Warren has strong showing in South Carolina gubernatorial race
Although millionaire businessman John Warren couldn’t overcome President Donald Trump’s late endorsement of Gov. Henry McMaster, Warren still finished a strong second in a June 26 run-off election in South Carolina. In the June 12 Republican gubernatorial primary, the 39-year-old political novice finished a distant second to McMaster, polling 28 percent to the governor’s 42 percent. However, Warren lost by less than half that margin in the run-off, 53-47 percent. Virtually unknown when he entered the race in February, the former Marine and owner of a real estate investment company is seen as a possible challenger in 2020 to current [...]
Understanding my narcissistic boss
If you have come to the conclusion that your boss is selfish, mean-spirited, lacking in basic social graces, and only interested in his own success, you are definitely not alone.
Canadian Christians challenge pro-abortion provision of federal program
It isn’t just American Christians who are clashing with their government over social issues. According to the National Post of Canada, a series of court challenges have arisen against an abortion clause in the country’s Summer Jobs program guidelines. Added this year, the clause requires applicants to declare that both the job and the organization’s “core mandate” respect reproductive rights (defined as access to abortion). “Following widespread outcry, the government issued a clarification that ‘core mandate’ refers only to activities, not beliefs—but many organizations still refused to sign the attestation or wrote in their own interpretation,” the Post reported. “Government [...]
Colorado baker’s case affects Washington florist
The U.S. Supreme Court has returned the case of a florist sued by Washington’s attorney general to that state, with instructions to reconsider its decision in light of the high court’s recent ruling in favor of a Colorado baker. In 2013, florist Barronelle Stutzman—a Southern Baptist—cited her beliefs in declining to create a floral arrangement for a same-sex wedding. “[It] takes a special kind of focused hostility to target this woman, to relentlessly pursue her business and personal assets, all for the purpose of making an example of her,” said Stutzman’s attorney, Kristen Waggoner. “Yet that’s exactly what the State [...]
Church wins concession to display banner about its 300th anniversary
A church in New Hampshire won the right to hang a 24-square-foot banner above its main entrance celebrating its 300th anniversary in August. The Community Church of Durham had to petition the town’s zoning board of adjustment to display the sign, since it is four times larger than existing zoning law allowed in the town’s historic district. Although officially founded in 1718, the United Church of Christ congregation dates back to 1651 when the town of Dover—which then encompassed the settlement that became Durham—voted to support a minister there. Services were held sporadically for many years until a minister arrived [...]
What leaders can learn from the Parable of the Talents
I want to take a look at this piece of scripture in a different light. One that leaders can learn how to lead better.
Hobby Lobby arbitration pacts still being challenged
Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that employment arbitration agreements barring class action lawsuits are valid, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has asked an appeals court to allow it to hear a case involving Hobby Lobby employees. Last week, the NRLB asked the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a 2016 ruling. The agency argued it should have the opportunity to consider additional arguments by a group of employees. The workers challenged an agreement they had signed with the retail chain after their wage-and-hour lawsuit went to arbitration. Christian-owned Hobby Lobby is also facing a federal [...]
Minnesota regulators to decide on pipeline opposed by church leaders
Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission is expected to make a decision soon on whether to approve a proposal for an oil pipeline that would extend from Canada across Minnesota—a move opposed by hundreds of clergy leaders. The regulators heard two days of final arguments last week on the Line 3 proposal from Enbridge Energy to replace a deteriorating crude oil pipeline. More than 500 clergy have signed a petition against the project. They include leaders from the Minnesota offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ. Also opposed by [...]
Why pain precedes change
Here are reasons great pain often precedes restoration.
Phoenix calligraphy business can’t discriminate against gays, court says
While a Colorado baker won his argument against being forced to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, an Arizona appeals court has dismissed a challenge to a Phoenix non-discrimination ordinance. Handed down less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of suburban Denver’s Masterpiece Cakeshop, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled against a Christian-owned calligraphy business. Brush & Nib sought an injunction in 2016 to block enforcement of Phoenix’s non-discrimination ordinance. The owners said as devout Christians their work was “inextricably related” to their religious beliefs. In its opinion, the court said that while [...]
Two Christian colleges exempted from Obamacare mandate
Less than two months after four Christian universities in Oklahoma won their challenge to the Obamacare contraceptive mandate, two more colleges in the Midwest have prevailed in their lawsuit against it. U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett ruled last week in favor of Cornerstone University of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. The two schools had requested a permanent injunction against enforcement of the rule. The schools argued that forcing employers to provide coverage for contraceptives, abortion-inducing drugs, and sterilization violated their religious beliefs. Bennett agreed, saying the mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Democrats in [...]
Controversy surrounds Mike Pence’s speech to SBC annual meeting
Vice President Mike Pence was the latest national leader to address the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, but not everyone in the Southern Baptist Convention was happy about his speech. Attempts to substitute a time of prayer or an alternate speaker both failed the day prior to Pence’s June 13 speech. “We must do all that we can to preserve the purity of the gospel, and this invitation works against it,” said Garrett Kell, the Virginia pastor who proposed the prayer time. In his remarks, Pence recalled his decision to accept Jesus as Savior in 1978 after being raised in a [...]
Christian candidates show mixed results in primaries
Several conservative Christians running for major offices during last week’s primaries in several states posted mixed results. Virginia evangelical pastor Ryan McAdams posted the lone victory, although South Carolina gubernatorial candidate John Warren advanced to a runoff. A resident of rural Charles City County, Virginia, McAdams won the Republican Party’s nomination for the 4th congressional district with a landslide 73-27 percent margin over his opponent. However, Bishop E.W. Jackson placed a distant third in the state’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate. A former Democrat who switched parties in the 1980s, Jackson is the pastor of Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, [...]
Are you stretched beyond your preferences?
Where does the Bible say to select a church based on your preferences, asks Derwin Gray, former NFL player and founding pastor of Transformation Church.
Embracing conflict
Do you treat “conflict” as a bad word?
Take a stand at church (and keep your job!)
Leadership means you have to say things that not everyone is ready to hear.
What is essential for true leadership?
There are many ideas about how to lead. However, this is the primary one.
CrossFit executive fired for what company saw as anti-LGBT expression
Two days after the Supreme Court’s Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling, the CrossFit training chain fired an executive for comments supporting an Indianapolis gym owner who canceled an LGBT event. According to news reports in several publications, CrossFit Infiltrate coaches organized a special workout to celebrate Pride Month without permission of owner Brandon Lowe. Russell Berger, chief knowledge officer, tweeted a message in which he encouraged Lowe to stand by his convictions. “The intolerance of the LGBTQ ideology toward any alternative views is mind-blowing,” Berger said in a since-deleted comment. “The lack of tolerance for disagreement, which has been replaced with bullying [...]
Supreme Court bakeshop ruling doesn’t settle division
A pair of opinion polls released the week the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of a Denver-area bakeshop owner to refuse to create a cake for a same-sex wedding show how this issue continues to divide the American public. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released the day of the June 5 ruling, 72 percent of the respondents said businesses should not have the right to discriminate against same-sex customers. That was much higher than the 57 percent in a Morning Consult poll who disagreed with businesses refusing to serve customers who identify as LGBT. However, the same poll (released the [...]
6 common problems with church bylaws
Some churches use bylaws well beyond their original intent.
