Now a world-class theologian and a social scientist team up to take a fresh look at civilization theory and practice.

The Leadership of Civilization Building is a virtual manual for social architects and creative civilization builders. It belongs on the desk of every Religious Futurist.

| Back Cover | Preface | How To Order |

The Leadership of Civilization Building: Administrative and Civilization Theory, Symbolic Dialogue, and Citizen Skills for the 21st Century
Authors: Richard J. Spady and Richard S. Kirby
Publisher: Seattle: Forum Foundation, 2002, 302 pp.
ISBN: 0-9700534-9-5    Price: $18.95

An Adobe .pdf file (384k) of the Table of Contents and Foreword can be viewed at: http://www.wnrf.org/cms/upload/civbuild.pdf

BACK COVER:

As a new century dawns, this book introduces new truths about the theory and practice of civilization. It offers a fresh and imaginative analysis of the meaning of citizenship, and introduces practical tools for the empowerment of people in business, government and religion. Indeed, the authors have broken new ground in the practical definition of civilization building. It invites people everywhere to play a major role in the civilizing of their own civilization. In these pages, you will find:

• An enlightened approach to leadership in organizations and society.
• New theories on how to develop your power as a citizen.
• New tools to communicate more effectively through symbolic dialogue.

"For decades, Dick Spady has spearheaded innovative social inventions to encourage and enable citizen participation. This latest effort describes techniques and procedures for creating fuller understanding, registering viewpoints, and communicating them to national leaders." —Graham T. T. Molitor, President, Public Policy Forecasting; Vice President & Legal Counsel, World Future Society

"The timing is right for the appearance of this work. Many are calling us, but few are offering to teach us a systematic methodology for social self-consciousness in civilization building. We can be thankful that these visionary men, Spady and Kirby, have the courage and wisdom to lead us." —August Jaccaci, Founder, Unity Scholars and Social Architect Associates

"Citizen involvement in their government is the foundation of a democracy. The ideas introduced here present innovative approaches in a citizen's ability to influence decisions that government makes in their behalf. [Spady's] concept of symbolic dialogue is a significant model for government to use in eliciting citizens' points of view." —Brian Sonntag, State Auditor, Washington State

About The Authors

Richard Spady, a student and practitioner of Administrative Theory, is president of the Forum Foundation. A Seattle businessman, he co-founded Dick's Drive-in Restaurants in 1954 and currently is its president. Spady is active in community affairs, and is a lay speaker in The United Methodist Church.

The Rev. Dr. Richard S. Kirby is executive director of the Stuart C. Dodd Institute for Social Innovation in Seattle, and taught business ethics at University of Washington's School of Business Administration. He is the Visiting Professor of International Finance for the University of Russia's Academy of Education. He is an international lecturer and also chair of the World Network of Religious Futurists.

PREFACE

Citizens-cities-civilization builders and teachers: awake! Our book is dedicated to you-the present and future citizens of the USA, of all nations, of the world. It is a call to you, a call to wise vision. Where there is no vision, the people perish. [Proverbs 29:18, KJV]

This book is a manual for creative civilization builders. It is also a textbook. A leader’s/teacher’s guide will be issued to support it.

Our purpose is to equip civilization builders. In this book we give a vision of cost effective civilization building to builders of civilization, such as political, business, educational, and religious leaders. We provide an introduction to the tools-conceptual and social-to do that building.

Our aim is to help leaders and their constituents to "talk" symbolically together. On what subject? On the improvement of organizations, institutions, and society as a whole.

Our theme is that a better civilization is not only desirable, but also attainable. We believe this is not only true ethically and spiritually, but also as a civic, economic, educational, and political project.

We have many readers in mind. Some of our intended audiences are: governors, political leaders, public officials, political scientists; students and teachers of civilization and sociology; students, teachers, and practitioners of management and administration; religious and moral leaders, all churches, and religious communities and laity; and parents.

We plan that our text will be read wherever “civics” and/or futures issues are studied-in schools from grade school through graduate school and in business, law, and ministry schools everywhere.

We intend that our text will be read by professionals in politics and government, whether officials—such as governors, county executives, mayors, legislators and congresspersons and their aides; or teachers of political science/philosophy, civics and their students.

Our book offers solutions (theories), not just diagnoses of problems. We describe and prescribe a civilized future-thus we offset the gloom of pessimistic future-trend books.

We offer skills, vision, and strategies to citizens, not just governors. We encourage people to make trends, not just observe them as some authors do.

A major purpose of the book is to inspire the use of Fast Forum and symbolic dialogue program models or applications in governments, organizations, schools, the community, and churches. Students of administration and civilization in business schools, public planning, education, and seminaries can read it as a textbook to help clarify their own emerging theories of organizational dynamics and leadership.

The book aims to give people a sense of being in control of their own future. We desire to help citizens in all lands grow into being the creators of their own civic destiny. Thus we hope that this is an empowering book, for it is a book about civic power. It aims to offer civic inspiration.

We hope to enable these new social processes of communication to mature and become embedded in public policy. Our current civic necessity is what we call building working social models of Many-To-Many communication. These practical social technologies such as the Citizen Councilor Network and Psycho-Social Education are vital civic experiments for the cities and citizens of the 21st century.

They will enable every interested person, every citizen who wishes to do so, to contribute to civilization building. They will mobilize his or her opinions and energies toward the vision of the highest good for society. This is what we call the Zeitgeist ("Spirit-of-the-Time"). For it is this which is the "Supreme Governor" of society.

Richard J. Spady, Richard S. Kirby,  Seattle, August, 2001

Copyright 2002 by the Forum Foundation.

How to Order Copies of The Leadership of Civilization Building

6 Easy Ways to Order

1. Call Cokesbury Bookstore (Kirkland WA) at 1-800-605-9403 from 9-5:30 p.m., Mon-Fri; 9-2 p.m., Sat. $18.95. You can also order a copy of United Methodist Book of Resolutions 2000. A 20% discount will be extended to UM ministers on one or both titles. Major credit cards.

2. Call University Book Store in Seattle WA at 1-800-335-READ from 9 to 9 p.m., Mon-Fri, 9-6 Sat., 12-5 Sun. $18.95. Free shipping in U.S. Major credit cards.

3. For signed copies of <I>The Leadership of Civilization Building</I>, send $18.95 (checks only; WA residents add 8.8 per cent) to Forum Foundation, 4426 Second Ave. NE, Seattle WA 98105-6191. Free shipping in U.S. a limited number of hardback cover is available at $26.95. Call 206-634-0420.

4. For volume discounts of The Leadership of Civilization Building, call the Forum Foundation at (206) 634-0420, or inquire online at FastForum@aol.com.

5. Translated copies of The Leadership of Civilization Building are also available in Russian. For details, contact the Forum Foundation at (206) 634-0420. In Russia, contact Prof Tatyana Tsyrlina of Kursk State Pedagogical University at tsyrlina@aol.com.

6. Order The Leadership of Civilization Building securely online via credit card at Living Presence Books, at http://www.presence.tv/cms/books223.shtml. A shipping and handling charge of $2.00 applies to US orders, airmail shipping for international orders.