How to inspire poor performers to hold themselves accountable
If you don’t deal directly with sub-par performance you will not maximize the value that your organization provides.
The struggle of shepherding a team
There is a lot to learn about caring for lambs on a farm, but this technique taught me more about shepherding a team.
Appeals court rejects currency challenge
A federal court has rejected a legal challenge to the use of “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency. In a ruling the last week of May, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a 2016 lawsuit. The complaint was filed on behalf of about three dozen individuals and atheist groups, including Michigan Atheists and the Northern Ohio Freethought Society. The atheists challenged the motto on several constitutional grounds, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). However, in its ruling, the court said that while plaintiffs alleged they faced societal bias and [...]
Warning signs no leader should ignore
Here are four warning signs every leader should address when they see them.
Move to amend RFRA in motion
Around the same time four the Oklahoma schools won their challenge to Obamacare thanks to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, attempts to amend it took another step in Congress. First introduced in 2016 in the House of Representatives, the Do No Harm Act now has several co-sponsors in the Senate. Supporters of the measure say RRA is being used to discriminate against gays, lesbians, women and others. “Religious freedom does not give anyone the right to discriminate,” said Louise Melling, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union. “Numerous cases have shown that RFRA as written can lead to [...]
Christian schools win birth control challenge
In a case echoing Hobby Lobby’s successful 2014 challenge to the Obamacare contraceptive mandate, four Christian schools in Oklahoma have prevailed in their lawsuit against the federal government on similar grounds. The four universities—Southern Nazarene, Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma Wesleyan, and Mid-America Christian—went to court in 2013. Represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), they objected to being required to provide abortion-inducing drugs and other contraceptive measures through their health plans. The U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court in 2016, leading to this month’s ruling in the Western Oklahoma District that the mandate infringed on the [...]
When to break the rules
Do unnecessary rules keep you from leading well?
When does honesty become a liability?
Every day, we read about misstatements, miscues, errors in judgment, lack of candor, misinterpretations, white lies, exaggerations and spin.
Can a business deny service to a gay couple?
That a recent panel discussion was even held at an Ivy League school on Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission shows what a far-reaching impact the Supreme Court case will make on society. Princeton University’s Daily Princetonian reported that five philosophers debated where to draw the line between religious liberty and discrimination. It examined whether a bakery owner in Colorado had the right to refuse to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, or as business serving the public he can’t discriminate. Ryan Anderson, who co-authored a book in 2004 defending traditional marriage, said the bakery case is [...]
Why some pastors are better leaders than others
Here’s my take on the four basic principles pastors can utilize to step up their leadership game.
Controversy doesn’t hurt Bible museum
Bad publicity surrounding Hobby Lobby after the Green family had to recently return 5,500 artifacts to Iraq and pay a $3 million fine hasn’t dimmed enthusiasm for their Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. The museum announced last week that it had attracted 565,000 visitors since it opened just over six months ago. “As we enter the peak of the tourist season, we look forward to welcoming new and returning guests to engage with the history, narrative and impact of the most influential book ever written,” President Cary Summers told Religion News Service reporter Adelle Banks. By comparison, RNS said [...]
Casting a long shadow
Although Christian businessman Ed McAteer died in 2004, his name resurfaced last week in connection with the relocation of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Writing for Baptist News Global, former journalist Mark Wingfield said McAteer helped plant important seeds from the 1970s through ‘90s. Many evangelicals have never heard of McAteer. Yet, the “reality is that Donald Trump would not be president today, the Moral Majority would not have existed, and the U.S. Embassy would not be in Jerusalem today,” wrote Wingfield, now associate pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas. McAteer was a longtime member of [...]
The importance of love in leadership
Typically the words “leadership” and “love” are not found in the same sentence unless someone tells you “they love to do leadership.”
Transgender issues worth watching
Business owners trying to stay up with regulations regarding civil and LGBT rights need to keep an eye on developments in Washington, D.C. Gay rights organizations are protesting attempts by the Trump administration to rewrite a federal rule barring discrimination in health care based on “gender identity.” The rule goes back to the Obama administration. Last December, a federal judge in Texas said the rule went too far by concluding discrimination on the basis of gender identity is sex discrimination—forbidden by civil rights laws. Instead of appealing the ruling, the Trump administration is rewriting the rule, which applies to health [...]
Learning leadership from Winston Churchill
There is much to learn from how this man approached leading through tough times.
ADF gets boot from Amazon
Concordia Publishing House recently learned it couldn’t use remarketing ads on Google unless it scrubbed them of biblical content. Now, the Alliance for Defending Freedom (ADF) has been booted from the AmazonSmile program over its support for biblical marriage. The Arizona-based legal group, which has represented numerous Christians and ministries, had been a recognized charity for five years. AmazonSmile allows customers to designate non-profits to receive a half-percent of eligible online purchases. In a statement, ADF said it contacted Amazon after numerous messages from supporters no longer able to give to the organization via AmazonSmile. The online giant said it [...]
Companies can’t force religion
After a three-week trial, in late April a federal court jury in New York awarded 10 current or former employees of a Long Island healthcare company $5.1 million in damages for creating a hostile work environment. The jury ruled unanimously that United Health Programs of America had violated federal law by coercing the employees to engage in religious practices at work. The claims related to a belief system called “Harnessing Happiness,” created by the aunt of the company’s CEO, who was employed as a consultant. In a statement issued after the trial, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said Title [...]
Hobby Lobby chairman recalls turning point
While its more than 800 locations and $4.3 billion in sales last year rank it among the nations’ largest privately-held retail chains, things weren’t always so rosy for Hobby Lobby, says Chairman Mart Green. The keynote speaker at the Chattanooga (Tennessee) Area Leadership Prayer Breakfast May 1, Green recalled the company was “on the ropes” in 1984. His father remarked that he didn’t think they would make it, until David Green decided to give the business to God. “We don’t own anything,” Mart quoted his father as saying. “We’re stewards. When we became stewards, it all changed.” In a report [...]
Tough sledding in the court of public opinion
The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether a baker in Colorado should have been forced to make a cake for a same-sex marriage ceremony. While legal analysts think the high court could uphold the owner’s refusal on the basis of free speech, a recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute shows supporters of traditional marriage are behind in the court of public opinion. The 2017 American Values Atlas says that a majority of religious groups agree that gay and lesbian people should not be discriminated against in the form of service-based refusals, with only white evangelicals [...]
Church says it’s facing bankruptcy
An Episcopalian church in Washington, D.C. about one mile northwest of the White House says it is facing bankruptcy. That’s because a city department halted construction on a seven-story, 56-unit multifamily housing unit-and-church building. Construction on St. Thomas’ Parish’s new home was about 60 percent complete when the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs recently issued a stop-work order. Several Washington news outlets reported the decision came after a D.C. Court of Appeals decision sent the project back to a district zoning panel. In order to raise the finances to replace its original building that burned down, St. Thomas was [...]
