Chapter Nine: 100,000 Fully Engaged Tutors for Governments, Arise!

Chapter Nine

100,000 Fully Engaged

Tutors for Governments,

Arise!

Therefore submit yourselves

to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake,

whether to the king as supreme, or to governors,

as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers

and for the praise of those who do good.

— 1 Peter 2:13-14 (NKJV)

As 1 Peter 2:13-14 tells us, Christians are to submit to man-made laws as well as to those who enforce them. God has placed government leaders above us for His purposes, and our job is to obey them. In some cases, these leaders are Christians. In other cases, the leaders aren’t Christians but the Lord intends for them to serve His purposes anyway. Providing a government service (or being affected positively or negatively by government) will help guide a nonbeliever to gain Salvation.

Although people are inclined to exalt the accomplishments of the leaders they approve of, the reality is that few government leaders have much time and expertise to apply to anything other than acquiring and exercising power. If you don’t believe that observation, consider how much money an American politician has to attract simply to run for national or statewide office. Once in office, many elected leaders report spending most of their days on fund-raising to pay for the next campaign.

In addition, few elected positions have term limits, and incumbents for positions where seniority provides advantages for constituents are almost always reelected. As a result of being secure in office just as long as they spend a fortune on each campaign, elected officials don’t feel much pressure to create better results. That’s how it works for a republican or a democratic form of government. In countries with nondemocratic governments, gaining and holding power can easily become all-consuming activities.

Elected government leaders are more likely to be trained as lawyers than to come from any other educational and work background. While such a background can be useful for drafting laws, the legal perspective often doesn’t provide much insight into how to gain more complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs. I feel entitled to make that observation as someone who was trained as a lawyer and who knows many lawyers well who have held and now hold elected positions.

Let’s look at motivation as well. Why would a governmental leader have any interest in accomplishing more complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs? The most common answer is simple: when the breakthroughs help the government leaders to acquire and to exercise more power for accomplishing whatever led them to seek office.

Of course, some governmental leaders are guided by a heartfelt desire for serving people. Those leaders may well be attracted to creating lots of valuable benefit breakthroughs that would help many citizens. I pray that there will be more such leaders.

What can governmental leaders hope to accomplish? People who want to be governmental leaders and those who are relatively new in office usually make promises that they will deliver more for the electorate. In reality, whether citizens’ circumstances improve is mostly affected by the overall economic environment and the general, long-term trend to slightly higher productivity. As a result, there is a likelihood of economic and social improvements occurring regardless of who the political leaders are. But over periods of two to six years, the long-term improvement trend can be reversed so that citizens’ circumstances worsen or stay stagnant.

After such a stagnant or retrograde period, the rate of improvement is going to be strong and most political leaders know that. Therefore, they will often take a wait-and-see attitude toward change at such times. However, there are two circumstances under which it may be easier to interest governmental leaders in making complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs:

• at the end of a long period of improvements (because the expectation is that a decline in circumstances will follow) and

• after a stagnant or retrograde period if the expected rebound doesn’t occur on schedule.

This perspective summarizes the outlook for gaining broad political attention for making more benefit breakthroughs in most economically advanced countries.

In lesser developed countries, government leaders sometimes realize that by focusing citizens on the right tasks, a lot of the economic and social gaps between their country and the most economically advanced nations can be reduced or, in some cases, eliminated. With such a focus, the potential benefits from working on providing complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs can be extraordinary for citizens and their leaders.

In addition, some lesser developed countries have been wracked for many decades by wars, disease, famine, low prices for their exports, weak currencies that raise the cost of imports, corruption, excess debt, scarce capital, high interest rates compared to inflation, poor education, few public services, limited infrastructures, and other severe problems. Everyone knows that these nations are performing economically and socially at artificially low levels compared to what most other countries accomplish with comparable resources and knowledge.

Some government leaders in such unusually depressed circumstances see the opportunity to gain a revered place in their society and in history. I believe that it is with these government leaders that the most substantial tutoring opportunities can be found to make many more complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs. In this chapter, I focus many of my comments on what tutors can do with such leaders in mind.

In focusing on this group of leaders, I don’t mean to suggest that tutors not help other governmental leaders who are interested in making available more complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs. In addition, I don’t believe that the largest possibilities for improvements are in the depressed, lesser-developed countries with the most legacy- and reputation-oriented leaders. The biggest untapped potential to accomplish more will be found elsewhere simply because improving from a base of high performance expands total benefits much faster than building on low performance.

Let me be clear about my purpose. I’m looking for the places where tutors can be most helpful because leaders will be interested and encouraging, and opportunities are substantial.

In more developed countries, governments will be among the least flexible and interested institutions when it comes to identifying, creating, and expanding complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs. In lesser developed countries, government leaders will often be more anxious to do what it takes to accomplish more because it’s easier to believe that opportunities exist, and the wide evidence of suffering can move leaders to feel more desire to act.

One exception to there being less interest in making benefit breakthroughs in economically developed countries can occur where the career bureaucracies are filled with highly capable staffs that have power to issue rules that can strongly affect citizens’ behaviors. Another exception may come in economically advanced Christian countries where the lessons of becoming more fruitful in serving God are well understood, and leaders feel strongly moved by their faith to make better use of the gifts and resources that God has provided.

What should tutors help accomplish? Let me start by listing some activities where governments can potentially change what they do in ways that will stimulate the creation of many more complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs:

• Eliminate any legal limitations on what Christians and their churches and organizations can do in serving God in carrying out what the Bible calls them to do.

• Measure how government actions and inactions are influencing the breakthrough-creating effectiveness of churches, Christian ministries, Christian and secular nonprofit organizations, schools, universities, voluntary associations of children, foundations, social enterprises, local and state governments, for-profit enterprises, problem-solving professionals, the employed, the unemployed, and those who wish to go into business for themselves.

• Based on what the measurements of government influence on breakthrough-creating effectiveness reveal, propose changes in rules, resources, and encouragement that will make government less of a barrier and more of a help in allowing citizens, foreigners, and their organizations to accomplish more.

• Review the effectiveness of any governmental changes in encouraging more complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs so that helpful adjustments can be made.

Next, let’s separately consider each of the activities on the preceding list for what roles tutors can usefully play, beginning with eliminating legal limitations on what Christians and their churches and organizations can do in following Biblical directions.

Eliminate Any Legal Limitations on What Christians

and Their Churches and Organizations

Can Do in Serving God

But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way,

he adjourned the proceedings and said,

“When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.”

So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty,

and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.

And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish,

he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control,

and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered,

“Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.”

Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him.

Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.

But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix;

and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.

— Acts 24:22-27 (NKJV)

Government is often a tool for oppressing Christians and reducing their ability to serve God through sharing the Gospel and showing His love. As we see in Acts 24:22-27, Paul was restrained by Felix, the Roman governor, after being accused by the Jewish leaders. Felix hoped to receive a bribe from Paul and, failing such a payment, Felix left Paul bound because the official wanted to gain favor with the Jews. As a result, Paul wasn’t able to engage in his usual ministry of sharing the Gospel with the Gentiles by traveling from city to city planting churches. Who knows how many souls were lost in the many centuries since then as a result of Felix’s action?

God was eventually able to overcome the restrictions by moving Paul to demand of Felix’s replacement, Porcius Festus, a trial by the Roman emperor, exercising one of Paul’s rights as a Roman citizen. As a result, Paul was sent to Rome where the great work began of helping lead those who lived the heart Roman Empire into becoming Christians.

In the absence of God’s protection, Christians in dozens of countries can expect to be imprisoned or killed for sharing the Gospel. If such restrictions were lifted, just imagine how much more could be done by Christians in these nations to serve people on the Lord’s behalf.

The nations that are extremely opposed to Jesus aren’t the only sources of problems. Many nations seek to eliminate Christians from openly serving in His name during many important activities. Such a governmental stance can occur in the name of keeping a nation from having an official faith or religion, such as in the United States. The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

While this amendment sounds as if no limits may be placed on any Christians freely evangelizing, Supreme Court cases have led to just the opposite practice. A Christian teacher in a public school is not permitted to lead a class in prayer. Sections of the Bible cannot be placed on public ground, even if paid for by Christians so there is no public expense. These American limitations also apply, of course, to those with other religious beliefs.

The effect of such restrictions is to reduce the visibility of and knowledge about all religious beliefs. Wouldn’t it be much more desirable for a nation that favors freedom to let each person openly share his or her faith while providing equal opportunities for others to do the same? Then, individuals could have a better chance to make good choices, the essence of the logic behind a government encouraging free speech.

In every nation, there is some mechanism to change laws and rules so that the Gospel can be much more freely proclaimed, documented, and followed. In a constitutionally based country, the constitution may have to be amended. In a totalitarian nation, the leaders may have to be changed to ones who will decree new freedoms to exercise faith.

Public debate seldom considers the costs of limiting public devotion to God and to openly following His ways. I believe that tutors can play an important role in educating those who are or want to become government leaders to understand how costly such restrictions are. I see the following opportunity areas for research and documentation by tutors concerning the value of allowing freer and more visible Christian activities:

• Ways that the costs of publicly funded programs could be slashed by having Christians, their churches, and their organizations voluntarily undertake official roles for providing mandated benefits through contributing their love, their time, and their finances in the name of Jesus. In considering costly activities such as providing healthcare and social services for the elderly, helping the unemployed find jobs, and rehabilitating criminals, it’s hard to imagine that delivering more of God’s supernatural power through the activities of His people couldn’t lead to providing the benefits at much less cost.

• Ways that the benefits of publicly funded programs could be greatly increased by having Christians, their churches, and their organizations voluntarily undertake official roles to provide the benefits through contributing their love, their time, and their finances in the name of Jesus. When considering areas of great ineffectiveness where costs are enormous such as helping students who fall behind in school to overcome their learning difficulties, drug addicts to reform their debilitating habits, and unemployed people to learn new skills, it’s easy to think that God’s assistance delivered through His people would also make greater improvements … especially if the Christians are enabled by developing and employing complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs through the guidance of His Holy Spirit.

• Ways that the incidence of social ills could be reduced by governments through encouraging early interventions by Christians, their churches, and their organizations. For instance, many schools have severe problems with drug use, underage alcohol consumption, and violence. Most schools rely on a combination of school administrators, student counselors, security guards, psychologists, and police to deal with such situations. What would happen if regular Christian prayer and counseling were provided in addition so that troubled youth could learn about the opportunities to gain Salvation and to reform their characters through sanctification?

• Ways that the whole society could become better behaved through offering more Christian alternatives to civil institutions. Here’s an example. Few high schools teach driving to their students. It is well known that teenage drivers are the ones most likely to cause accidents. Christian driving schools might be permitted to offer classes on public campuses. While a fee might still be charged, Christians could subsidize such training so that anyone who learns to drive develops better skills and a healthier moral attitude toward being careful not to harm others (especially by not driving under the influence of illegal drugs and alcohol, or being engaged in distracting activities such as texting).

I encourage tutors who want to educate government leaders or potential leaders in these areas to develop their ideas to improve and expand upon my suggestions. I’m sure there are many other worthy areas for investigation.

Let’s turn now to considering measurements of how government action and inaction are influencing the breakthrough-creating and -implementing effectiveness of churches, Christian ministries, Christian and secular nonprofit organizations, schools, universities, voluntary associations of children, foundations, social enterprises, local and state governments, for-profit enterprises, problem-solving professionals, the employed, the unemployed, and those who wish to go into business for themselves.

Measure the Effects of Government Action and Inaction

on Individuals and Organizations for

Making Complementary, Exponential Benefit Breakthroughs

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

— Isaiah 9:6-7 (NKJV)

You may be wondering how tutors could ever hope to measure enough things to be able to draw conclusions about the effects of government actions and inaction on individuals and organizations making complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs. If tutors start in simple ways, I believe that making the measurements can be orderly, fast, and effective. Each measurement, in turn, will help light the pathway to finding other useful measurements to make.

Let me make a few suggestions to help start your thinking. If this kind of tutoring assistance appeals to you, I’m sure that you can develop much better ideas than mine. I encourage you to take the time and make the effort to do so.

I like to start answering cause-and-effect questions by measuring what people do now. Various government agencies and authorities in any given country or portion thereof are already purchasing a tremendous amount of goods and services. One helpful measure is to determine how many of the offerings a government purchases deliver new complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs.

A second useful measurement is the total amount of activity going on in a country (or smaller governmental unit) for creating complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs.

A third helpful measurement is the amount of success each year within the country in developing complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs.

A fourth insightful measurement describes current progress in expanding complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs, regardless of where the breakthroughs were originally developed.

At the current time, I believe most governments would find that their activities and their people aren’t being very productive along these dimensions. Such a perspective could help provide a useful “wake-up” call to those who are more pleased than is warranted with the current performance of their governments, their countries, their nations’ organizations, and their citizens.

Another valuable measurement is to determine how government action or inaction has affected those who have been successful in creating or bringing complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs to the people a government administers. Surveys taken with those who have developed or expanded breakthroughs are helpful for making such measurements. The responses can then make it clearer what governments should consider changing.

Still another valuable set of measurements come from speaking with those who have been attempting to make complementary, exponential benefit improvements within a government’s territory to find out what things that government has done that helped. These same people can also be asked about how they believe other government activities that have been effective in other parts of the world might help them with future innovations.

To clarify what can be learned from such measurements, here’s a brief hypothetical example of what the measurements I have suggested might show if applied to the nation of Japan. Part of what might be uncovered is that Japanese society has been very productive in expanding complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs through developing new work methods that humanize “assembly-line” tasks such as putting vehicles together and by standardizing offering-related activities so that errors are greatly reduced. The humanizing methods are home-grown improvements while many of the standardization methods are simple adaptations of learning developed in other countries. In the latter case, there was a lot of government encouragement to adopt and improve upon the foreign methods.

I do not claim to be knowledgeable about Japan’s current status in developing and employing new complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs. Solely evaluating Japan’s activities in such work by considering the activities of my current and former Japanese students, a modest amount of innovation there is now being aimed at creating new complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs.

If I were to ask my current and former students how they and other Japanese people could be encouraged to do more, they might point out that official government sponsorship for the idea of making complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs would direct a lot of academic and corporate activity into learning these methods and would lead many organizations to begin developing such solutions. If the Japanese government were, for instance, to develop an equivalent to the prestigious Deming Prize (which recognizes excellence in providing quality offerings) for creating complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs, establishing the prize would help signify that you couldn’t be considered a fully contributing Japanese citizen or organization without becoming more effective in developing and delivering benefit breakthroughs.

To provide a contrast to the Japanese example, let’s consider a hypothetical sub-Saharan country in Africa. I won’t identify a nation by name, knowing how sensitive some Africans are to being singled out for attention by those beyond their borders. My comments are reasonably accurate for a number of countries in east and west Africa that are south of the Sahara.

Unlike Japan, one of those African nations might find that there was no history of having developed or applied any complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs. In fact, measurements would show a much higher proportion than in Japan of operating and governing methods that have adopted from other nations, and the imported methods would be for practices that have been often created the loss, rather than the gain, of complementary, exponential benefits.

Here’s an example of what I mean. Many of these African nations were once highly effective agricultural producers, feeding their own people and still having considerable food left over to export to other nations. International agencies have often insisted that the nations further expand such exports by keeping very small food reserves following bumper-crop years. As a result, famines have become more common whenever extended droughts or wars occur. During famine times, imported food from developed countries (such as the United States) has been used to keep people from starving. Rather than only poor people receiving the food, much of the aid has been diverted to be sold at low prices for commercial use, discouraging farmers from growing similar crops. Food aid during famines is usually concentrated into feeding people in cities and refugee camps. After being drawn from farms to places that have the free food, many farmers will not return to their villages to produce food again. After an extended famine cycle, a food-exporting nation may lose enough farmers to become instead a perpetual food importer.

Based on what my current and former African students are working on and their activity levels, each government would probably find some high-potential activities directed at creating complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs. Unfortunately, the government would also probably determine that the new solutions weren’t being expanded into wide-scale implementation due to a lack of sufficient interest, resources, or infrastructure.

Most improvement initiatives in these African nations are externally financed by foreign aid, loans from the World Bank, and grants from nongovernmental organizations. Since none of these funding sources advocate creating and expanding complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs, those who could succeed with developing and applying such solutions are inclined to ignore the opportunity, if they hear about them at all. It’s usually more attractive for citizens in these nations to become involved with spending the “big money” that the foreigners lavish on their pet projects, regardless of the social benefits or harm that might ensue.

As you can see, foreign-based “help” can sometimes be a hindrance to an economically weak nation. As a result, governments in the region might find it helpful to cooperate with one another in sponsoring areawide competitions to encourage the development of more complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs. Bolstered by the credibility of their solutions having succeeded in such high visibility competitions, the nations could then more easily negotiate with foreign sources for the funds and other resources needed to implement highly beneficial “home-grown” breakthroughs.

Tutors drawn to helping governments should establish a body of practice that shares measurement information they develop about how government actions and inactions have affected the creation and deployment of complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs. After identifying what the more helpful and harmful government decisions and actions have been in other nations, tutors should be sure to measure the effects of the same actions and inactions on the countries they assist.

From the measurements conducted by tutors, it will be obvious to government leaders where just a little time and attention can help lead a nation to become much more productive in its most essential activities. In the next section, I describe how tutors can help by proposing changes in rules, resources, and encouragement to make government less of a barrier and more of a help in allowing citizens, foreigners, and their organizations to create and apply more complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs.

Propose Changes in Rules, Resources, and Encouragement

to Make Government Less of a Barrier and More of a Help

in Allowing Citizens, Foreigners, and Their Organizations

to Make Complementary, Exponential Benefit Breakthroughs

But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side;

there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence.

And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the LORD my God,

as the LORD spoke to my father David, saying,

“Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place,

he shall build the house for My name.”

Now therefore, command that they cut down cedars for me from Lebanon;

and my servants will be with your servants,

and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say.

For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians.

So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon,

that he rejoiced greatly and said,

Blessed be the LORD this day,

for He has given David a wise son over this great people!

Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying:

I have considered the message which you sent me,

and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.

— 1 Kings 5:4-8 (NKJV)

I have a lot of concerns about the potential harmful effects of tutors, even the best informed and most well intentioned, making proposals for how to create and to expand complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs. Expert, foreign-based advice has been notoriously harmful in directing governments, and tutors could unintentionally mislead as well.

I am so concerned about the potential for such harm that I never propose any specific improvements to those who live outside of the United States (where I live) for making more breakthroughs. I limit myself to describing the thought processes that might help someone to unearth and to apply breakthroughs. I believe that limiting my involvement and recommendations has been a major reason why so many astonishing breakthroughs have been developed in so many countries around the world by using the thought processes. Here are some of the more important benefits:

• Innovators find that their imaginations are not reined in by my biases, prejudices, and limited experience with their cultures and local circumstances, and lack of foresight.

• Innovators are encouraged by my strong desire to rely on their work to think that they will succeed.

• Innovators are more likely to see successful experiments in other nations as just the jumping-off point for accomplishing even more in their countries.

• Innovators apply more of their unique insights into the circumstances, cultures, preferences, and histories of their people so that more irresistible forces can be used to encourage the development and expansion of benefit breakthroughs.

• Since innovators are not expecting practical help from me, they develop their own, more useful, resources.

Based on these experiences, I propose the following guidelines for consideration by tutors who make proposals concerning ways that governments can change their rules, resources, and encouragement to help their citizens and the foreigners who reside there create and enjoy the benefits of implementing many more complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs:

• Tutors who make proposals should have lived more than half their lives (including the most recent five years) in the specific part of the nation where the proposal will apply. (I don’t want those who have always dwelt in the capital designing irrigation programs for poor farmers in remote deserts.)

• All proposals should begin with very limited tests that must accomplish certain standards of effectiveness before being turned into larger tests and, ultimately, into permanent programs. (Substantial mistakes often occur with the design and implementation of new programs, and corrections should be made before expansion occurs.)

• All proposals should be independently evaluated, in part, through interviews conducted with at least 300 local people who will be greatly affected by the change. Interviewers should be people who have lived in the affected geographic area all of their lives, didn’t work on developing the breakthrough or the proposal for a change in governmental action or inaction, and have no conflict of interest in investigating the proposal. (The interview answers must be used to modify any proposal that raises more than a few minor concerns from a small number of people.)

• Local community leaders who are not part of the government should be asked to describe all the things that could go wrong with implementing the proposal, and the proposal must be revised to address as many of the risks as possible.

• Evaluation of test results should include paired comparisons with regions of the country that have similar conditions, but were not affected by the test.

• Test results should be evaluated by a different set of people from any of those mentioned earlier who are both familiar with the local people and conditions, have the requisite skill to do the evaluation, and have no conflicts of interest.

As an encouragement for tutors to make better proposals, I recommend that a section of each proposal describe the results of past proposals for government action or inaction that the tutor or tutors have made.

I also encourage tutors to work together to improve on these recommendation limitations in the spirit of encouraging more proposals that succeed in increasing the creation of and development of many more complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs.

In the next section, I discuss how tutors should help to improve any installed governmental changes designed to encourage and enable more complementary, exponential benefit breakthroughs by reviewing how well the changes are working in practice.

Review the Effectiveness of Any Governmental Changes

for Encouraging and Enabling More Complementary,

Exponential Benefit Breakthroughs

so That Helpful Adjustments Can Be Made

Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ,

direct our way to you.

And may the Lord make you increase

and abound in love to one another and to all

just as we do to you,

so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness

before our God and Father at the coming of

our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

— 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 (NKJV)

It was easy for the fresh clay tablets on which government change orders were first written in ancient times to become hardened with time and use until they resembled dried bricks that could be more easily be broken than altered. Yet while the written change was still fresh, it was easy to smear the clay and rewrite the provision to correct a mistake. Similarly today, it’s a good idea to begin immediately looking for ways to do better before promising, but somewhat flawed, new practices become hard-and-fast habits.

Some caution has to be taken in such reviews. Even the most effective new government policies and actions may be opposed by many people for reasons of self-interest and political philosophies rather than because of any inherent flaws. Others may seek to use the reviews to serve other purposes, such as to gain some tactical advantage.

In the United States, such reviews of current and proposed government programs are often conducted by the Government Accounting Office (GAO), a nonpartisan arm of the Congress, and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), an arm of Congress that attempts objective estimates of future budget deficits and surpluses, and the cost of new legislation. Many governments that are popularly elected in other countries have similar technical support groups. If a nation doesn’t have such a resource, it will be very valuable to establish one. I believe that such groups should do the reviewing to draw on their deep understanding of their country and their knowledge of how to evaluate the effects of government actions.

My sense is that the role of tutors in such review processes should be limited to helping define processes for measurements and identifying opportunities for improvements to promising new programs. I would also like to see any tutors who are involved be ones who did not make the initial recommendations, as well as being people who do not have any conflicts of interest.

The exception to these suggestions will occur, of course, in countries where governments conduct substantial services for citizens that may be done in the alternative by for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations, such as providing electrical power, conducting lotteries, and delivering health services (as opposed to simply paying for them to be provided). For such operating activities, I believe that the roles of tutors in examining ways to make additional improvements can be more substantial, especially where the tutors have significant expertise in developing and implementing benefit breakthroughs related to the type of service being provided in similar circumstances in nearby countries.

Many people view for-profit enterprises as spiritually neutral. While their legal charters may proclaim such intentions, God has a way of making good use of all kinds of organizations to serve His purposes. In Chapter Ten, I look at the ways that tutors can assist for-profit companies to be more fruitful for the Lord while enjoying more Earthly success.

Copyright © 2011 by Donald W. Mitchell. All rights reserved.