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‘THE HIGHER LIFE ’ AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
Although WisdomOnWealth is a 21st century answer to a 21st century problem, the whole idea of Christians creating wealth to bring the reforming power of the Gospel to society is nothing new.
The Victorian era businessman-philanthropists are probably the most prominent example of business working for Kingdom purposes in recent Western history. They had a profound impact in Britain and in America, where the Protestant work ethic had always been strongest.
In the second half of the 19th century in America, there appeared an influential group of people in the largest cities – businessmen, professionals, artists, journalists and religious leaders – devoted to the intellectual, artistic and spiritual improvement of their communities. This ‘movement’ was given various names – cultural uplift, civic improvement and ‘the higher life’ (a more populist phrase).
In 1895, a magazine called ‘Outlook’ ran a series of articles on ‘the higher life’ of New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St Louis, Boston, Buffalo and New Orleans. By this time, the range of institutions set up by these ‘movers and shakers’ was vast. They established and supported schools, university education, manual training and technical institutes, churches, parks, playgrounds, civic improvement organisations, women’s study and social service groups, housing, public museums, art institutes, libraries and orchestras.
This cultural uplift movement was motivated by a general philanthropy of the rich elite, arising mainly from their Christian faith. It wasn’t an organised movement but more a loose association of people who believed in the same things. They believed that the social problems of urban America were basically cultural problems that could best be solved by promoting institutions and activities that would elevate and refine the intellectual, moral and spiritual life of the cities. And in many ways they succeeded.
If you remember the ‘Gangs of New York’ movie, set in the 1860s in the Five Points district of Manhattan, you will understand the kind of problems the ‘higher life’ people were tackling. At Five Points’ height, only certain areas of London’s East End vied with it in sheer population density, disease, infant and child mortality, unemployment, violent crime, and other classic ills of the destitute. But by the early twentieth century, New York was not a chaotic hellhole, but was leading the world in economic and cultural growth. The Five Points area itself was the original melting pot of Anglo-Americans, emancipated African Americans, newly arrived Irish immigrants and later, Jewish and Italian culture. Yet instead of gang warfare and race riots, Five Points became an important catalyst in the growth of the United States.
In Britain, you can see some similarities today in the efforts of Christian businessmen like Sir Peter Vardy, who has used his own cash to set up Christian-run schools, in partnership with the state, in deprived areas where education was failing. The Ofsted reports on his schools have been consistently positive, despite the political and anti-Christian criticism these academies have attracted.
Less well-known is Steve Holmes. He has set up the Genesis Business and Enterprise Centre in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. Genesis runs a Family Entertainment Centre for the local community, including ten-pin bowling, café, sports hall and community rooms. There is also a youthwork centre, a conference facility, an adult education centre, a vocational academy for 14-16 year olds and a Christian bookshop. Steve has also created a not-for-profit dentistry scheme for people who can’t find an NHS dentist and can’t afford private treatment. And he has many other ventures, including an International Academy for Christian Entrepreneurs, which aims to raise up the social entrepreneurs of the future.
Sir Peter, Steve Holmes and others are only following in a long line of Christian businessmen. For example, several of the early football clubs in this country were set up by Christian businessmen for the benefit of their employees. Over a century ago, a wealthy East End shipbuilder made an investment in a new sports ground for his works’ football team. For Arnold Hills, it was another gambit in his long campaign to keep his workers away from the bottle and engage them in healthy outdoor pursuits. For the team, it was the first step that would take them to world fame and cup-winning glory as West Ham United. Arnold Hills was determined to keep his 6,000 men in jobs and maintained the yard at Blackwall when a move downstream to Tilbury would have made more economic sense. But Hills was no mere money man. Like many Victorian businessmen, he was a patrician with his workers’ welfare at heart.
He lived among them, in East India Dock Road and, after his short walk home, would spend evenings dreaming up schemes for their education and moral well-being. A vegetarian Christian, he encouraged all his men to ‘sign the pledge’, to renounce the booze that destroyed many of their lives (perhaps it’s time for a revival of the old Methodist teetotal campaigns today, to counter the rising tide of alcoholism and binge drinking!). But he knew that wasn’t enough. He had to give them a counter-attraction to keep them out of the pubs.
So in 1895, he founded Thames Ironworks Football Team. In 1897, Hills paid for a new stadium. And in 1904, under the new name of West Ham United, they moved to their present home in Upton Park. The club’s engineering roots are remembered in the two crossed hammers on their crest. And that is why to this day you will hear the crowds at Upton Park chanting, “Come on, you Irons”.
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