The headquarters of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty occupies an entire block of prime real estate in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. This past January, the imposing think tank—named for the Tory aristocrat who warned that “absolute power corrupts absolutely”—featured a nativity display behind one of its plate glass windows. Here, at the heart of a typical Midwestern commercial district, was a perfect set piece for the Acton Institute's far from intuitively straightforward mission: overseeing the seamless integration of Judeo-Christian truths with free market principles. But as I pondered the ironies and contradictions beckoning in the crèche installation, it started snowing with a vengeance.
So I ventured indoors, right into the heart of the Acton scene. On this midwinter weekday, Acton HQ was buzzing with activity. The receptionist, a former intern, was happy to answer my questions about what it is they do here, bundling up a stack of recent issues of newsletters and the institute's admirably mission-conscious magazine: Religion and Liberty. I am invited to attend upcoming lectures and to use the library with its extensive collection of titles on faith, freedom, and the free market. If he was aware that mine was a sneaky, skeptical exploration, he gave no indication. As a native Midwesterner transplanted to the East Coast, I was surprised anew by the openness that my Heartland fellows showcase before relative strangers. Of course, there is another word for this young Actonian's eagerness to share: evangelism.
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