A Creative Pursuit

The Lieutenant Don't Know: An Interview With Author Jeff Clement, USMC

The Lieutenant Don't Know: An Interview With Author Jeff Clement, USMC

“’It’s not about you!’ As a leader, you are a servant first. As a Marine Officer, your first responsibility is to the mission and your Marines—if you are more concerned about your own career or how something is going to make you look, you’re sure to shortchange your Marines.”

A City on a Hill: An Interview with a Congressional Chief of Staff

A City on a Hill: An Interview with a Congressional Chief of Staff

Our theme for Issue 007 is A Creative Pursuit. We opened with ideas from a current Legislative Correspondent on how to bring creativity into political culture, including more collaboration and a better work-rest balance. We continued the issue by talking about taking risks, including no more manipulating through fear. But what if we take these ideas a step further?

The Rewards of Risk

The Rewards of Risk

Taking risks on Capitol Hill, and doing so by rethinking how we live out our faith in Jesus would be dramatic. We’ve noted in prior weeks a congressional staffer’s ideas of more collaboration and a better rhythm of work and rest. I’ll add a third: no more using fear as a motivator. Each of these would require an element of risk, but they also present new opportunities. 

Taking Risks

Taking Risks

Let’s be honest: the primary goal, broadly speaking, of congressional offices is for the Member to get re-elected. Re-election demands the safety of what’s been done before, of what worked the first time. The job of representing shifts towards keeping the peace, and we lose a deeper understanding of what it means to govern well with the time we’ve already been given. 

A Capitol of Creativity

A Capitol of Creativity

What first drew me to politics was the idea of creatively solving big problems facing our world. However, as most would guess Capitol Hill is a far cry from a creative Mecca. Although changing this culture will be a slow process, I am going to highlight a few steps offices can take to encourage creativity and ultimately foster an environment that produces meaningful change within our nation.