One life can change the world

* Mayor’s luncheon to feature author Metaxas on April 2.

The story of a 19th-century British statesman credited for halting slavery in his country underscores the strength one individual has to change the world, the author of a biography of William Wilberforce said.

Author Eric Metaxas, who will be the keynote speaker at next month’s Power of One Mayor’s Luncheon, said Mr. Wilberforce is the “greatest social reformer in the history of the world” for taking on slavery and numerous other causes.

Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield said Mr. Metaxas is a “very electric speaker.” He said he first heard Mr. Metaxas discuss his biography of William Wilberforce in Chicago.

“I think he will help to open people’s eyes to the power of one in perhaps a unique way,” he said.

Although Mr. Wilberforce is relatively unknown today, he had a profound effect on the world around him, Mr. Littlefield said.

“His life and the way he spent it are an ideal subject for the Power of One (Luncheon),” he said.

The author, a resident of New York City, has written for a college humor magazine and Veggietales. He fell into the opportunity to write a biography of Mr. Wilberforce that served as the official companion book to the 2006 film “Amazing Grace.”

“(The British statesman) is a huge hero of mine,” Mr. Metaxas said.

The Connecticut native said he received a call from an official at HarperCollins Publishers who had heard him mention Mr. Wilberforce during an interview at CNN.

“I never planned to write (a biography), but I thought if I ever was to write one, this is it,” he said. “It let me exercise my literary side, and I did not have to come up with the plot.”

Nevertheless, he said, he was able to infuse humor into the story of the man whose religious conversion compelled him to champion the anti-slavery movement.

“There’s a lot of joy and lot of humor,” Mr. Metaxas said. “He had a twinkle and a sparkle. I think that makes for a lot better reading.”

With Mr. Wilberforce’s influence in Parliament, the Slave Trade Act passed in 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.

Before Mr. Wilberforce’s involvement with the anti-slavery movement, a moral conscience for the end of slave trade did not exist, Mr. Metaxas said.

“He took his world view from the gospels into the world,” he said. “It was a huge sea change in the West. By the time he died, it was another world.”

Mr. Wilberforce’s faith and action have implications for Americans in what sometimes seems like an increasingly secular society, Mr. Metaxas said.

People with anti-theist views like Christopher Hitchens (author of “God Is Not Great”) don’t have to believe, he said, but they shouldn’t mock people of faith with a broad brush.

On the issue of racial healing, some places haven’t moved along as much as others, he noted. But in telling the story of Mr. Wilberforce, Mr. Metaxas said he has had the ability in some sense to help people in every area to see a bigger picture.

The Power of One Luncheon is held to unify and reaffirm the commitment to making Chattanooga a welcoming, diverse and inclusive community, according to information from the city’s Office of Multicultural Affairs.

IF YOU GO

* What: Power of One Mayor’s Luncheon

* When: 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 3

* Where: The Chattanoogan Hotel, 1201 Broad St.

* Admission: $50 for individuals, $400 for table of eight

* Phone: 643-6706

* Web site: www.chattanooga.gov

MORE OF METAXAS

Before his keynote address at the Power of One Luncheon, Eric Metaxas will speak at a news conference on April 2, at 5 p.m. at City Hall on 11th Street.

He will sign copies of his biography, “Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery,” from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The book may be purchased for $20.