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Chapter 1: The J&A Center

We certainly have our work cut out for us. If we are going to accomplish real, lasting social change, perhaps rethinking everything we do. How do we change our relationships with other people so they are meaningful and productive? How do we fix our educational systems so they treat students as whole people and prepare them for actual progress and fulfillment? How do we employ technology without falling victim to addiction, misinformation, and distractions? How do we navigate all of the bureaucracy and red tape in all of our existing forms?

It is easy to feel overwhelmed or powerless in the face of such massive changes. After all, can one person really stem the tide of apathy, greed, and selfishness in our current institutions?

The short answer is, not really. But you don’t have to stand alone. Change starts with individuals who want to make a difference. But change sticks when partners, families, and communities join in the effort. The goal of the John and Abigail Center for Social Change is to support these groups. 

The Center is named after John and Abigail Adams because they were famous for their loving, equitable marriage. In surviving letters, we can see a relationship that relied on mutual trust and a vested interest in each other’s priorities. They wrote to each other about household finances, family relationships, military strategy, and politics. John and Abigail worked arm in arm to resolve problems that ranged from family squabbles to national crises and they did it with the best the world and God had to offer at the time. Each were intelligent, passionate individuals with unique gifts. They were also deeply committed to their relationship, lifting each other up and accomplishing more together than either could alone.

John and Abigail worked to improve their relationship so they could tackle problems together. They built their family using the same methods. And by working with others to build their community and nation, they had a direct impact on millions of lives. 

We at the John and Abigail Center for Social Change are inspired by this pattern. Too many institutions seem to believe their main objective is to have more money and more influence so they can hire more people to make even more money. The John and Abigail Center is firmly of the mind that institutions should work themselves out of a job. Real change starts at the smallest level: individuals, their families, and the communities in which they live. If the Center can empower people to improve their lives at this level, there won’t be a need for large organizations to dictate how they live and what they do.

Think of the Institute as a warehouse for all of the ideas and organizations for social change. When new ideas come in, Center personnel can help connect them to like-minded people and support organizations to make those ideas happen. They help package, brand, and distribute these ideas to people and communities who need them. They can also point out redundancies so people don’t waste effort creating something that already exists.

How it’s Organized 

Center staff will include leaders and advocates for social change with the experience and background to help guide and expand the vision of social change organizations. These consultants will mentor organization leaders and help them work together to bring about large-scale change while maintaining the focus on individuals and families. Because the Center will cover the full spectrum of societal forms, members will be able to consult in sectors that other organizations can’t cover alone. These could include education, health, religion, military, banking, insurance, infrastructure, morality, secularism, materialism, and institutionalism. 

Under the Center umbrella, you’ll find organizations that focus on education (college-aged young adults, families, and those 55+), relationships, hands-on learning, new visual media, community development, how capable cities and neighborhoods are to adapt to change, and more. Each of these organizations will have a unique vision, curriculum, assets, and methods. You’ll learn more about these in the coming chapters. 

In a way, the Center will be the connective tissue for the other organizations that combines their efforts and unites those working with different age groups, genders, and sectors. The Center will energize these organizations, ensuring optimal performance and communication. 

The Center will also provide some common resources that the organizations may struggle to provide for themselves. For example, the Center could have a situation room where organizations come together to discover needs, work through issues, present ideas, and run through simulations to determine the best course of action. They will also maintain a database of contacts and resources to help organizations network and work together to improve. The Center will be positioned to consider issues on a global scale while also consulting locally. The board of directors may open a rating and ranking system to help organizations increase their transparency and accountability.

The Center is currently in the early stages of development. But what will it look like when it is fully operational?

First 12 Months

Initially, the Center will be primarily concerned with helping the J & A social change organizations outlined in this book become fully operational, financially sustainable, and successful in serving individuals, families, and communities. This will include recruiting leaders, consulting on business models, and assisting in curriculum development and content production. As these and other social change organizations develop, the Center will be more capable of serving their needs. 

Five Years

After five years, the J & A social change organizations will be established and more self-reliant, allowing the Center to focus more energy on building and filling new community spaces with the best engagement density and significant social change.

First, the Center will help stabilize J &A social change organizations. This will happen as more people engage with and spread each organization’s principles and methods. This will include financial stability and sustainability as the organizations either support themselves or are subsidized by other organizations as necessary. Some of the organizations are designed to generate more revenue than others, but all are meant to work together to not only be independently self-sufficient, but to generate the income necessary to move onto the next phase of social change: community land development.

Within five years, the Center will begin building City Plat campuses to optimize engagement density and provide a more ideal setting for the social change organizations to work and thrive. In the City Plat (or Family Campus), families will take their rightful place as the center of communities. Individuals and families who choose to participate will find a more efficient, sustainable way of life. We go into more detail on the City Plat in chapter 10. 

Once the City Plat model is going, the Center and those living in the City Plat will be able to turn their attention to other communities to help others grow and change for the better as well.

Twenty Years

After twenty years of successful, grassroots social change, the Center will have helped bring about incredible changes. With meaningful, personal relationships at the center of societal forms, poverty will have dramatically decreased, as will conflict and crime. More communities will choose to follow the engagement density model as they see the harmony and prosperity it can bring about for local residents. Technological advancements will continue at a rapid pace, but in a stable, community-serving way.

Why the Center Matters

Without a catalyst to create social change, we will likely continue on our current trajectory, watching our world deteriorate as we lose freedoms under the weight of social problems. We will sink under debt and degeneracy as we attempt to use old forms to solve new problems. 

With widespread social change, inspired and supported by the John and Abigail Center for Social Change, people will see there is a better way. They will begin to examine and improve their own capacity for change. Individuals, families, and communities will be more happy and less dependent on organizations that don’t seek their happiness or are weak in helping them attain it. Social entrepreneurs will help us recognize our own responsibility in the problems we face and help us make positive changes. 

It is easy for individuals and even social change organizations to become myopic. The Center will help them see a way ahead and have hope for social change in their personal lives, family, community, and even international circumstances. 

The Center and You

But what is your part in all of this? The Center will only be successful if motivated, compassionate individuals are willing to step up and call for change. If you want to be involved in the fulfillment of this vision, there are a couple things you can do right now.

You can become a sponsor for the the “step #1” project, healing relationships and working with ages 55+ who are our greatest often unsupported asset for social change through the Hearts To Children system. The John and Abigail Center will need resources to organize and produce materials. If you’re interested in contributing to the vision, let us know.

Or, if you want to be more directly involved, join a market research group or launch team. Each of the social change organizations will need people to brainstorm content, work on structure, and steer its development. If, as you read this book, you find an area that you feel passionate about and could contribute, join the team to have a direct role in its development using the floating ribbon on each page.  

No matter what level of engagement you choose, some key principles will always remain in place. First, the Center is committed to have agency be part of everything we do. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions to social problems. All Center solutions can and should be customized based on local (individual, family, and neighborhood) needs. You will always be in the driver’s seat. Second, the relationship is one of mutual trust and contribution. You will help shape the Center through suggestions and proposals while the Institute supports you in your endeavors. And if we can’t help you, we’ll do our best to find someone who can. Third, we want to be a broad resource, so there is no commitment required to engage with us, financial or otherwise. Many of our materials are free so you can try them out for yourself.

Where will you be after you join the Center?

Next up—Chapter 2: Three Traditions

Comments, questions, suggestions? Let us know on the post.

If you’re interested in joining the mastermind group or launch team for the John and Abigail Center or any of the partner organizations, contact us.