Transcendent Values).
God mandates and privileges us to be the instruments through which He accomplishes His
will in the earth. Prayer is the most reasonable response to that opportunity. His will
includes blessing individuals with gifts, growth, and responsibility as well as blessing
communities through service (The One and the Many).
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Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). These works of the evil one are set
against The Lord and the people He wants to bless. We can powerfully oppose the enemy's
schemes by discovering and implementing The Lord's strategies in prayer (Matthew 16:18,
Ephesians 3:10,11).
The Intercessory Prayer Group’s specific objectives:
To identify, form, and train teams if Intercessory for each focus group in The Statesmen
Project. These teams will carry the primary prayer responsibility for their specific group.
To identify and properly connect with other intercession ministries with whim we have
strong harmony in purpose, perspective, and priority.
To produce 2 training courses for Intercessory teams that involve 'foundations of prayer' and
strategic intercession.
Tactically, we plan to:
Establish and maintain all related communication for The Statesmen Project through the
website.
The monthly prayer conference calls will be the practical base from which we maintain our
Intercessory responsibilities, encouragement, and personal updates.
COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA FOCUS GROUP
The Communications and Media focus group’s purpose is to serve The Statesmen Project by writing
and editing the written communications and using the Internet and other media to broadcast the
content. Communications and Media focus group is responsible for building and maintaining the
website, written and video content, and the use of all social media.
SECTION FOUR:
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
INDIVIDUAL ENGAGEMENT
For many of us, we have determined that we must engage and that engagement must be
intentional, strategic and results-driven. We have committed to do so. We are already too involved in
other important endeavors to waste precious time. We want to make a difference with others who
want to make a difference. The scale of the changes and transformation for cultures and nations we
seek is huge and we acknowledge that. Yet, we believe God, working through people at the right
time in history, has always made the difference. For us, though technology and other modern
innovations have proven as culturally disruptive as they are scientifically profound, the only change
that lasts must be built on truths that don’t change.
The Statesmen Project is only three years old. Nevertheless, many of us have already spent a lifetime preparing for and dealing with the core social and political-economic issues required to lay the
proper foundations for the Project. We are not strangers to the complexities of political-economic
issues and conflicting theories as to how to build sustainable communities, societies that promote
and experience justice, and the preserving of individual liberty in the context of inequities. What we
are after is a commitment to not function as merely “political” or do “politics as usual;” we want to
influence and press for the emergence of true statesmen and women to make real differences. If
you are driven by the same passion, welcome.
The Statesmen Project meetings are usually offered by invitation only whereby a current participant
invites a friend to attend with them. If the guest desires to explore getting involved, they are invited
to contact a leader of one of our Focus Groups and then explore their involvement there. There is no
formal membership; The Statesmen Project is designed to revolve around committed relationships
held together by a common passion to bring about social transformation.